Statehood – 150 Years of History

September 16th, 2008 by wanda, under News. No Comments

Statehood – 150 Years of History
By Wanda Hoyum

On May 11, 1858 Minnesota became the 32nd state admitted into the union – so 50 years later in 1908, what did statehood mean to residents of Beltrami county, or the Centennial milestone of 100 years in 1958? What will this year of Minnesota’s Sesquicenntial, 150 years of history, mean to you?

Minnesota adopted its constitution in October 1857 and it was submitted to President Buchanan on January 6, 1858. It was sent to the Senate and referred to the Committee on Territories, but to the disappointment of impatient Minnesotans, delays resulted from national politics – questions of slavery and Kansas. “If you admit Minnesota and exclude Kansas,” shouted a southerner, “the spirit of our revolutionary forefathers is utterly extinct if the government can last for one short twelvemonth.” When the bill for Minnesota’s admission was finally passed and signed by President Buchanan, Governor Sibley and other officers were sworn in on May 24.

The joyous news of statehood was telegraphed to Prairie du Chien, then carried northward to St. Paul by Mississippi steamboat and newspapers carried the news to the public. “We are a State of the Union,” announced the Saint Paul Daily Minnesotian. “No longer ‘outside barbarians,’ we are within the Chinese wall of the confederacy, and have donned our freedom suit.”

Although there is no record of a 50-year statehood celebration in Beltrami County, on April 9, 1908, the Bemidji Pioneer printed the following information from the magazine, Minnesota’s Fiftieth Anniversary:
In a recently-issued pamphlet designated as “Minnesota’s Fiftieth Anniversary,” George Welsh, commissioner of immigration says of Beltrami County. This county was organized February 28, 1866, with the county seat at Bemidji, and is located in the northern part of the state, its northern boundary being the Lake of the Woods and the Rainy River, which separates the county from Canada. The surface of the county is generally level, with a gradual slope towards the north, in which direction all the streams trend. The county was covered with a heavy growth of pine, maple, ash, birch, oak, basswood, elm, tamarac, etc., a large part of which is still standing. The soil is a clay loam, and sandy loam, with a rich vegetable mold, the accumulation of centuries, the subsoil is clay of various depths.

The area of the county is 4,962.29 square miles or 2,515,941.77 acres, of which 1,869,724.08 acres are land, and 646,217.69 acres are water. The total acreage under cultivation in this county is 186,716. The cereal crop, and average bushel per acre, according to last statistics, were as follows: wheat, 17.64 bu.; oats, 27.61 bu.; corn, 24.6 bu.; barley, 19.8 bu; flax, 8.8 bu.; buckwheat, 10 bu. The hay crop had an average of 1.88 tons per acre, and in vegetables, potatoes averaged 104.42 bu.; onions, 118.2 bu.; and miscellaneous vegetables had an average value per acre of $53.43.

In addition to the above, dairying, live stock, poultry and small fruit raising are carried on. In 1906 the county had one creamery with an output of 561,600 lbs. of butter. The livestock of the county for 1907 was as follows: horses, 2,535, average value per head, $83.06; cattle, 6,46l, average value per head, $21.98; sheep, 1,692, average value per head; $2.32, swine, 1,342, average value per head, $6.48.

The county is well supplied with United States rural free deliveries, telephones, and transportation facilities, having four railroads, viz: Great Northern, Minnesota International, Minneapolis, Red Lake & Manitoba, and the Canadian Northern. It also has 10 newspapers. The population in 1905 was 14,312, of which 9,220 were native born. The foreign population being as follows, Germany, 322; Sweden, 744; Norway, 1,381; Great britain and Ireland, 880; Denmark,, 109; Finland,, 55; Russia, 49, other countries, 76. Their occupations being the various agricultural pursuits and lumbering, together with manufacturing industries of which the county has 51, with an invested capital of $391,014. The county has 7 banks, the deposits of which are $583,863.00. It has 58 rural schools, 7 graded schools, 1 high school and 34 churches with denominations as follows: Catholic, Norwegian Swedish and German Lutheran, Presbyterian, Congregational, Methodist-Episcopal and Baptist.

There are 11 villages within the county, viz. Baudette, population, 199, Bemidji, 5,000; Blackduck, 702 Funkley, 60; Kelliher, 233; Nymore 527; Farley, 65; Solway, 71; Spooner, 94; Turtle River, 228; and Tenstrike Centre, 349. Land can be purchased in this county at $5.00 per acre.

As we fast-forward the hands of time 50 more years to 1958, we find Beltrami County in the midst of many special Centennial events such as the Paul Bunyan Playhouse production, Minnesota Morning, a

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musical comedy saluting the Statehood Centennial celebration. The play was written by four young Minneapolis individuals, including former Bemidji resident, Richard Wilson and directed by Lee Adey of New York City. According to the Pioneer, “Many state and county dignitaries are expected to attend the gala opening of Minnesota Morning. an invitation has been extended to Gov. and Mrs. Orville Freeman.”

The Beltrami County Statehood Centennial Committee was also busy organizing a county-wide “Model Contest.” The contest rules were unique in that no age limit or marital status was required. The Pioneer announced that contests, “must simply be feminine, look attractive in swimsuit or play clothes and be available for modeling assignments for the ten top news photographers who will be picturing local scenes in a statewide competition. One hundred dollars in cash prizes plus merchandise awards and sportswear will be awarded the county model queen and four runners up.” The photographers represented television, newspapers and magazines, which connected the local contest to the National Press Photographers Association convention in Minneapolis. “The pictures made by the men will receive national publicity and, who knows, some local photogenic girl may wind up receiving an offer of a modeling contract.”

Along with Centennial models enhancing Statehood in Beltrami County, a treasure hunt, cookbook (100 Years of Good Cooking), button (One of One Thousand), budget ($6,600 with unused amount donated to the Beltrami County Historical Society!), canoe derby and Centennial Train all became an integral part of the state and