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• , , _ziy.,i...„,...1.....,:v::,:oliTI'"VIA:iyei,::',-1.:‘i: <br /> y�' � <br /> {r 1t 113�� <br /> -n <br /> ?' � # '" ue: '.:=,-'a <br /> a , <br /> '^° Jackson Street,2002.The Houlton m <br /> Block is at far left. <br /> In addition to the parking lot,other downtown changes since <br /> the 1970s include a variety of alterations or remodelings to the <br /> exterior of historic commercial buildings.The alterations are <br /> most extensive on Main Street between Jackson and King <br /> streets.It is not known how much original historic fabric <br /> remains behind the wood screens and other new facades <br /> applied over the original brick. <br /> Early Trade <br /> Early merchants were a small and generally persistent group, <br /> with several families such as Houlton,Wheaton,Babcock,Dare <br /> II and Nickerson providing dry goods and services over several <br /> decades. The Ban k of Elk River established in 1885 was the <br /> first in Sherburne County.The incorporators were W.L. <br /> Babcock,Henry Castle,and W.H.Houlton.The Houltons were <br /> among families who combined mercantile interests with <br /> re <br /> lumber,banking farming and politics. This business core <br /> served as promoters of the town,creating business associations <br /> and campaigning for improvements that sustained the <br /> community,such as telephone service,electric power,and <br /> roads.This was especially important in the early twentieth <br /> century,as the decline of industries such as milling demanded <br /> that the town develop as a healthy trade center for the <br /> surrounding agricultural hinterland.The publication of the Elk <br /> River Souvenir(1901)and special booster features in local and <br /> regional newspapers were part of business leaders'efforts to <br /> enlarge the market. <br /> Elk River Historic Contexts and Phase II Downtown Commercial Area Study <br /> • <br /> 30 <br />