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Roosevelt History Part 2
As we continue
looking at the history of Roosevelt as recorded in
Roosevelt, Minnesota 1906 – 2006,
we are able to see the benefits of a good road system or railroad
development through an area. What was considered a swampy area,
Roosevelt was found to be not so swampy as just in need to some good
land maintenance.
“In the winter
travel would be a bit easier...depending on the weather, of course. If
a person wanted to get a far as Warroad, the Sand Ridge Trail provided
a decent trail in the winter, however, the ridges didn’t connect, and
in between were swampy sections which could make travel very difficult
(for summer travel). Of course, the many trees also played a role in
how far a person could go to skirt a swamp or avoid other
difficulties. Between trees, bogs and very swampy areas, travel was a
challenge.
“Of course, as soon as the certainty of
the route that the train would take was known, the attraction of the
nearby land would quickly go up. up. In the early years of the 1900s,
thanks to difficult terrain on the Canadian side of the Lake of the
Woods, the Canadian Northern Railway decided to construct their
railway south of the Lake, on the American side. For the opening of
the area, and accessibility of getting products to the market, there
could not have been a better development. Now, there was a way to get
to the area and an outlet for products.
For those who worked on the railroad,
between Warroad and Rainy River in 1900, the wages were
advertised to be $2.00 to $5.00 per
day, (a good wage for the area and time). Board was $3.50 per week,
also reported was $2.00 a day for a man or $4.00 a day for a man and
team, so a man in need of cash could realize a profit of between $8.50
and $26.50 per week (after room and board)..which could go a long ways
in 1900. The CNR was looking for 500 men to work on the railroad
between Warroad and Rainy River in March, 1900. (As
recorded in the Roseau County Times). Along with these 500 men,
the CNR was looking for 800 men and 200 teams to work on 20 miles of
railway grading. They were paid 12 to 16 cents per yard. In September
1900, the CNR was looking for more men...150 this time, to lay track.
An early settler, John Smrstik, recalled working on the railroad using
a common wheelbarrow to remove soil to build the grade. The area was
so boggy in many areas that horses could not be used. There was plenty
of hard work involved in getting the railroad through. They also did
the first ditching of much consequence in the area…
The average distance from the track to
the lake along the route was around three miles. The railroad company
came in and made 5 or 6 large ditches from the railroad ditches to the
lake, and much of the most swampy area drained. It had been contended
that the area was not swampy because of no outlet for drainage, but
because natural drains had become clogged with vegetation and the
like...
Things were moving swiftly along to the
completion of the railroad on the US side of the border. This leg of
the track south of Lake of the Woods would connect the CNR from Port
Arthur (now Thunder Bay) to Winnipeg.
Around 1908, possibly a bit earlier,
H.L. Hunt wanted to run a railroad directly from Roosevelt to Thief River Falls. He called it the
“Thief River & Roosevelt Air Line”...this rail line never became a
reality. Hunt, the “President” of the company reportedly did some
logging while waiting for his “Air Line” to become a
reality...would’ve been a long wait. In 1908, the Great Northern
Railway reached Warroad and went west and south. With all these
different railroads, goods could now go nearly any direction to get to
market. (to be continued)
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