As a lover of Big Lake History, it’s a wondrous feeling to hold a hundred and nineteen-year-old object documenting the city’s history in my very own two hands.
Chuck Heitz contacted me last Christmas to ask if I would like an old Big Lake City Treasurer’s book he was given years ago. I don’t think I could get up to his and Shirlee’s real estate office in town fast enough!
The first entry in the book was January 23rd, 1899 and the last was in 1930. Over the last month or so, I have read all the handwritten pages looking for nuggets of historical gold to share with all of you. To be honest, I found some interesting things but it was mostly a tedious read.
As treasurer’s log, the book’s entries chronicle the city’s housekeeping and maintenance needs such as tax levies for the municipality/village which went for sidewalks, street lights, dog permits, pool table licenses, hiring a constable (N.D. Brown) for the July 4th picnic and paying the town band ($2.00 in 1912).
According to the Big Lake History Book
1845 The white settlers first settled here
1849 Brown’s hotel was opened and became the first county seat in a town then called Humbolt
1857 Big Lake Township was organized and included both Becker and Orrock.
A village within the township was plotted as Liberty but “never rose above the cognomen of a paper town” according to “The History of the Upper Mississippi Valley, by Reverand Edward D. Neil 1881
1865 Census shows 13 families
1866 the train tracks brought the first trains
1884 the Union church was built
and “ Big Lake was content to remain plain…Big Lake ….until 1898 at which time it was incorporated into a village.
The first page are the meetings of the first meeting dated:
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voted to adopt rules and regulators of “parliamentary procedure”
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approve Frank White to draft village ordinances
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approve the village recorder to buy books to log expenses
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noted the town treasury to be started with $200
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hire N.D. Brown as constable
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and hire C.V. Snyder to act as judge
Fascinating! I have made notes on the contents of the book and will post more soon.
Needless to say the Treasurer’s book is quite the treasure trove of day to day city business.
Note: the book contains what is now considered the city council meetings from 1899 – 1930. So if anyone is looking for the names of prominent citizens during that era, their names are in here>
1899
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April – John Khart(?) was granted a meat wagon license
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Approved opening up the street by Isaac Morris to cross the railroad (Eagle Lake?)
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Dr. WE Dubose was elected heath officer
1900
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Adopted a village seal
1903
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Voted to put a stop to the “rubbish nuisance” at the head of Big Lake. Don’t know what that
1909
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Approved tax levies of $350 for the properties in the village for the running of the village
1910
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Approved the building of a cement fire hall
1911
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May – Special election to determine the sentiment of the village in regard to whether there should be a pool and billiard hall in the village or not.
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Feb 16 – Voted to pay for a city sidewalk in front of the church
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Discussed Jail, weight masters (apparently there were weight stations for wagons entering town), and re-roofing the fire hall
1912
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April – Concrete side walk built between A.J. Johnson and Corner of August Peterson’s drug store
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April – Purchased speed limit signs (8 miles per hour), street lights
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May 12th – purchased a constable star, 2 revolvers, two clubs & a pair of handcuffs to be used for the June picnic
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June 1912 – Paid the street band $2.00
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Oct 1912 – Voted to stop build out of road to ice house
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Nov 1912 – Permission to build an ice slide was granted tobuild a building behind the fire hall
1914
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Big Lake Ice Co. permission to build a tunnel under the road
1914
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Wave (newspaper) printing paid by treasurer
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5.00 tax on livery and hacks picking folks up at the train depot
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April property cleanup
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Discussed a warning bell at railroad crossing
1915
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Paid constable to patrol 1 day July 4th picnic
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August 30th, 1915 – removed hand chemical fire extinguishers from homes around the city
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Discussions addressing the speed of the trains
1916
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Roadwork approved to Cedar Lake Ice house
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April 1916 – Contracted with Monticello Electric for street lights
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June 12 1916 – Bought two acres for Big Lake Cemetary
1917
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Paid Aaron Brown for Nursing Mrs. Withers
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July 1917- Farmer’s State bank was approved to put pillars on the sidewalk (these are actually now on the back door of the telephone company offices).
1918
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City morning the death of Albert Varley
1919
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Clarence Carpenter paid for funeral
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Feb – paid for lunches for tramps
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May 5th – Road approved (mentions School and Pavillion)
1921
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Chief of Police recommended buying a motorcycle
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Sept – voted to take out the hitching posts
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Standard oil was given approval to put in a filling station
1922
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Garage was allowed to put in drains as long as it doesn’t interfere with the sidewalks
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Bob Garver was approved to open a pool hall
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D.F. Woodward was approved to be the first motorcycle officer – but he had to furnish his own motorcycle but the city would furnish a Cold 45 – his compensation was $30 per week as long as there were fines paid.
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Lots of house fumigations paid for
1923
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January – Cecil Eddy gets to her a nigh person at the lockup to watch persons in the case of fire and look after them until their case was called.
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John Kurrasch approved to operate a pool hall
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Discussed complaints about bus drivers behavior as they come into town – mostly where they stop
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Voted to pave mainstreet (Hwy 10 was paved in 1920)
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A bid was sent out fo 20 Tungsten lights
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Mrs. Johnson (85 yrs) was considered to belong to the township and a village charge
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The Big Lake Park Association was charged $25 for dance licenses
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Big Lake and Becker bands consolidated and alternated weeks playing concerts in each city
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“Parties owning slot machines in Big Lake Village must ceae the practice of buying back mints which have been received from the machines.”
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Oct. 18, voted to put in a village water system
1924
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Council heard complaints about undesirable’s renting cottages and ended up issuing a caution to owners to take more caution.
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Sept. 1924 – Approved $2,500 for fire equipment – bill came to $3,650 for a Waterous Fire Engie
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Nov 24, 1924 City funds moved to Citizen’s state bank
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March 26 Cecil Eddy hired as fire chief for $100 per year
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A city dump was established
1926
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Northern States Power won a bid to provide electricity to the city for the next 25 years.
1927
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Notice sent that dogs running loose without a license tag within one week will be shot!
1929
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Voted to discontinue a license requirement for eating establishments
1930
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A building was built to store tools in at the Cemetery.
The last entry in the book as Nov. 3rd, 1930.
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