9/16/2012:
On this date in 1905, laborers worked to lay down a new stretch of the Soo Line railroad from Thief River Falls to Kenmare through “magnificent wheat country.” The distance was about 300 miles, and by September, they were laying about five miles of track a day, with hopes to finish by mid-October.
As the line went, so did developments. “Hundreds of thousands of dollars of Minneapolis capital” was expected for 120 new elevators along the new line, and towns preceded the laying of the track. One official commented:
“Towns spring up as if by magic. The newspapers, restaurants, barber shops, lumber yards, and banks are on the ground ahead of us, for they know the route we are taking….”
Dakota Datebook written by Sarah Walker
Sources:
Mandan Republican, September 8, 1905