Note on back of photograph reads: June 1888 G. A R. (Grand Army of the Republic) Encampment taken at intersection of what is now West Seveneth Street and Wyoming Avenue. Our Old home FEW [Frank E. Ware].
Eleven men seated next to tents, including Governor Alexander Ramsey and Col. Colville. The First Minnesota Regiment was the first voluntary infantry regiment to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War.This was taken at the country residence of Mr. George Brackett, Orono, Lake Minnetonka.
The first Fillmore County Courthouse, completed in 1864. Located on the public square at Preston, Minnesota. The two wings were added in 1885. Looking to the north.
John B. Sutphin was the last mayor of the village of Duluth and the first mayor of the rebord city of Duluth. He was born in 1848 in New Jersey, and he arrived in Duluth at the age of 20. He was elected as village mayor in 1886 and reelected to the same office in the newly restored city of Duluth one year later. He presided over the construction of a new City Hall to celebrate the regained charter. During his time in office Sutphin began Duluth's sewer system and fire department in addition to improving city and harbor infrastructure. He was also involved in quelling citizen unrest with regards to labor issues. Sutphin died in 1908 of kidney failure; he was survived by his only son Robert and his wife Anna Louise Anderson.
The first mayor of Duluth, Joshua B. Culver, was born on Sept. 12, 1829 in Armenia, New York. Culver first came to Duluth in the 1850s when he surveyed and plotted the town site. He fought for the Union in the American Civil War, where he rose to the rank of full colonel. He returned to Duluth and became a civic leader, elected as Duluth's first mayor after the community initially became a city in 1870. Culver was elected to a second term as mayor in 1882, but on July 17, 1883, he died while visiting Buffalo, New York. In addition to his role as mayor, Colonel Culver served Duluth as its first clerk of court, postmaster, and superintendent of schools, and founded the first steel plant. His portrait was painted by J.W. Trussler in 1889.
This 1890 photograph shows the exterior of the Nicollet County Courthouse in St. Peter. To its left is the Gorman building, which was located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Mulberry street.
Horace B. Moore, born in 1843, was employed with a lumber company before his stint in public office. In 1885 he was elected almost unanimously as the village mayor. Although his time in office was short, only one year, he enjoyed several successful accomplishments, including a new mail delivery system and the erection of named street signs. H.B. Moore died on December 2, 1906 with no known wife or children.
Josiah Davis (J.D.) Ensign was born in New York on May 14, 1833, and he earned a law degree and began practicing law in Ashtabula County, Ohio. He married Kate Jones, but after ten years of marriage she died in 1868. By 1870, Ensign had moved to Duluth, and in 1872 he married Rose Watrous. He served as Duluth's city and county attorney and wrote the seminal work on the history of the Duluth Harbor development in the 1860s and 1870s. In 1880, Ensign was selected to serve out Peter Dean's incomplete term as president of the village, and he was elected in his own right to the office in 1881. He succeeded in expanding the borders of the village of Duluth and was elected to a second (non-consecutive) term in 1884. After his terms he served as a District Court judge for thirty-two years, including work as the first "juvenile judge."
Members of St. Peter's Company I of the 2nd Infantry Regiment of the Minnesota National Guard at an encampment at Lake City. Five soldiers are named on the reverse side of the photograph.
Image of a burning storefront man is standing on a ladder with an axe. Note the hose running in between the onlookers. Horse drawn fire wagon parked in front of businesses. The Fire Brigade was established in 1898 and utilized water from the municipal water tower at the intersection of 4th Street and 5th Avenue.
Interior view of clerk windows. Man stands at Money order window while woman stands at the general delivery window. Boxes appear on either side of the general mail delivery window. Elizabeth Hangartner (Billingsley) clerk and postmaster W.B. Woodward.
Interior view of female and male postal clerk in mail room. Boxes with newspapers and letters surround the pair. One gas lamp hangs from the ceiling. Elizabeth Hangartner (Billingsley) clerk and postmaster W.B. Woodward.
Second row, left: Thomas Thomasson. Third row, second from left: Cory [from Wheaton]; third from left: Henry Graham. Graham was stationed between Graceville and Fort Wadsworth to help control Indians. He enlisted in the Civil War at age fifteen by saying he was 16. He was big for his age. He later had a blacksmith shop in Rossville, Iowa, and his wife had a hotel. James E., Frank, and Herb were their sons.