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HOME > History > History Club > Alton Chermak - Coming of the Railroad & The Early Years

Annandale - The Coming of the Railroad and the Early Years
Presentation to the Annandale History Club
         Timelines      Early Employees      Railroad Structures in Annandale
March, 2011
Alton Chermak

ANNANDALE The Coming of the Railroad and the Early Years

 These remarks examine the coming of the railroad to Annandale in 1886, how it led to the creation of the village, and its commercial development through the end of the 19^th century.  As we go along, I welcome any comments and insights that you may have. 

As you are aware, during the pioneer days railroads offered a vastly improved means for traveling, delivering goods from the cities, transporting the farmer's harvest to market, and helped open areas for additional settlement and economic growth.  In Wright County, the St. Paul & Pacific, later known as the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba (and still later named, the Great Northern Railway) in 1869 built a rail line to the south of here along what is now highway 12, and in 1882 the same company built a line through Monticello to St. Cloud.  At that time consideration appears to have been given to building a branch line from just west of Monticello, following a line roughly along the border between Silver Creek and Corinna townships, through Fair Haven and Maine Prairie.  We can speculate that had that line been built, Annandale, as we know it, might not have been called into existence.   

 If there's one person who can be credited for creating Annandale, it would be William D. Washburn, of Minneapolis.  The Washburns were a notable family that established a legacy in politics, lumber and flour milling, and building railroads.   Three of the brothers were elected to U.S. House of Representatives, one became a governor, another Secretary of State, and William himself later became a U. S. Senator.  His older brother Cadwallader Washburn was one of the early prominent lumber and flour millers of Minneapolis, and the Washburn-Crosby Company, most notably, was the forerunner of what became General Mills.  The Washburn legacy also includes the name of a high school and the call letters for radio/television station WCCO.  It might be well to note here that there is no known connection between this Washburn family, and any of the Washburns that resided in Wright County. 

The flour milling producers of Minneapolis were largely independent-minded former New Englanders who were dependent on Chicago-based railroads, which set not only freight rates but also favored the Milwaukee and Chicago markets.  An independent locally-controlled railroad is what the Minneapolis millers felt was needed and they started the Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway, with W. D. Washburn playing a major role and eventually becoming president of the line.  The M. & St. L. achieved only limited success and by the early 1880s it came under the control of another of the Chicago-based railroads.  In 1883, Washburn put together a group of flour millers and organized the Minneapolis, Sault Ste. Marie & Atlantic Railway to build east, making a connection with the Canadian Pacific at Sault Ste. Marie, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, for furtherance to the cities of Boston and Portland.  This line would be completed at the end of 1887, and it gave the Minneapolis Millers direct access to the New England states and the export market to Europe. 

Although flour milling was expanding in Minneapolis, many millers feared diversion of an increasing amount of the wheat crop, particularly over James J. Hill's rail lines to Duluth-Superior, and thence over the Great Lakes to Buffalo.  Energetic and always taking on new projects, Washburn again pulls together his colleagues and with the aim of securing a portion of the wheat harvest for the Minneapolis milling interests, organizes the Minneapolis & Pacific Railway Company in late 1884 to build west into Dakota Territory.  The route they selected ran roughly between the two parallel railroad lines of the Manitoba (Great Northern) and itself was to be later closely followed by today's Highway 55.  Only a handful of communities already existed along this line: Rockford, Buffalo, Fair Haven, Paynesville, Glenwood and Elbow Lake.   Even then, the M. & P. skirted these places by a mile or two.  As discreetly as possible, a preliminary survey was conducted during the fall of 1884, but few details are known about these surveys.  A survey crew would typically consist of about ten men and would have located most of the route, determining the elevations, where bridges or trestles would need to be constructed, and possibly estimating how much excavation and fill would be required.  The crossing of the Clearwater and Crow Rivers, presented challenges and the exact route in a few areas wasn't settled until early 1886. 

The preliminary surveys were probably concluded in early 1885 and year was taken up with planning and preparation.   The M. & P. was privately financed; bonds, income certificates and loans would be primary means of paying for constructing and equipping the railroad, and Washburn began negotiating for these with New York financial houses.  Finally, in February, 1886 an important agreement was made with the Northern Pacific for access and use of that company's terminal facilities (the yard tracks and roundhouse) in Minneapolis. 

