Polk County MN Historical Society

08/31/2026

Save the date!

08/29/2026

Free room and board?

08/21/2026

Installment #2

It is like opening a time capsule.

A few days ago photos were posted from a collection of dry plate (glass) negatives donated to the Museum. We continue on with the unveiling of this collection. The donor had no idea where they were taken, who the farms belonged to, or who the photographer was.

The appear to be from the 1910's.

These are presented in their original condition as scanned directly from the negatives. Some have been cropped to the subject to reduce the sky and grass, which could occupy a large amount of the photo.

08/20/2026

It is like opening a time capsule ...

Last week a guest to the Museum brought in an ancient box full of dry plate (glass) negatives. The donor had no idea who they came from, where they were taken, or who the photographer was.

Fifteen photos in all, one was damaged beyond saving. The negatives were 5x7 and 4x5. They are from the 1910's, the proud homes and barns and families. They may not be in Polk County, the first one is for sure Minnesota (from the license plate on the 1916 Buick).

My favorite might be the one finishing construction of a barn. We see barns falling, or in our memories, occasionally one that was preserved or restored. The barn is the most iconic symbol of the American Farm.

The following are part of the collection, RAW and unaltered as they scanned from the negatives. They may have been cropped to center on the subject.

08/13/2026

August 18 1920 a horrific tragedy struck Fisher Minnesota. Five boys, ages eight to fourteen, drowned in the Red Lake River. Brothers Theodore (age thirteen) and Oscar (age eleven) Olson, brothers Ephraim (age eleven) and Maurice (age eight) Vattendahl, and Thomas Anderson (age fourteen) perished.

The drownings were witnessed by nine year old brother Aubert and a six year old sister of the Vattendahl brothers, and Cy Olson, brother the Olson boys.

The children had gone to the river on a hot August day, the farmsteads of the families adjacent and within a mile of the spot of the tragedy. Thomas Anderson, the oldest of the boys, decided to go for a swim in the river despite the others insisting their parents told them not to. The younger children said they would rather pick chokecherries.

Shortly after Thomas entered the water he yelled to the others to join him, then was swept under by the powerful current. Theodore Olson, the day after his 13th birthday, was the first to jump in and try to save his friend. He got hold of Thomas but both were dragged under. Oscar Olson was next to jump into the water to try to save both boys, he too was dragged under. The three were followed first by Ephraim and then Maurice Vattendahl. All five boys were dragged under by the current.

George Murphy, who farmed across the river from the scene, was working in his field when he heard the screams of the children. Murphy was able to convince the two remaining boys to not go in the water to try to save the five victims, then rushed to Fisher to sound the alarm.

Several hundred volunteers came for the search. Farmers halted their grain harvest, businesses closed. Boats, and strong swimmers tethered, grappling hooks, and dynamite were used in an attempt to locate the bodies. It was not until the following afternoon that the first two victims bodies were found, and the following day the remaining three were found.

- Bemidji Pioneer Press

Addendum: All five boys are interred in the Fisher Cemetery just west of town, and in the Bygland cemetery.

08/06/2026

Did you attend a country school in Polk County? Or one of the village schools in the past? A new display at the Polk County Museum has a 1930 canvas map with the country schools in the country as of that year, and a flipbook with 26 village schools of the past in Polk County.

07/23/2026

Until the Northern Pacific Railroad reached the Fargo area on the Red River in 1871, where freight for Winnipeg could be loaded on steamboats, the oxcart train was the method of supplying the growing Winnipeg city and area. Winnipeg had a population of about 1,500, Manitoba had a population of over 12,000 in 1870. By 1880, Winnipeg had grown to 7,900, Manitoba over 100,000.

It wasn't until about 1878 that Polk County settlement exploded. The original surveys were completed 1872-1873 and the 1875 Minnesota census recorded a population of about 1000. By 1880 it had grown to over 11,000.

The original Public Land Surveys (PLSS) were conducted by township, and some but not all surveyors marked the trails used by the oxcart trains (and mules or horses were also used). The PLSS are the authoritative reference for today's GIS, and Minnesota has georeferenced all the maps.

By tracing the trails in QGIS and exporting those to Google Maps, we are able to see a georeferenced map of where the trails were. Unlike general maps, this narrows it down very accurately.

Unfortunately the Google Map does not allow switching to satellite view. But the map can be zoomed for a close up. Where surveyors did not record the trails, we can "connect the dots".

The route following close to the Red River was the first route commonly used, it wasn't until later that the "Pembina Trail", following the glacial ridge, became the main route. Another route followed the west side of the Red River.

Oxcart Trails of Minnesota

07/22/2026

In 1859, journalist and illustrator Manson Marble accompanied an oxcart train from St. Paul to British Fort Garry (Winnipeg). His journal, published in four parts (66 pages) in Harper's Monthly in 1860, describes their route and his many colorful descriptions of the journey.

The oxcart train crossed the Red River to the Dakotah side at Fort Abercrombie first, back to the east side (Minnesota) then crossed the Cheyenne River north of present Fargo on the route North, following the Red River on the Dakotah side to Pembina and Fort Garry (Winnipeg). The jog back to the east route of the river was to avoid the Sioux (Dakotah) tribes, whom all feared or avoided, including the Chippeway (Ojibwe).

On the return route South they crossed the Red River at Pembina to the east (Minnesota) side and followed the Red River closely for the proximity to water and firewood. The crossing of the river there Marble describes:

"One busy Monday morning, on the 19th of September (1859), after a rainy Sunday, we ferried ourselves over the Red River of the North, swimming the horses, dragged our carts up its steep and muddy bank, and soon left the waters, gleaming in every wave under the bright sunshine, far behind us."

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The journey through Polk County (newly formed by legislature) required crossing the Red Lake River, likely in the Fisher and Crookston area, and the Sand Hill River, near Climax. Marble describes meeting a hospitable Ojibwe man and his two sons, and draws illustrations of fording the two rivers.

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"Twenty five miles were put behind us that day, and we came to camp on the wooded banks of a beautiful river (referencing the Red Lake River). Rounding its curve we came in sight of a campfire, around which were huddled three Red Lake Indians - a father and two sons.

We fraternized directly, amazing them with a prodigal gift of tea, and saved the trouble of cooking our supper by being invited to share their huge kettle of boiled ducks.

As far as we could learn they had supped twice already, but this did not prevent them from eating a third time.

The old man, in the abundance of his hospitality, even tore strips from the sheet of white bark, which was all their shelter from the wind, to make torches for us...

The hospitality of the Indians convinced us of their honesty for the night, and we all slept with both eyes shut; and when we waked in the morning and found two of our horses gone, we accused only the quadrupeds of theft.

We scoured the woods and prairies in vain, and the Indians took up the hunt, ourselves watching by the camp. Before night one of the horses had been found and an Indian messenger returned with another one in lieu of the one lost."

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07/20/2026

Indoor photography of the past required light. Gunpowder flash was sometimes used, or lots of window light. Exposure times were slow in low light, requiring people to stay still.

Photo portrait studios had translucent light panels, often on three sides, to let in diffused daylight. The quality of professional portraits is excellent.

In the archives of the PCHS, some indoor photos were located. Hardware stores were popular, other stores, church interiors, and others.

To give modern life to the photos, using an AI restoration, the original photo and colorized restored photos are provided. In some cases the AI may remove objects or people.

The modern "phone", that most everyone has, is capable of taking excellent photos in very low light. The concept of photographing the stars was an impossibility in the past, now it is possible handheld with a tiny device.