St. Paul daily globe., 1884-09-03
LOVELY ROCHESTER.
The Model Agricultural City of a
Model State.
Opening Day of the Southern Mime.
sofa Fair and Exposition.
An Auspicious Beginning with Good Attend
ance and Protracted Sport on the
Race Track
Especial Telegram to the Globe 7

ROCHESTER, Sept 2.-Here we are after an
all days drive from st. Paul, all owing to
our engineer trying to smother whole flock
of sheep near the st. Paul stock yards, and
thus disabling our engine to such an extent
as to make us miss our connections. OF
course the great attraction is the fair, but 1
felt enough interest in the beautiful city to
rise this morning at a. N. and take stroll
about it.
Rochester looks as fine as ever with its
clean, broad streets, its fine brick buildings
and its unmistakable marks of thrift and
energy upon every hand. The largest pri-
mary trading point in Minnesota, it sells
more goods annually, directly to the farmer,
than any other city in the state. There is
no rush and clamor in real estate, and there
never was here. What lots were worth last
year they are worth this, with perhaps
slight advance, not enough to set
anybody crazy, but just enough
to indicate health. Whenever any one
makes any money here they Immediately pul
it into real estate. If a fortune falls to
man or woman at Rochester they immedi-
ately buy brick block, or some residence
property, or some real estate close to town.
There is not an enormous amount of build
ing being done in Rochester at present;
they have about all the business building
necessary for an agricultural city, one that
is purely such, but the city is building
a fine city hall and a number
of fine residences are going up. AS l stand
and look down Broadway from College street
and note the three blocks of fine brick
buildings, some of them of highly orna-
mental design and elaborate architectural
finish, without a single one of them vacant
but all Indicating the fact that business de-
manded their use. AS 1 see the sidewalks
constantly filed with farmers and their fam
lilies and find that the broad level street is
none too broad to allow one to drive through
between the solid mass of farmers
teams hitched on either side of the way, 1
am confirmed in the opinion that formed
in 1865 that Rochester is the best agricultural
city ever saw.
1 say agricultural because there is, and al
ways has been, lack of manufacturing or
commercial business here. A little whole
sailing has been done st Rochester for great
many years, but after all it has never as
sumed proportions and is never likely to. Its
manufacturing interests have never been
worth mentioning either. There has always
seemed to be an apathy upon this subject
here. Milling to a certain amount has been
done here, and the citizens of Rochester and
vicinity could always procure Rochester
-four, but the export trade has never taxed
the railroads for transportation facilities. Of
course QUE of the best and most advantageous
things possible for the city would be the fos-
tering and encouraging of manufacturing
establishments. There is vast amount of
capital here that might be invested in this
direction with profit to itself and benefit to
the city. Agricultural products are abundant
and cheap, labo- is as cheap as anywhere in
the west, fuel is not exhorbitantly high,
markets for almost any product are good,
and as a distributing point Rochester has
something of a system of roads connecting
here with the interior. Why capital has
never been directed toward the developme nj
of manufacturing interests, which alone can
make this large, flourish
ing city, is problem fol
its people to solve. When they awake to the
importance of establishing manufactures
they viii get them, for they are able to have
anything they want and are liable any day
to rise up and initiate the example of theil
sister city of Winona in way that will as
tonish people
There is no place west of the Mississippi
that have ever seen which I would prefer
above Rochester to live in. 1t is simply in.
comparable as a residence town. 1t:
residence streets are broad well graded
and lined on either side with shade trees
that in summer make an almost perfect arcl
of green above your head. 1t is a high
well drained, well watered city. 1t possesse:
the finest of educational advantages, and it
society is of the most desirable description
Fuel and provisions are low and rents ar,
cheap, and a situation combining more o
the elements which constitute a desirable
home would be hard to find.
Rochester has had its trials and mis-
fortunes. The cyclone of las
summer devastated a portion o
beautiful city, but the traces of that calamit,
have been entirely removed, and it coult
hardly be discovered were it not for the fac
that every one is inquiring about it. Build
ing in the residence portion of the city pre-
walls this year to the usual extent, and
number of fine and even elegant homes will
be added to those already here. The bust
ness portion is already built up, and the sid
streets leading off from Broadway come il
for share of the business which overflow
from this principal thoroughfare. The cit
is erecting fine brick building a
the, corner of Third and Main already allude,
u to for the purpose of city hall and centra
: police station which will be both ornaments
and useful. This has always been wei
L governed city. Thieves and rascals hav
: never fourished here. 1t was only a fey
years ago that one of the most noted burglar
, in the west was shot dead by Rocheste
policeman while plying his usual vocation
and to-day there are none of these gentlemen
b who desire to come within range of Chief @
Police "Kalb's' unerring revolver.
Locally Rochester has always been popular
The farming community about it as well a
the inhabitants of the smaller villages il
this part of the state, all feel as much prid
in the city as its own people, and wheneve
any excuse is offered, like the present fai
for instance, they flock hither Ike black
e birds around cornfeld. The streets begii
to fillup about a. m, and you feel from
that time out as if theirs was great out
pouring for some reason or other The fac
is, every day is good day at Rochester, an
J the fair only wideus the circle of visitors t
this always popular point.
This city is most admirably calculated t
produce successful agricultural exhibition
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