Imagine this.  In late 1884 they incorporate and begin the field engineering surveys.  There's no application to any governmental agency for a certificate of need or authority to build a railroad across Minnesota and into Dakota Territory.  There are no regulatory hearings, no environmental impact studies, and no lobbying for governmental aid.  Only in Minneapolis was a building permit needed for the depot.  Two years later, at the end of 1886, over two hundred miles of railroad have been constructed and the trains are running. 

In early 1886 the surveyors were back in the field, this time putting down the grading stakes while the railroad's agents were actively working with the landowners to obtain the real estate for the right-of-way, often asking for donation of the land, and if that failed, making an offer, and if they could not come to terms securing the land through the eminent domain process and having three commissioners appointed by the county to determine the amount to be compensated.  Out in the country, the right-of-way for the line was generally a 100 foot wide strip of land.   The M. & P. relied on the services of local residents as right-of-way agents to handle the real estate transactions and in Wright County, attorney J. H. Wendell, of Buffalo, was one of these right-of-way agents.   Messrs. Ames, Covart and Young were appointed commissioners in Wright County to resolve any landowner claims. 

The coming of the railroad was generally greeted with much enthusiasm.  Farmers would have a shorter distance to take their crop to market, their land values could be expected to increase, and the development of nearby towns would bring merchants closer to them.   Although land speculation may not have been a problem in this area, some land owners held out for a premium on their land, and it is to be imagined that some simply did not want the railroad cutting across their land.   The eastern part of Wright County seems to have had a large number of claims handled by the county commissioners, and there were also later a few lawsuits filed. 

The grading of the line, the preparation of the road bed, was performed primarily during May, June and July.  The general contractor, R. B. Langdon & Company, was well known in railroad circles and sublet sections of the line that varied from a mile to several miles.  These subcontractors employed workers that handled teams of horses pulling scrapers and wagons with dump boards, as well as the labor for any shovel work needed.  In Wright County there likely would have been a fair amount of grubbing required.  Some of the nearby farmers participated in this work, and farm houses often provided room and board for many of the workers, while the remaining workers camped in a tent city, reminiscent of scenes from the Civil War. 

The planning for stations along the new line probably took place as soon as the route had been determined.  A station is a designated place where business is conducted, and they would be spaced roughly five to eight miles apart.  The station grounds required a section of land about 300 feet wide and nearly 2000 feet in length.   Annandale was an ideal location for a station, being six miles from Maple Lake and five miles from South Haven, and the M. & P. obtained the land on part of section 30 of Township 127 Range 27 from James M. Pratt and others for the station grounds.   Annandale's station grounds were typical, with the main line routed the center, and the sides divided into private lots which were leased by grain elevators and other rail served businesses.  

At about the same time it is likely that Mr. Pratt also entered into a personal agreement and partnered with W. D. Washburn, as co-owners and proprietors of the townsite adjoining the railroad station grounds.  Here, Washburn is acting in a personal capacity, apart from the railroad.  I have not examined the recorded property transfer, but a typical arrangement would have been for W. D. Washburn and his wife, Lizzie, to acquire half-interest in the townsite for $1 and have P. M. Dahl, a civil engineer from Minneapolis, survey it.  That was likely done during the summer or autumn of 1886, the maps drawn and documents finalized that winter, with the plat for Annandale being filed in Wright County in March, 1887.  Once assured that the railroad was being built, the creation of a new station and townsite was an opportunity for merchants and other businesses to locate; general stores, blacksmith shops, hotels, livery stables, saloons, were attracted, and in mid-November 1886 the Delano Eagle reported that several business houses were going in.  Washburn and Pratt shared the proceeds from the sale of lots, and this arrangement continued until late 1887, when Washburn's remaining interest in the townsites was assigned to the Pacific Land Company, which was a new corporation formed by many of the same principal stockholders of the railroad.  James Pratt appears to have been the local contact for land sales but he met an untimely death in 1891. 

