Title

Glenwood, Minnesota, ca. 1911

Creation Date

1907 – 1909

Description

Picture postcard of Glenwood, Minnesota, ca. 1911
Considering the angle and view, photo appears to have been taken from an upper story or the roof of the Minton hotel. The Minton lay diagonally across the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Franklin Street from the corner we see in this photo. The two streets themselves are hardly visible. Only a bit of Franklin St. appears in the lower left corner of the picture, lined by a cement sidewalk that had been laid down in 1900. Rising over that sidewalk near center foreground is an electricity pole with five crossbars at its top for wiring.
STRUCTURES: At the principal corner pictured, facing us across Minnesota Ave. (which does not show in picture), closest to us is a low, one-story lean-to structure with "SHOES" marked in large block print on its west (Franklin St.) side. In smaller letters on an upper facade sign facing Minnesota Avenue is "SHOES WHOLESALE [SHOES?]."  This lean-to structure appends to a larger two-story store whose front awning reads "PIONEER DRUG STORE". Large lettering on the west (our left-hand) side of this store's second story reads "DRUG STORE" and, below that, the word "PAINTS" is legible in fainter lettering. A high metal pole, apparently a flagpole, rises very high from behind the false front of this drugstore. In general the entire property (Lot 5, Block 20) appears to be in less than top condition. Both its stores need new paint. To the left of and behind these stores, the remainder of the space on Lot 5 appears unkempt including an empty area strewn with disused objects plus two or three small shack-like outbuildings. A tiny old business structure in better condition fronts on Franklin St. next to the (unseen) alley at the far left of the picture. Moving clockwise from this front and center lot, the rest of the structures shown in this photo are as follows: Prominent at the very left edge of the photo is the Lakeside House, a hotel located immediately across the aforementioned, unseen alley.This photo reveals how an original residential house built in 1882 and later known as the Lakeside Rooming House, was in 1900 moved back from its position fronting on the Franklin St. sidewalk, and was adjoined to the rear of the new, two-story hotel being built in that year. Both the hotel and its house addition are painted a light color. Continuing clockwise in the photo we see at a higher elevation two blocks away, the front of the south-facing grade and high school built in 1899. Continuing clockwise we next see two New England style churches with prominent spires. The closer and more completely visible of the two is Sacred Heart Catholic church, built in 1903. Behind it can clearly be seen the spire only of the original wood frame Norwegian Lutheran Church built in 1882. Also mostly hidden behind the Catholic Church from our view is the original First Methodist Episcopal Church, of which we see only the rearmost bit of the wood frame structure plus apparently the very tip of its steeple. Continuing clockwise, we next see -- completely surrounded by trees near center of photo -- one of the earliest-built structures in Glenwood, the small square home originally occupied one of Glenwood's three founders, Rev. A. C. Lathrop, a Congregational pastor and poetical character usually familiarly known as "Elder Lathrop" in that day. Next shown clockwise -- also against a background of tall deciduous trees in full leaf -- are the second-story portions two structures. These are located on the far, uphill side of our foreground block 20. Of the two, the house partially concealed behind the other was built in 1871 and long occupied by Elder Lathrop's sister Harriet Rising. Our view of her house is largely blocked by roofs believed to be those of the Atckison stables situated along the alley in the center of this downtown block. Next clockwise on the picture, and rising impressively at the upper right of picture, is the Union Congregational Church built in 1907. At this particular moment it was spiritual home to perhaps the  lion's share of Glenwood's most prominent families. Continuing to look clockwise from the church, we next see the chimney-lined upper rear roof of the Webster Block built in 1902. The remaining two storefronts in our picture are partially covered by the leafy top branches of the then familiar, almost famous tree on Minton Hotel corner. What we see of the mostly covered storefront on the left is the second story of the tobacco and confectionery store long operated by Fred Calmeyer. Lastly we see the second story only of a  storefront with an Elizabethan "half-timbered" look (next door to and adjoining the Pioneer Drug Store where we began). This distinctive feature belonged to McCauley and Mannings' saloon known at this time as "The Famous."

DATING THE PHOTOGRAPH. The Union Congregational Church, finished in 1907, is shown completed here, giving us that as our EARLIEST possible year for the photo. A third story was added to the Lakeside House (left edge of photo) in 1909. The hotel is shown here still having only two stories, so 1909 is the LATEST possible year for this photo.

BACK OF PICTURE: The photo is printed as a postcard. Postmark reads: GLENWOOD / SEP 5 / 4:30PM / MINN.  The year 1910 appears apparently as part of the postmark in tiny print on the lower left corner of the green one-cent stamp. The correspondence side of the postcard reads, longhand in pencil: "Dear Frend [sic] Be sure and come Thursday and will you Bee soo kind and bring sam cofe crem [sic] if you can I hope well git fine wather [sic] and [crossout] well make sam [sic] money Mrs Pederson". Address side of postcard reads: Mrs. Klas Quist / Glenwood / Minn / Rout [sic] 4.

Geographic Notes

Glenwood, Minnesota

Geographic Names

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