6.2. HRSR 05-28-2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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• '4` ° Jackson Street,2002. The Houlton Block is at left. u t e ad 1 a _ Two other significant downtown changes have been the creation of a surface parking lot on the park square at Main and Jackson Streets,and exterior modernizations to the exterior of historic commercial buildings.The modernizations are most evident on Main Street between Jackson and Quincy streets.It is not known how much original historic fabric remains behind the wood facades applied over the original brick. Early Trade Orono and Elk River's early merchants were a small and families families such as Houlton,Wheaton,Babcock,Dare and Nickerson providing dry goods and services over several decades. The Bank of Elk River established in 1885 was the first bank in Sherburne County.The incorporators were W.H.Houlton,W.L. Babcock,and Henry Castle.Some families,such as the Houltons,combined mercantile interests with lumber, banking,farming and politics. This business core served as promoters of the town,creating business associations and campaigning for improvements such as telephone service, electric power,and roads that sustained the community. This was especially important in the early twentieth century,as the decline of industries such as milling demanded that the town develop as a healthy trade center for the surrounding agricultural hinterland.The publication of the Elk River Souvenir(1901)and special booster features in local and regional newspapers were part of business leaders'efforts to enlarge the market. Local newspapers were critical to the community's success. The Sherburne County Weekly was published ca. 1869-70.The Sherburne County Star and the Elk River Weekly were inaugurated in 1875.In 1882,Arthur N.Dare purchased both papers as the Sherburne County Star News Elk River Historic Contexts Study Draft 5/2002 26