In most of the new towns, Washburn also established a branch of his lumber firm, the Washburn Mill Company, to distribute and sell building materials.  There is no indication that Annandale had one of these branches, and L. Cofield, recently from Cokato, and W. H. McDonald from Howard Lake, were the early lumber merchants. 

There are a few things in life that should have a little mystery to them, and one is the naming of Annandale.  It is recorded in a newspaper account that Abbyville was to have been the name of the post office, but that name was rejected by postal authorities.  W. D. Washburn either personally named or approved of the name of the new railroad stations.  In a 1926 dated letter, Frederick. D. Underwood, who was general manager of the Minneapolis & Pacific in 1886, stated that Washburn named the station and townsite for Lizzie Annandale, an operatic singer.  Washburn may also have been acquainted with Annandale, Virginia, when he served in the U. S. House of Representatives, and coincidentally Lizzie was also the name of Washburn's wife.  The Minneapolis & Pacific filed its maps with the Minnesota Land Office and there is one for Wright County having a legend date of June 24, 1886.  Annandale is on the map, and if those details are correct this may be one of the earliest maps showing Annandale. 

Building northwesterly from Minneapolis, the M. & P. construction train and track layers reached Annandale about mid-November, 1886, and continued west to the Clearwater River building the main line of track and the accompanying telegraph pole line.  On the station grounds at Annandale, a second track of about 1600 feet, called a house track, was laid in an arc on the north side of where the depot was to be constructed.  Lumber and other building materials were shipped in box cars for the building of the railroad structures, which included a 20x48 foot depot, a 12,000 bushel capacity grain warehouse, and an 8x9 foot hand car house for the section crew.  A crew of carpenters came in and constructed them before the end of 1886, although it's possible the depot wasn't completely finished until January.   A small stockyard was added in late 1887 and a trackside unloading platform (for buggies, farm machinery etc.) years later.  That would be the extent of the railroad owned structures at Annandale.  They were built to standard plans and over the years were expanded or rebuilt. 

The railroad employed a station agent/operator at depot, a section crew of three to maintain the track from Annandale down to Maple Lake, and a seasonal grain buyer at the railroad owned flat warehouse.   The station agent was the key representative of the railroad in the community, with a variety of duties that ranged from selling tickets for the passenger trains, handling small freight and express (money, valuable merchandise, small shipments of poultry, beer, etc), mail, telegrams, receiving telegraph messages from the train dispatchers and handing them to the crews of passing trains, ordering and billing out carload freight shipments, cleaning the depot, looking out for the interests of the company, seemingly at all hours of the day and seven days a week.  Once the railroad was built, it transported almost all the merchandise and materials that were shipped into and out of Annandale, and the depot became a focal point in the community.  The names of some of the early railroad employees at Annandale have been listed separately, along with a time line of key events. 

The first passenger train over the new line began running daily between Minneapolis and Glenwood on December 9, 1886.  It left Minneapolis around 9 a.m. going west, and made all stops along the line, reaching Annandale about noon, and going east the train came through about 3 p.m.  Just before the end of the year this set of trains was extended to the end of the line at Lidgerwood, 218 miles west of Minneapolis in Dakota Territory.   The information available is sketchy and we may not be able to peg the exact date when first passenger train stopped at Annandale, but it is likely business was being conducted in December.  In March of 1887, these trains began hauling the mail under a contract with the post office.  The passenger trains added a dash of color to the countryside, and were pulled by a diminutive coal burning steam locomotive, painted in colors of chocolate and red, accented by a shiny brass bell, boiler bands, and valve heads.  The regular passenger train probably consisted of a combination baggage/mail/express car and one or two coach cars, making stops at all stations for passengers and express shipments.  This was an age of wood and the passenger cars were wood bodied; during hours of darkness they were lighted by oil lamps and during cold weather each car had its own stove for heating.  Three cents a mile between stations was the charge for a ticket, and the passenger trains were permitted to run at 30 miles per hour.  

