Our First Congregational Church

Ten days after the Town Hall was dedicated in 1888, the Salvation Army came out from Minneapolis and held an afternoon service. Many of the town folks went – they said the speaking and music … Read more

Sacred Heart Catholic Church

It was a cold Christmas day in 1911 when a small wooden church was dedicated. It was the beginning of the Sacred Heart parish. It was started by Father Harrington, pastor of Ascension Church in … Read more

The Little White Church

This Free Will Baptist Church – always known as the “Little White Church”, stood on what is now West Broadway near the Bass Lake Road, on the farm of Josiah Dutton – who came from … Read more

Big Hearted Gus

GUS URBAN’S MEAT MARKET- Gus Urban came with other members of his family to Minneapolis in the 1880’s. He took a job working for Mr. C. Coulter of Robbinsdale in 1895 as driver, salesman on … Read more

A Real Mansion

The Robbins Home- The Robbins home was built on 14 acres of land, sloping down to the shores of Twin Lake, which had been purchased from J. P. Shumway in June of 1887. Work began … Read more

Roberta’s History of Robbinsdale

The Shumway Farm and Hennepin County in 1874 This is the first in a series of posts we’re creating to share Roberta Lee Scoville’s Robbinsdale History paper from 1976. The picture at the top of … Read more

Crystal Lake Township and the Village

This is the third in a series of posts featuring Dorthy Hartig’s History of Robbinsdale. This informal account was written for the Robbinsdale Library Club in 1948. A copy was placed Lee’s School’s cornerstone time … Read more

Shumway

1855 Mr. John P. Shumway, a native of Connecticut. took a claim in 1855 in Wright County, cleared five acres, and erected a bark shanty. Working without a team, he put in a small crop, … Read more

The Shumways

  John P. Shumway purchased 45 acres of  the Crystal Lake Township for $25 dollars a piece in 1856. He built a modest home near Twin Lake and managed to get most of the land … Read more