Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1899-06-21

S. R. FooT.
EARLY DAYS At ATwArER.
A Brief Retrospect Of the Beginning
Of that Busting Town.
The year 1868 saw the first begin
nings of Atwater. In the summer of !
that year Mr.. Christian Peterson
started general store there, even be-
fore railroad was built through this
county. This store was sold a short
time afterwards to firm organized to
do business under the anne Of.Getchell,
Salter & Pineo. The second store was
started by G. G. Chittenden, and just
before the seventies E. E. Pullen
moved his stock of merchandise from
the town of Harrison and built a hotel
and store. Mr.. Pullen dying in the
early seventies, the family sold the
property to Hon. Marcus johnson and
W. W. Pinney, Mr.. James Strong as
Stunning control of the hotel and hotel
barn. This firm is one of the Oldest
business establishments in Atwater,
and is now known by the name of the
johnson Il Sivertson Mercantile Co.
On the south side ofthe railroad a hard
ware store was established in 1869 or
shortly thereafter by Mr.. George Nc
Kinney, afterwards doing business
under the firm name of Mckinney &
Detar, and known of late years as the
firm of Detar & Larson. Near Mr..
McKinney's place of business a gen.
eral store was established by Mark
Piper, who also carried on large
business as a wheat buyer. A third
general store building was erected,
but just as everything was ready for
business a cyclone struck Atwater, and
the only house to suffer was this new
one, which the wind picked up from it's
foundation and scattered it and it's
contents over many miles of sur
rounding territory. The second hotel
built in Atwater was located in this
portion of the village and was known
for years as the American House.
The pioneer druggist of Atwater was
James Grimes, who afterwards went
into partnership with his brother. This
was followed by second drugstore,
owned by DR.. WOolson.
With drug stores come doctors.
Such at least was the case in Atwater,
though generally it happens in most
communities that doctors create a
need for drug establishments. DR..
Gibson claims the honor of being the
first doctor to locate in Atwater-com-
ing there in 1881 or 1882. For many
years he was the only physician in the
village, but for some time DR.. Archi-
bald has made Atwater his home.
The printing press has always been
one Of the forerunners ot civilization
in every community. A young man
named w. W. WOODBURY. started the
Atwater Press in the early eighties.
1t is now edited by Mr.. G. F. Spencer.
In recent years the Atwater Republi-
can was started and is now edited by
Mr.. L. E. Covell
Mr.. Dahl, the father of Bernard
Dahl, was the first blacksmith to start
a shop in the village. Shortly after
that Peter Laveen started another shop
south of the railroad track, aud to
this number was added a third, owned
by E. E. Burt, now of OLIVIA.
Atwater is situated in one: of the
richest farming districts in the state
possibly the richest on the Great
Northern system west of Minneapolis
and this from the first necessitated
the building of wheat elevators. The
first elevator was built by the Delano
Elevator Company, which at that time
owned a large share of the elevators
along the Willmar and Breckenridge
divisions of the Great Northern sys-
tenn. E. A. D. Salter built the second
| elevator, ana to this number has been
added two more.
| In this short sketch brief history
has been given of the first beginnings
of Atwater. In the years since first
started it has grown to a progressive
business town of about 600 inhab-
itants, containing more fine, substan-
tial business blocks than any other
town Of the same size in the state. If
the reader will glance through this
paper he will notice large number of
| advertisements-ab dainty testifying
| to the fact that the Atwater merchants
| are progressive, up-to-date business
men.
Auction.
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