Passenger train schedules were constantly being changed and by December, 1890 the primary passenger left Minneapolis in the late afternoon, stopping in Annandale at 6:13 p.m.  The east bound was scheduled to arrive at 9:05 a.m.  A second set of trains had been added in early 1887, running to Paynesville initially and later as far as Glenwood/Lowry, to handle the local traffic, but with the changing fortunes of business conditions this passenger train was an on again off again operation during the first decade.  To provide additional service the railroad often placed a passenger coach on the local freight train, making it what was termed an accommodation or mixed train. 

The local freight train, which operated between Minneapolis and Glenwood/Lowry, was an interesting operation and equally important to the communities along the line.  Not only did it set out and pick up freight cars at the elevators and other trackside businesses, but it brought in the smaller miscellaneous freight items.  In the early days the cabooses had side doors, from which they unloaded a small volume of freight or express, but usually one or two box cars were needed for the small freight shipments, which would have been loaded or unloaded at the depot platform and later stored in the freight room end of the depot.  If there was a large amount of freight coming out of Minneapolis destined for Annandale, it is likely a separate car would be loaded and spotted at the backside of the depot for unloading later.  Certain days of the week, such as Tuesdays, were designated for shipping livestock, although arrangements could made to ship carloads of cattle and hogs other days of the week as well, and often the livestock shipper would go on the train to South St. Paul or even Chicago.  On certain days of the week a refrigerator car would be on the local freight to handle butter, eggs, meat and other perishables.  Operating Monday through Saturday, this daytime freight train periodically included a coach car to accommodate passengers.

Freight cars back in 1886 were comparatively small, being about 34 feet in length, and able to carry only 20 or 25 tons of freight.  In practice, many of the cars were lightly loaded and trains were relatively short.  The cars were joined together by the notorious link-and-pin coupling system and manual brakes were often used to assist stopping the cars or the train.  The brakemen had a particularly dangerous job as they had to walk the roofs of the cars to apply and release the hand brakes.   A freight train consisting of twenty cars would probably be a good sized train for the Soo in 1887, and back then the speed probably didn't exceed 15 miles per hour.   It wasn't until the 1890s that the automatic coupler and air brakes were adopted for freight cars, and freight cars constructed with steel carbodies became popular decades later. 

Annandale was assured of being a trading point during the winter of 1886-1887 and began a slow but steady growth, the Delano Eagle reporting in January of 1887 that 26 lots had been sold.  Cofield & McDonald built the second flat grain warehouse (dba Annandale Elevator Co.) by the end of 1886 or 1887, and lumber yards were an essential early business, with Cofield & McDonald also operating perhaps the first such yard, and H. and W. S. Huntington starting a second lumber yard in 1891.  By 1888 there was an excelsior mill (Dean & Salisbury, later Dean & McKerron proprietors) and it's a safe bet this mill gave its name to Excelsior Avenue.  The Annandale Roller Mill (Klatt Bros., props.) commenced flour milling operations in 1891 but was not located trackside, although it was likely some carloads of flour were shipped out.  About a mile and one-half east of Annandale a spur was constructed to serve a brickyard (Boudel and Holliday props.), which was in operation until at least 1888, and between Annandale and South Haven was another spur for loading cordwood. 

The Annandale Post indicated in late 1893 that Annandale shipped out 700 cars of wood, 200 cars of grain and 50 carloads of stock during the current year.  The hardwood forests around Annandale contributed significantly to the local economy in the early years and at times the depot area was described as being surrounded by cordwood, which was shipped not only to Minneapolis, but was also an important fuel for communities and farmers in the treeless prairies of western Minnesota and Dakota Territory.  A newspaper report indicates 19 flat cars of wood were shipped out in one day in 1893.  Logs were also shipped by rail from Annandale to a lumber mill at Buffalo. 

One day of the week was designated for shipping livestock and the newspaper detailed the weekly shipments of J. B. Dally, Lewis Brothers, and later Martin Andersen.  Annandale's merchants appreciated the additional trade on those shipping days.  Although grain dominated early crop production, with diversification potatoes, sugar beets, and cucumbers and hay supplemented the farmer's income from grain.  The dairy herds provided the milk for the products of the local creameries and eggs were also marketed.  The shipment of these agricultural products provided considerable revenue to the railroad, and ice cream, butter and cheese from Annandale, South Haven, Kimball Prairie and Paynesville found their way to the menus on the Soo Line's dining cars.  

