Greenbush History Part 1

Charleen Haugen and Eunice Korczak, "Greenbush History", Greenbush, MN 1905-2005, 2005 ed.

This coming weekend the City of Greenbush will celebrate its centennial.  To commemorate the event a historical book was published.  Many hours were spent scanning newspapers, booklets, interviewing various individuals and looking for any historical reference that would assist the committee as they prepared for its publication. We as a county historical society are proud of their endeavor.  We hope you will enjoy the content and not be critical when you find a mistake but notify one of the committee AND the county historical society so an errata can be put together.  We would like to congratulate the committee on the fine work they accomplished! And now on to the history of the west end of Roseau County!

“Although some settlers began arriving in this area in the 1880s, the real migration to claim free homestead land began in 1900. Under the Homestead Act, people could claim 160 acres free if they would prove up, meaning erect a cabin or house and work a few acres of land.  Most of the settlers in the Greenbush area were of Polish, Bohemian, or Scandinavian extraction…

“The first Greenbush Post Office, established September 15 of 1892, was located on the Hedges’ Farm about a mile east of the present-day Pioneer Cemetery. Fidelia Hedges served as postmaster until December 4, 1899.  Here was a stopping place for weary travelers, which also served as a boarding house and stagecoach stop [at the time this] area was part of Kittson County. Later when it became part of Roseau County, and the postal service was moved about one mile west to Old Greenbush, located near the Pioneer Haven Cemetery east of present-day Greenbush.

The post office was set up in Hildahl’s General Store with Olaf Hildahl serving as postmaster. Hildahl remained postmaster until 1911.

Soon after Hildahl built his store on the ridge in 1898, a new town sprang up around it. Mr. Vernon built a mall building and opened a blacksmith shop, T. T. Langraff and his son moved their stock of agricultural tools and equipment from their farm and established their business near Hildahl’s store. The Lear Brother’s farm implements and blacksmith shop, Charles Chilstrom’s hotel and livery, Farmers ad Merchants State Bank, Mike Johnson’s grocery, and Harold Sander’s Greenbush Journal, established 1900, followed. William Thorpe’s sawmill also was located near the little town…We mustn’t forget Mr. Nixon’s business, a “blind pig” to us a colorful expression of the time.  Mr. Nixon was the local bootlegger, a dealer in illegal alcoholic drink.

Money was not necessarily required to do business in Old Greenbush. One of Roseau County’s first pioneer teachers (who was related to Fidelia Hedges) wrote, ‘There was seldom a chance to earn any money, so a system of bartering cedar poles or posts was maintained at the small Lanegraff Store.’ But a progressive community did need a bank, and according to Thomas Medevedt, the Farmers and Merchant’s Bank was started in Old Greenbush with A. A. Burkee as cashier.”  To be continued next week.