Title

Minton Hotel, ca. 1911, Glenwood, Minnesota

Creation Date

1911

Description

Minton Hotel, ca. 1911, at the southwest corner of Minnesota Avenue and Franklin Street in Glenwood, Minnesota.
DATING PHOTO: In June 1911 the Glenwood Herald reported that 8 or 9 very large cottonwood trees had been removed on the Minnesota Avenue side of the Minton Hotel. The fresh stumps of these trees do not appear in this shot, being blocked by the position of the automobile on the right side of the picture. However those stumps are clearly visible in a companion photo [2012.3720.25] which was obviously taken during the same photo session as this one because the automobiles, the people and numerous other details in the two shots are identical. Photo's date must be 1911 or very soon thereafter because details of the automobiles and people on the sidewalks seem nearly identical. In fact, this photo and another in the PCHS collection [see #2012.3720.10 with its duplicate #2012.3720.38] appear deliberately coordinated to chronicle the 1911 transition from "The Minton House" to "The New Minton".
OTHER DETAILS IN THE PICTURE: Six early-vintage automobiles are seen here, in whole or in part, near the curb along both the Franklin St and the Minnesota Ave faces of the hotel. Sixteen or more men and boys lounge on the Minnesota Avenue side, dressed in styles of the time such as the knickers worn by all the boys. On the Franklin St. side of the hotel, one gentleman is striking a relaxed pose seated on a bench. The lamp post close to the hotel entrance holds a pyramid of three light globes. From this lamp post a string of more than a dozen light bulbs on an electric wire reaches high into the air where it joins two similar strings of lights coming from the left and right sides of the picture. The three wires form a single wire high over the intersection where apparently they hook up with the municipal electrical source. Closer to camera foreground, two crosswalks connect a) the north and south sides of Minnesota Avenue, and b) the east and west sides of Franklin St. The crosswalks are apparently made of cement. Stamped in white lettering along the bottom frame of the photo are the words "THE NEW MINTON," plus in smaller type the photographer's name, "Nelson."
BACK OF POSTCARD: Printed lettering reads "POST CARD" in the upper left, "CORRESPONDENCE HERE" on the left side,[and "NAME AND ADDRESS HERE" on the right side. Penciled handwriting filling the left area reads: "This is one of the hotels here/address [drawn arrow]/John Coulter/Glenwood,/Minn/of Hill & Wentworth/Hello Bill how is every thing at E V? Why don't you write a few lines) I can't come down before the middle of Nov. because I have a few loads of hay yet to haul before it snows. answer soon. Your bro. J. C."
On the right half of the card the circular postmark reads "GLENWOOD/NOV 5/230PM/MINN." THE handwritten address reads, "JJ/or [?] J. Coulter,/Eden Valley,/Minn/R#2 Box 19." In upper right corner an upside-down pink U.S. Postage stamp pictures George Washington in profile and is priced at "2 Cents".
The Minton Hotel was first built in 1884 as the Minnewaska House. It was one of the earliest development projects of Glenwood attorney Mr. Thomas T. Ofsthun. An earlier hotel of wood construction called the Central House, had once stood on the site, at the southwest corner of the intersection of Minnesota Ave. and Franklin St.
In May 1884 Ofthun had moved this earlier structure a short distance west and adjoined it to the back of his new brick Minnewaska House as housing for all of the hostelry's culinary facilities. In 1889 the Minnewaska House was leased to Frank Minton, who changed its name to the Minton House. Although members of the Minton family continued to operate the hotel only until 1896, the name Minton was retained throughout all of its subsequent ownerships. After its purchase in 1896 by G.C. Gage, however, it was called simply "The Minton."
In 1911 another major renovation occurred after which the hotel was called "The New Minton." The hotel was razed in 1970.

Geographic Notes

Glenwood, Minnesota

Geographic Names

Glenwood, Pope, Minnesota, United States, NA [45.65024,-95.38976] [id:5028087]