Laserfiche WebLink
• <br /> Navigable water extended only to Sauk Rapids,except in times <br /> of high water.Passengers and freight were carried on the <br /> Governor Ramsey,as well as the North Star and H.M.Rice, <br /> new boats that began service in 1855.Prone to low seasonal <br /> water levels and in poor competition with railroads,regular <br /> steamboats were generally discontinued by 1874. However, <br /> the Davis Island Boom Company and other lumber interests <br /> operated steamboats and a variety of craft for logging <br /> operations;the 1900 census for Elk River notes that two young <br /> natives of Quebec,John Ward and Humphrey Guam,were <br /> among those employed as river drivers. <br /> Conflicting with steamboat traffic,the dramatic log drives of <br /> timber from the northern pineries were a seasonal event along <br /> the river,with the traffic handled by boom companies. <br /> Several early ferries shuttling passengers and goods across the <br /> Mississippi were attempted in the mid-1850s,but the one ` <br /> established in 1867 by Horatio Houlton appears to have <br /> succeeded.'The 1879 View of Elk River,Sherburne County <br /> locates it just behind Horatio Houlton's Sawmill. Another '., <br /> ferry route at the foot of Jackson Street is shown on the 1903 � r ,' <br /> Map of Elk River. x I <br /> The St.Paul and Pacific Railroad <br /> The arrival of the St.Paul and Pacific Railroad was an essential '` <br /> connection for Elk River,ensuring continuing success for its Ferry at Elk River in about <br /> • mills and early town center,as well as passenger and freight 1900.Photo:MHS. <br /> service.The railroad company was formed in 1862 and first <br /> built a line from St.Paul to St.Anthony.34 The line to Elk River <br /> was completed in 1864,and reached Sauk Rapids in 1867. <br /> The line bypassed the dam and mills at Orono,on a route that <br /> allowed a crossing of the Elk River in Big Lake Township.The <br /> depot and sidings became the focus of the Lowertown <br /> settlement,and when the Elk River townsite was formally <br /> platted in 1865 it was oriented toward the railroad and the <br /> depot <br /> es e ? 4upa E s'C4§ 1 '% <br /> : The Elk River Depot in 1911 <br /> . , .4"t: rfa `' (razed).Photo:MHS. <br /> • <br /> Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study <br /> 18 <br />