Standard Oil located a petroleum distribution plant here in 1896, establishing bulk delivery of gasoline and kerosene, as well as packaged lubricants.  Coal from eastern locales and North Dakota eventually supplanted wood as a heating fuel, although that probably happened later in Annandale than at other places not blessed with hardwoods.   In the late fall local merchants brought in a carload of apples, sometimes from Missouri, Michigan or New England, and much of the tree fruit was sold trackside.   Dolbow & Co. was one of the early farm implement dealers and was succeeded by Yaiser & Patterson.  During 1897 two new grain elevators, the Atlantic and Osborne & McMillan, were constructed and the Cofield elevator expanded by 1900, giving Annandale three separate elevator companies to compete for the grain crop.  The Farmer's Co-operative Equity was formed later and built a replacement elevator for one destroyed by fire in 1919. 

Impressive as those business activities were, Annandale might have been just another station, except for its location by the lakes.  This attraction led to development of hotels, cottages and resorts that catered to fishermen, boaters, picnickers, and others lured by the lakes.  Annandale was one of four communities (the others being Buffalo, Paynesville and Glenwood) west of Minneapolis that the railroad promoted for these vacation and recreational activities.   The company published advertisements, guides and brochures, and railroad officials occasionally sponsored and personally conducted excursions of newspaper editors, prominent citizens and other influential groups to Annandale to promote the resorts and sporting activities.   

Annandale, of course, was quite capable of attracting scores of visitors on its own, which was evident during the Fourth of July celebration in 1889, when about 450 people arrived on a special train from Rockford, Buffalo and Maple Lake.  Thereafter, special excursion trains were periodically run to Annandale, and by the 1890s a growing number of Minneapolis residents were coming up on weekend fishing trips.  In 1905, the Soo Line put on a special summer train to bring fishermen out to Buffalo, Annandale and Paynesville on late Saturday afternoons and early Monday morning brought them back to Minneapolis with their catch.  The Soo Line's general office and shop employees occasionally held their summer picnics in Annandale, coming out in a special train, with perhaps the last one occurring in 1957. 

 The railroad created a transportation corridor that linked the communities along the line.  People traveled up and down the line for business and social reasons, sometimes resettling, and the railroad bonded these communities together, just as Highway 55 has done now for decades. 

The Minneapolis & Pacific was consolidated into the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Railway in 1888.  Commonly known as the Soo Line, the extension of the western end of-the-line to the Canadian border at Portal, North Dakota in late 1893 resulted in Annandale being placed on a transcontinental route to the Pacific Northwest.  Passenger train service to Vancouver was soon established, initially the Pacific Limited, with connecting service to Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco advertised.   Many Wright county residents traveled to those distant places, beginning their trip over the Soo Line. 

While the railroad certainly accelerated the growth of the area, created better opportunities for personal travel, provided the means for the produce of the area to be transported to market and brought in the manufactured goods, there were also a few downsides to the presence of a railroad.  Sparks from passing trains sometimes set fires to buildings and hay stacks that were close to the tracks, and the hissing and shrill whistles of locomotives could easily frighten horses into bolting away.  There is always the need to exercise caution at street crossings and collisions with teams and buggies were known; some of the young men were not careful and played around railroad tracks, sometimes trying to hitch rides on the moving trains.  Those encounters often ended tragically.   Then there were the vagabonds and tramps that arrived on the freight trains; many of them were menacing, and engaged in crime, drunkenness and disorderly conduct.   There were a number of dangers inherent in railroading, and Dr. Ridgway attended to injured trainmen and passengers.   There were a few fatalities at the road crossings, but Annandale was spared from any serious train wrecks and collisions until 1922.  

With the extension of the main passenger run all the way out to Vancouver, the passenger trains from the west would often be several hours late, particularly during the winter, frustrating those seeking to get to Minneapolis.  Those trains might be not only hours late, but on occasion a full day late.  Then there were the economic downturns which resulted in some of the passenger trains being eliminated and the schedules of the remaining trains changed, with the station stops sometimes scheduled at inconvenient times.  This irregularity in train service was a great disappointment and gave the Soo a poor reputation during those early years. 

