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

The Smoldering Seminary

1895 The new year brought a great loss to the village in the destruction of the Lutheran Seminary building by fire on January 11, 1895. It was a severely cold, windy disagreeable day and the … Read more

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 Hubbard Marketplace Then and Now

In April of 1949, the new fire and police station was formally dedicated. At 2:00 a whistle blew and the firemen marched with the Robbinsdale and Anoka city bands from their old home in back … Read more

Olivet United Methodist Church

Olivet is the first congregation organized after the 1946 merger of the Evangelical Church and the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. The first worship service for Olivet took place in Robbinsdale at remodeled … Read more

A Swift Postcard

    Born in Boston in 1848, George Swift came to Minnesota with his parents. At the age of 13, Swift enlisted as a drummer boy at Fort Snelling. During the War Between the States … Read more