A lifelong love of history, combined with the gathering over the years of extensive collections of memorabilia, has been turned into a newly published hardcover book by longtime Clarkfield resident Richard Petersen and Steve Monson, the youngest great-grandchild of Clarkfield founders, Henry and Anna Monson.
The 158-page book, entitled “Early Days in Clarkfield. With Stops Along the Right-of-Way,” tells the story of the early settlers, businesses, banks, churches, schools and entertainment venues that emerged after the Wisconsin, Minnesota & Pacific Railroad built a depot and a siding every seven miles or so from Minneapolis to Watertown, S.D.
The book, which contains about 200 old photos that have been restored to fine quality, is a photo history of the founding and early decades of Clarkfield and railroad stops along the right-of-way from Morton to Watertown, S.D., including North Redwood, Belview, Echo, Wood Lake, Hanley Falls, Hazel Run, Boyd, Dawson, Madison, and Marietta.
“This is a book about Clarkfield's early days. You learn about the local people and what life was like ... Once we decided to go ahead, the project took about a year and a half,” wrote Monson in a e-mail. “Since Clarkfield was a town that was founded by the railroad, I knew that I wanted the first chapter to be about that, and I wanted some mention of the other towns along the right-of-way. The rest of the book just evolved as Dick fed me more and more photos to scan and restore.”
Chapter 1 shows the importance of freight and passenger trains to the development of prairie towns. By 1900 trains had carried into Clarkfield enough lumber to build 400 houses, 30 barns and granaries, 40 stores, 20 industrial buildings, and some churches and schools in town and the surrounding townships.
Chapter 8 features railroad scenes from North Redwood, Belview, Echo, Wood Lake, Hanley Falls, Hazel Run, Boyd, Dawson, Madison, and Marietta.
The story is told through the use of photo postcards, souvenir and advertising items, and train timetables, photographs, and maps. Petersen and Monson mostly used items from their personal collections, but also those contributed by others, to tell this prairie town story.
Since moving to Clarkfield in 1955, Petersen has collected 150 different Clarkfield postcards, insurance records, plat maps, letterheads, and souvenir and advertising items. He sells antiques year-round at Prairie Mercantile in Granite Falls and during the summer in Nisswa.
Petersen was a Yellow Medicine County Historical Board member for many years, including serving as a member of the book committee for A History of Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, 1872-1972.
Monson’s interest in railroads and in Norwegian and Swedish Minnesota history has led to an extensive collection of railroad materials, including photographs, timetables, and maps that are included in the book.
Monson, an electronics engineer who works on NASA projects at the University of Minnesota, explained how he became involved with Petersen in collaborating on their book.
“One old family photo got me started on a 20-year research project on the Monson family which included my father’s grandparents Henry and Anna Monson and their seven children’s families,”
That research became his first the book, “Henry and Anna Monson,” which chronicles Clarkfield’s early families and their aspirations and failures. It is available at the Clarkfield Library.
“In writing that family history I acquired a lot of additional Clarkfield information, especially railroad material, that got me enthused about a new book on the town,” Monson continued.
“From this work I met Dick Petersen and was shown his fabulous collection of historical town items. It was plain to see that a joint book that used his postcards, collectibles and knowledge of the town combined with my family and railroad history would make a very special book.”
Chapter 2 depicts the development of a prairie town, including a copy of Clarkfield’s first phone directory, a rare photograph of the interior of a dentist’s office, souvenir items from businesses including Clarkfield Roller Mills, and advertising items from stores including A. Grinager General Merchandise.
Chapter 4 depicts how prairie towns created cultural and recreational activities; a photograph of the Clarkfield baseball team that played a St. Louis Browns farm team in 1925 is featured, as are posters from the Star movie theater and programs from The Triangle Literary Society performances.
Highlights of Chapter 5 on the history of Clarkfield’s schools include the 1905 graduation program, when Maggie Groehler was the only graduate of Clarkfield’s first graduation class.
Originally from Alden, Petersen came to Clarkfield in 1955 when he received a telegram from Clarkfield superintendent H. A. Hagg asking him if he was interested in a fifth-grade teaching position. In 1957, Petersen married Clarkfield first-grade teacher Elaine Anderson.
In 1993, they both retired from H. A. Hagg Elementary where Petersen was a teacher and elementary principal for 38 years. They have three grown children: Debra, Michael, and Chris.
“Clarkfield was good to the wife and I,” he said. “The teaching environment was good to me and we raised our kids here, we go to church here ... if this can be some of the effort to give back what I was given, great.”
Petersen and Monson will talk about their work and sign copies of their book on Saturday, Aug. 7, in two locations. They will be at the Hanley Falls Threshing Show from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and at the Clarkfield Lutheran Church’s 125th anniversary celebration from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. during visiting time.
Their book, which is printed by the University of Minnesota, also may be purchased from the authors for $45 including state tax. Add $4 for shipping and handling.
Richard Petersen
Box 62
Clarkfield, MN 56223
320-669-7350
Steven Monson
4000 Willow Road
Brooklyn Park, MN 55443
763-421-1908