A golden age of railway service dawned after 1900 and the Soo Line expanded with additional branch lines and did well financially.  New rail was laid west of Minneapolis, steel bridges replaced many of the older wooden trestles, and in some areas several miles of the line were relocated.  What this meant for Annandale was an increasing number of trains.  In 1904, a fast overnight train to Winnipeg was begun.  Then, in 1907, the first of the classic luxury trains was inaugurated, the Spokane-Portland Train De Luxe, with elegant sleeping, dining and observation cars,  which were well appointed with mahogany and black leather upholstery. This train was terminated in 1914, but in 1923 The Mountaineer was introduced, running between Chicago and Vancouver, and was a summer-only all-sleeping car train.  Although the premier trains did not stop in Annandale, they did accommodate a few celebrities, including the Duke (Edward VIII) and Duchess of Windsor, and the King of Siam (Thailand).  There's no credible evidence, however, that Al Capone passed through Annandale on the Mountaineer.   In 1912 there were ten daily passenger trains, and six of these made station stops in Annandale.  Depot had been lengthened in 1908 to 20x72 feet with the addition of a separate women's waiting room, and it had been modernized a little in 1950 with an indoor toilet replacing the outdoor privy, and the exterior covered with an asphalt-based imitation brick siding.  The automobile and improved highways gradually reduced the demand for rail service, and the number of trains declined.  The last passenger train scheduled to stop in Annandale, the St. Paul-Enderlin, North Dakota local, was eliminated in 1959.  The last through train, the Winnipeger, running between St. Paul and Winnipeg, made its last run through Annandale in March, 1967. 

Similarly, with improved highways trucks began to make inroads into the freight business, in the 1930s capturing most of the cattle shipments and increasingly much of the miscellaneous small freight shipments.   A new stockyard had been built in 1904 with an additional pen added in 1907, making a 64x96 foot facility.  In 1940 it was reduced to a single pen.  With the decreased carload activity and changes in communication technology, the Soo Line phased out its local agents in favor of a traveling freight agent that worked several adjoining stations and the Annandale depot was closed as an agency in 1971. With additional research we'll learn when what was left of the stockyard, the unloading platform and a few of the other trackside businesses were removed.  The Economy Gas spur was installed in 1973 and is periodically used for inbound shipments of propane by Ferrelgas, but the little used siding and the west end of the house track were removed in 1988.  The landmark grain elevators were taken down in 2000 or 2001 but the preservation of the 1886-built Annandale depot and the 1884-vintage caboose in the Pioneer Park date the coming of the railroad and serve as reminders of a different time, when the railroad was the focal point of the community. 

I'll conclude with a few anecdotal incidents reported primarily in the Annandale Post: 

In 1892, the U. S. Weather Service through its signal office provided weather conditions and the forecast for next 24 hours by displaying various flags atop the Rennie Building.  The forecast was telegraphed in, probably to the Soo depot, and relayed to the custodian who maintained the flag display.  (Buffalo Gazette)

In 1894, the Annandale House (hotel) and a few other businesses burned down.  A telegram was sent to the Maple Lake fire department for assistance, and they loaded their apparatus on a flat car to be attached to the morning passenger, but the fire was brought under control before the train left and they were telegraphed not to come.  Some of the firemen were already in the coaches and unaware of the cancellation ended up coming to Annandale. 

In 1895, a 200 pound hog belonging to Mr. Dally escaped during a stop at Buffalo and a group of stock shippers and train crew recaptured the pig and loaded him back on the stock car. 

In 1897, the Soo reportedly granted the use of part of its station grounds for use as a baseball field, and about $100 in work had been expended before the Soo decided to lease part of the grounds to a company which built a new grain elevator on it. 

