Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1915-12-16
A Short Sketch of
the Askov Colony

This article is as the title inn
plies, but very brief outline Of
the growth of this colony not
for the old settlers in this vicini-
ty to read, who are much better
acquainted and more closely con-
nected with the history of Askov
than we, but for the readers of
this issue who know nothing
about Askov.
"Dansk Folkesamfund," which
looks after the welfare of Danish
colonies in America, selected
Partridge, as the place was then
called, for a Danish colony in
1906, and engaged X. H. Duus
and l.. C. Petersen as land
agents. At this time it was
practically wilderness here,
there being only a station, sec
ton house, boarding house, a one
room school, a log house and a
small store and post-office with
about a dozen settlers scattered
about who lived mostly on hunt
ing and fishing and working in
the woods farther north, during
winter.
But soon after the selection of
this place as a Danish colony,
settlers commenced pouring in
and they are still coming. Some
are on their way now. 1t looks
to us like this Is going to be one
Of The largest Danish settlements
In America, outside Of those In
the larger cities like Chicago,
Omaha, Racine, etc. Of all the
settlers who have come in those
ten years only three or four fami-
lies have left, and one of those to
their sorrow, who have since
returned.
Land sold very rapidly the first
two or three years after which
their was a little lula thing
usually experienced by all new
settlements but we have long
since outgrown that disease, and
Askov and vicinity has seen a
wonderful growth and upbuild-
ing during the last three or four
years. It is needless to go into
details and explain how many
large and costly buildings and
beautiful farms we have, the cuts
in this issue speak for them
selves. We have not tried to
select views of just the largest
and best farms there are many
others just like them, in fact
Askov does not put on the
appearance of new colony. All
farmers have good, substantial
buildings, with silos, a common
thing, and the residences in the
village are large, and up TO date.
The biggest share of our peo-
pie were formerly farmers on the
prairies of southern Minnesota,
South Dakota. Nebraska, Iowa,
Wisconsin and Illinois, and they
have practically turned this
former timber land into a prairie.
Strangers who come here and
have heard of this as being up in
the woods, are amazed and ask,
where are the trees"
The farmers are all of the
progressive type and were not
slow in organizing and building
a cooperative creamery and feed
store. A report of the creamery
is published elsewhere. They
have also local insurance COM
pany, called the Pine County
Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
Nearly all lines of business
needed in a small village are
represented in Askov. Besides
the two general stores, bank,
hardware store, lumber yard.
feed store, potatoe house and
blacksmith shop, which have been
here several years. a drug store,
bakery and newspaper plant have
been added within the last year
and q half. AT present the bank
is erecting a modern, fire-proof
building at cost of SD. 500, a cut
Of which we were unable to
secure on account of it being in