Sherburne County Heritage Center Interpretive Plan Final Report 2005

Home Browse Search

Communities Section 2: A Place We Call Home: A Communi1y Scrapbook I recommend a revolving exhibit section of about six months to one-year duration on some place in the county. It could be a specific community, lake, township, or other feature that has significance to people in the county. This revolving section is intended to provide more depth on a specific place and the important people in its past than would be possible in the space available in the long-term exhibit. Although there may be some repetition of materials in the place and people feature, I don't think you should be concerned to eliminate all repetition. After they have seen the larger exhibit, some of your visitors will be repeat visitors just to see the changing place feature. The section can also feature statements from contemporary residents regarding what it is that makes a place special to them. It is likely that a somewhat different sense of place will emerge from different age groups and from those who commute or reside in the community, but it is also likely that an overall cohesive sense of place will also emerge. The first place and people featured could be Big Lake and its immediate surroundings. As one of the earliest and most central locations in the days before Sherburne became a county, Big Lake has always had an important role in the county's history. There are also many good historical descriptions and photos available of the lake. Story: Communities Section 2 With the addition of non -duplicated information and photos below, I recommend using Bobbie Scott's Big Lake PowerPoint program, underlying research, and storyline as the initial basis for this revolving section. (As SCHS selects individual places to be featured in the revolving section, the executive director should include the. development*of a place histories and appropriate collections as part of the organization's annual workplan.) When E. Seymoure passed by Big Lake on the Red River Ox Cart Trail in 1849, he described Big Lake as "a beautiful lake of transparent water called Big Lake." Seymoure observed the foundation logs for a double cabin near the lake. This foundation was probably the proving claim for Joseph Brown's new house. Brown purchased 160 acres along the southwest side of Big Lake in 1850 for $1.25 per acre. Brown's home became a major tavern and hotel along the Red River Ox cart Trail. He added a general store to provide provisions for those passing through. Brown's Hotel burned in 1857, but it was rebuilt closer to the stage road. Brown was killed while trying to steady a bolting team of horses on a stagecoach in 1864. (Research Sauk Rapids Frontierman for adds for Brown's, reported by Anderson to be common from 1855 on; See St. Cloud Visitor, December 1857, for documentation of fire; Get additional information on Brown's death from newspapers, if possible.) That's What They Said! "We dined at Big Lake with good appetites, and had, of course, a good dinner —Abner is the present landlord, and quite popular. The St. Paul and Pacific railroad will soon have the rails laid to this point, when for picnics and pleasure excursions, this beautiful lake with its fine shores and pleasant groves, will offer the greatest attractions to be found on the route. Fish, flesh Sherburne County Historical Society Heritage Center Interpretive Plan, April 21, 2005, page 45