The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-01
The Stirring Town of Grand Rapids,
Itasca County, Minnesota

GRAND RAPIDS, the county scat of
VI Itasca county, is one of the lead
ing towns of Northern Minnesota, and
is the general supply station for the
vast numbering and mining industries
carried on yearly in the county, and
also for the hundreds of settlers and
homeseekers daily and weekly pouring
into the county. In ten years Grand
Rapids has developed from an Indian
trading post and steamboat landing TO
a handsome village of $500 inhab-
itants, whose citizens have shown re-
markable enterprise in building up the
town that causes admiration from eV-
cry visitor. Grand Rapids possesses
one of the most complete educational
institutions in the northern part of the
state, with advanced educators as
principals and teachers. Six fine
church buildings adorn the city
Presbyterians, MethodiSts, Episcopal
lians, Swedish Lutherans and Catho-
icS-all presided over by able pas
tors. 1t has fine school house,
magnificent court house, sheriffs resi-
dence and county jail, two large no.
tells that would be a credit to city OF
$4,000 people, and a large number of
smaller ones; three newspapers, all
of which are a credit to the town as
we'll as the county; several large
wholesale and retail mercantile houses,
q fine system of water works and up
to-date electric light plant; brass band
of eleven young business men which
the town feels proud Of.
Grand Rapids Building and Loan as
sociation, bowling alley, the new high
school building, costing $4,000, the
finest in this section Of the state. The
Northeast experiment farm was To-
fox1 Nv I,a To <Of csofea In
One-half mile east of town, and is now
a model farm of It's kind and demon
Strates the resources of the soil in this
county. The town is situated on the
Great Northern railroad, 112 miles from
Duluth which gives the town the best
of freight and passenger service, run
ming through trains to the Pacific
coast, as well as st. Paul and Mime
Fine tracts of land can be obtained,
the farmers and the highest price for
their products. The stores all carry
very large and fine stock of goods that
would do credit to much larger town.
The ReishuS- Remer Land company has
gotten out some very fine advertising
of this county and has given the
writer use of its work. 1t could
not be surpassed by any expert writer
They do not fiatter this county, for
people living in the East and South
do not know the good things this coun-
ty has for them until they come and
see for themselves. The schools of the
county and town are of the very best,
so people coming here will have good
schools for their children and the very
best teachers.
Itasca County.
Itasca county has an area of $3.50
square miles. 1t contains 3,763,123
acres of land. It's extreme length,
north and south. is over los miles; it's
width, east and west, is over So miles.
1Iasca county is an empire.
The Mississippi river, THE Father
of Waters" flows southeastern
through the county, from its western
10 ITS southern boundary, a distance of
nearly 200 miles. Within these 200
miles the government of the United
States has built a large system of res
erVolrs, and the river is navigable for
large steamboats, the entire distance.
There is scarcely a section of land
In the whole county that does not con-
tam lake of clear pure water many
of Which rival the most famous lakes
of the world. The surface is unduIat-
ing and high, and the soil throughout
the county is exceedingly fertile Por-
ions are heavily timbered with almost
all the hardwoods, such as maple oak.
elm, ash, birch and Eastwood: other
portions are heavily timbered with
PiilC' -OIhSA pOIllOtlS are covered with
much lighter growth of timber. such
as poplar, white birch, etc. Along the
rivers, especially the Mississippi. the
Big and Little Fork and many of the
smaller streams, there are vast tracts
OF land covered with a splendid growth
of wild grass, called natural mead
oWs, many of which have been cut for
years by the lumbermen. Thousands
or acres of these natural meadows. es-
peclaIly along the Big and Little Folt<
rivers, have never yet been cut or utii
lied by man.
ltasca county can furnish homes to
10000 heads of families and still not
pe as thlckly settled as many portions
OF the old settled states. 1t has the
Iand now lying unoccupied to do this.
This land can be had by almost anv-
one who wants it,
Climate.
Itasca county has as fine and healthy
climate as can be found in the United
states. The winters, though cold. are
extremely dry and inVigorating and
the summers are simply perfection.
already many invalids are seeking and
hndlng health in the vast forests and
upon the shores of it's beautiful lakes
II is to homeseekers that Itasca conn
y oHers the greatest opportunities