Andrew B. Robbins – Page 2 – Robbinsdale Historical Society

Robbins Family Letters Discovered!

Last week a momentous discovery was brought to the Robbbinsdale Historical Society. A giant box of Robbins family papers was found in the attic of a townhouse in Plymouth. We can’t tell you how excited … Read more

Bandstand!

1915 In 1914 under the auspices of George 0. Johnson, Arthur L. Jones and J. H. Morse, many money-raising events were held for a bandstand for Robbinsdale Civic Club Band. These included events such as … Read more

Robbins Answers the Final Summons

1910 Census 765 (a 4% increase since 1900) The decade of the “teens” showed continued growth of our small village. Another church, a new bank, a P.T.A., concerts, a new band stand, a bath house, … Read more

Trouble with a capital “T”

1909 Perly Malbon was a mail carrier for many years. As the train slowed down, mail bags were tossed off, piled into a cart and pushed a block to the post office for sorting. … Read more

Modern Woodsmen of America

1904 The idea for a library for Robbinsdale took its first concrete step at a meeting April 6th, at the home of W. S. Sayre. Dr. D. G. Colp was elected president and Maude Stillman … Read more

Sweatt Manufacturing

Shortly after Andrew B. Robbins moved his family to Robbinsdale, he gathered a group of investors and built the Hubbard Specialty Manufacturing plant. The firm made chairs, wheelbarrows, camp furniture, grocery boxes, and wooden washing … Read more

The New Robbinsdale Book is Here!

The newest addition to Arcadia Publishing’s library is “Robbinsdale” by local author Pete Richie. The pictorial history book, released on July 7th, 2014, uses black and white photographs to showcase Robbinsdale’s compelling history.

While serving in the state legislature, Andrew B. Robbins visited the lakes, woods and rolling hills just north of Minneapolis. Inspired by the landscape and potential for development, he purchased 90 acres and created the Robbinsdale Park subdivision in 1887. Robbins worked tirelessly to bring schools, industry and a streetcar line to the area. In 1893 Robbinsdale incorporated as a village bearing his name.

Images of America: Robbinsdale provides readers with a complete history of what started out as a lake-side village. It includes several photos of the 16-room mansion Robbins built in his estate and other notable houses. This book includes rare images from this early suburb and captures memorable days of dancing, boating and entertaining.

“The American Suburbs Company is using every honorable means of inducing investors and prospective home builders to become new citizens” An Ad in July 8th, 1908 Robbinsdale Tellit (Tell-it!) Newspaper This postcard from 1911 looks … Read more

Crystal Lake

The relationship between Robbinsdale and the sparkling lake in the center of town has never been an easy one. In the 1880s, Crystal Lake Avenue (West Broadway) was used by farmers to bring produce into Minneapolis. The steep hill on the west side of the lake caused teams and carts to line up in caravans twenty deep. In 1893, a couple months after Robbinsdale was incorporated at a village, the council decided to use to use $1,000 from the “Saloon Fund” to cut down the hill. The fill from the project was used to shrink the lake. William Randall and George “Don” Johnson started Robbinsdale Ice and Fuel Co. and began cutting ice on Crystal Lake in the 1890s.

A couple years later the Crystal Ice Company and the Cedar Lake Ice Company began staking out territory on Crystal Lake. In 1903 Thomas Girling’s Picturesque Robbinsdale newspaper reported that the number of parties cutting ice on Crystal Lake was due to the “extreme clearness and purity, this ice is considered the best that can be had around Minneapolis.” Andrew B. Robbins believed Crystal and Twin would one day rival the popular chain of lakes in Minneapolis. Enthusiastic about the possibilities of Robbinsdale’s lakes, He claimed that “Crystal Lake in size would compare with the better known Lake Harriet of Minneapolis, while Twin Lake is twice that size. Its mate, upper Twin Lake connects with a chain of several lakes.” A canal between Crystal and Twin Lakes was proposed on a number of occasions.