Alton Chermak
Revised March, 2011

References and Acknowledgments:

Soo Line Historical and Technical Society Archives  (structures book, station maps, AFE's, field engineering notes, drawings, The Soo magazine) 
Mr. Stuart J. Nelson 
Wright County Historical Society and the Wright County Governmental Center 
Minnesota Historical Society, State Land Office Archives and the Soo Line collection
Annandale Post 1891-1899, Annandale Advocate-Post 1900-1903, Annandale Advocate 1897-1899, 1904-1908   
Buffalo Gazette 1891-1896
Buffalo Journal 1888-1900
Delano Eagle 1885-1897
Saga of The Soo, Three Generations West, John Gjevre, Agassiz Publications, 1995
Memories of Annandale, Lotus Williams, Annandale Advocate, 1883                                                                           
Annandale Centennial booklet Community With Spirit, 1888-1988

  Thank you for this invitation.  By way of background, I have no direct connection with Annandale, other than that my formative years were spent in Alexandria, where the railroad tracks of the Soo Line also passed through, and my working career would be in the rail industry, including ten years with the Soo Line. 

Over the past several years, I've been researching and drafting a history of the Minneapolis & Pacific Railway, the rail line that was built between Minneapolis, through Annandale, and out into Dakota Territory in 1886-1887.   It's an obscure subject, which explains why virtually nothing of a comprehensive nature has been published. 

Few original records from the railroad have been retained.   There are some the old Interstate Commerce Commission required valuation studies back in 1915-1916, requiring all railroads to detail their level of investment for the purposes of regulating the freight and passenger rates that railroads sought to charge.  That valuation study meant that the railroads, including the Soo Line, had to go back and document what they spent building the line, including the structures on it. 

  ---------------cutting room--------

 The starting point was a handful of pictures of depots that I took about 1970.  After spreading them out, noticed they all looked alike, and thus began an inquiry to learn what the depots in the other communities along the line looked like, and the horizon kept expanding,   There is no way that you can separate the coming of the railroad and the development of the communities along it.  It became apparent that the development of the rail line, and most of the communities along it were intertwined.  At present, much of my focus has been to research newspapers from the 1884-1900 time frame. 

ANNANDALE TIMELINES   Railway and Businesses

Sep 1884.  Minneapolis & Pacific Railway Company organized by W. D. Washburn and others. 

Nov 1884 to Jan 1885.   Preliminary locating survey for the Minneapolis & Pacific. 

Early 1886.  Final locating survey and land acquisition for the Minneapolis & Pacific begun.  Grading of the roadbed performed during the spring and summer. 

Summer or fall 1886.  P. M. Dahl of Minneapolis surveys Annandale townsite for W. D. Washburn. 

Nov 1886.  Track layed through Section 30, Town of Corinna.  Construction train arrives mid-November.  Main line track and house track (aka industry, team, side, or elevator track) probably constructed that month. 

Nov 1886 to Jan 1887.  Depot, hand car house and grain warehouse constructed.  Stockyard constructed early 1887.  These are all railroad owned facilities. 

Dec 8, 1886.  First through train run Minneapolis to Glenwood.

Dec 9, 1886.  First regular daily passenger train run Minneapolis to Glenwood.  This run was extended to Lidgerwood, Dakota Territory, on Dec 28. 

Late 1886.  Second grain house built by Cofield & McDonald, doing business as Annandale Elev. Co.

Mar 3, 1887.  Plat of Annandale filed in Wright County, James Pratt and W. D. Washburn and wife are owners/proprietors.

Mar 1887.  Mail first carried on the M. & P. passenger trains. 

Sep 1887.  The Pacific Land Company was formed.  In late December, W. D. Washburn's interest in the townsites including Annandale was transferred to the Pacific Land Company. 

Jan 1888.  Atlantic Elevator Co. formed and assumes ownership of the Minneapolis & Pacific elevators. 

Jun 11, 1888.  Minneapolis & Pacific consolidated into the Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie Rwy.  Annandale Post continues to refer to the railroad as the M. & P. through 1894. 

1888.   First local use of refrigerator cars, initially once a week in each direction.  Heated cars in the 1890s

By 1888 there was an excelsior mill and a mile or two east of Annandale there was a brickyard and spur. 

Jul 4, 1889.  Special train to Annandale brings over 400 Rockford, Buffalo and Maple Lake residents to the Fourth of July celebration.

