1870
The population of Crystal Lake township was 718. Besides farming, a few industries developed. The first was a shingle mill at Shingle Creek, built in 1852 (everyone needed shingles!) and then a flour mill in 1859. In 1876 brickyards were opened near the Mississippi River. Then in 1878 the Camden area was, by the legislature, attached to Minneapolis. In 1875 a hotel was built on the south shore of Crystal Lake by Anton Wolf (above) . It was used especially by sportsmen during the hunting season. Other similar places opened, not only for hunters, but as a halfway house for those going to and from Minneapolis with produce from places as far away as Corcoran, Osseo, and Buffalo, as these were too far for a one-day round trip with horses and wagons.
This post is part of a series based on the book Robbinsdale Then and Now by Helen Blodgett