A. B. ROBBINS, After whom our village is named, is a native of Maine, where he was born in 1847, but he was only eight years of age when his parents moved West to Anoka, Minn.; therefore, Minnesota may justly claim him as one of her sons. On arriving at manhood- or hardly that, as he was but seventeen years old at the time- he entered the army and saw three years of hard fighting during our “late unpleasantness,’ but, more fortunate than many, he lived through it all, and came back to his old home, where, however, he remained but a short time before locating at Wilmar, Minn., and engaging in the railroad, lumber, and banking business.
In 1882 he severed his connections at Wilmar and came here to undertake the entire management of the Northwestern Elevator Company’s business, in which he is still engaged. While residing at Wilmar he was a member of the State Senate for two terms, but now he has very little time and less inclination to enter the political arena again, as the Northwestern Elevator system owns and controls ninety-four houses spread all over the Northwest, and a termini elevator with a capacity of one million bushels, in the supervision of which he finds sufficient employment to keep his thoughts from wandering to the dark and devious ways of the politician. Mr. Robbins settled at Robbinsdale six years ago, which was then called Parker Station, buying ninety acres of the choicest land in the village from Alfred Parker whereon he built the handsome residence in which he now lives. He has always been one of the first to assist in any undertaking that would be of any benefit to the village, and is at the present time doing his best to give the village a satisfactory street car service. Though he has had many very serious difficulties to contend with in this undertaking, his indomitable perseverance and pluck will undoubtedly succeed in the end.
From Thomas Girling’s Picturesque Robbinsdale newspaper- December, 1994