Sep 1893.  Western end of track completed to Canadian boundary at Portal, ND (NWT), forming a transcontinental line.  Through passenger train service to Vancouver commenced late September. 

1896.  Standard Oil distribution plant located. 

1897.  Passing track was constructed, and further lengthened in 1903 and 1906. 

1897.  Two new elevators built, Atlantic and Klatt Bros Elev. built (later Osborne & McMillan)

1900.  New Annandale (Cofield) Elev built (later Farmer's Co-op Elev) and in 1919 new Farmer's Elev blt. 

1904.  Line to Winnipeg from Glenwood completed, Winnipeger (originally called the Manitoba Express) passenger train begun. 

1908.  Depot lengthened to 20x72 feet, with provision made for separate waiting rooms for men and women. 

By 1922.  Gedney Pickle Co. plant located. 

1922.  Collision of passenger train with fuel truck at Oak Street crossing, ten fatalities. 

1923.  Inauguration of The Mountaineer, a summer-only Chicago-Vancouver passenger train, all sleeping-cars.  Discontinued 1963.

1950.  Alterations made to depot.  Insul-Brick siding applied to exterior and indoor restroom installed.

May 2, 1959.  Last passenger train to stop for passengers in Annandale.  (St. Paul-Enderlin, ND local)

Mar 25, 1967.  Last passenger train, The Winnipeger, passes through Annandale

1971.  Depot closed, ending local agency services.

1973.  Economy Gas (later Ferrellgas) spur constructed. 

1975.  Annandale depot and caboose 101 preserved at Pioneer Park. 

1988.  Derailment in town and evacuation of Annandale residents owing to release of hazardous materials.   Passing track and west end of house track removed. 

1990.  The Canadian Pacific obtains full ownership of the Soo Line. 

2001.  Centra-Sota grain elevators torn down. 

 Alton Chermak
Rev January, 2011

Early Railroad Employees at Annandale

 Station Agent/Operators

•  E. J. McConnell, Jan-Apr, 1887

• Jay R. Martin, May-Jun, 1887

• E. H. Cornell, Jun, 1887

• Jay R. Martin, Aug-Sep, 1887

• Grant S. Stone, Sep, 1887 to Mar 1889

• F. J. Petrie, Mar, 1889 to Nov, 1889

• G. E. Burfield, Nov, 1889 to

• I. T. Woodruff, Apr, 1891 to Oct, 1891

• I. I. Burfield, Oct, 1891 to Nov, 1891

• W. L. Haggerty, Nov, 1891 to Sep, 1893

• Pitt Pray, Sep, 1893 to Jul, 1895

• W. L. Haggerty, Jul 1895 to 1921

The agent/operator position at Annandale was compensated at the rate of $45/month in 1887
When business and train traffic warranted, a night operator would be assigned

 Elevator Agent/Grain Buyers

E. P. Wood, 1886-1887 harvest/shipping season
Jno. Crosby, 1887-1888 harvest/shipping season
The elevator agent/grain buyer position at Annandale was compensated at the rate of $50/month in 1887
Day laborers were hired when needed to assist with handling the volume of grain
In 1888, the M & P grain warehouse was sold to the Atlantic Elevator Company

Section Crews (track maintenance at Annandale and east to Maple Lake)

Thomas Morgan was Foreman in Feb, 1887, along with Thomas Jude, Charles Jude and Charles Sullivan, laborers. 
Patrick Clausen was Foreman in Nov, 1887; D. Dolan in June 1892: Dennis Kennedy in Aug, 1898
John Haggerty, brother of W. L. Haggerty, was Foreman for several years starting in Apr, 1893

The section foreman position at Annandale was compensated at the rate of $45/month in 1887
Additional laborers were hired for summer track gangs and winter snow removal.

Miscellaneous (a few trainmen residing in Annandale, worked along the line)

Chas. H. Mathews, of Minneapolis, passenger train conductor, maintained a cottage in the 1890s
C. V. Sterling, brakeman, resident in 1898

Compiled by Alton Chermak
Rev. February, 2011

Annandale Online

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