Good Old Gus
1891 Mr. Robbins was interested in attracting people to the village and in order to make it more convenient for those who might live here and continue to carry on business in the city, he … Read more
Progress in Robbinsdale Park
Trumps, Parker School, a 23-room Hotel, and Bustling Businesses The year 1890 was a busy one for the Robbinsdale area. John A. Trump built a general merchandise store where the Twin City Federal Savings and … Read more
Our Little Boomtown
1889 Mr. Robbins’ second business in Robbinsdale was a street car factory. It was near the car barn on Hubbard Avenue. The new factory began work on October 15, 1889, and by December 19, … Read more
Haakon and the Village Hall
1888 The late 1880’s were busy ones for this area. Haakon Christensen, born in Oslo, Norway, in 1859, first visited Robbinsdale to attend the laying of the cornerstone of the Seminary. He returned shortly after, … Read more
The Village of Crystal
1887 In 1886 Minneapolis made an effort to annex all bordering townships to secure more taxable property and money for improvements and perhaps to outclass St. Paul in population. At once, the people of Crystal … Read more
The Robbinsdale Depot
1880 The first railroad through the community was called the Minneapolis Branch of the St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad , later the Great Northern Railroad Company. In 1880 a flag station was established, merely … Read more
Anton Wolf’s Hotel
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 … Read more
A School on the Stillman Farm
1865 After the Civil War ended and the military reservation was reduced, the settlement of Minneapolis, Crystal Lake, and other towns developed rapidly. The first school for District No. 24 was built in 1865 was … Read more
The Brooklyn-Crystal Cemetery
1863 In all pioneer communities there comes a time when people decide to bury their loved ones in an official cemetery — rather than under a favorite tree on the home farm. On November 20, … Read more