Historical Photo Album

Picture Stories of Early Benton County Days.  W. A. Farrington (center), his company once the publisher of the "Foley Independent" becoming official paper of Benton County in 1908, now founder of  the "Foley Tribune" enjoying cigars with loyal political backers John Zawacki (left), who worked on the Great Northern Railroad section crew and Ben Latterell, one of the noted musicians of the Latterell Bros. Orchestra.  John Zawacki is wearing a full length fur lined coat which was so popular in the early days. John is the maternal grandfather of Benton County Coordinator Ron Zurek and author of the book "Sauk Rapids and Benton County."  The book features nearly 200 vintage photographs from the Indian settlements of the Ojibwe, to the Great Northern Railroad, to the Sauk Rapids cyclone of 1886, to the Benton County ancestors, and to their present-day descendants with their businesses, industries, and daily activities.  (Courtesy of Helen M. Latterell, "Benton County News.")

Sauk Rapids Street Scene.  Private homes, hotels, schoolhouse, church, courthouse, post office, and newspaper office all disappeared as the Sauk Rapid cyclone of 1886 came from the southwest.  The newspaper office office in Sauk Rapids, which was painted a bright yellow, was lifted away in one piece never to be seen again.  (Courtesy of Connie Driscoll, Benton County Historical Society and Museum, Sauk Rapids, MN.)

Men Posing for a Group Photo.  Pictured are the Sauk Rapids sawmill crew during the late 1800s or early 1900s.  North of the mill was a closely knit Irish community, families with surnames such as Keefe, McGuire, Murphy, Murray, O'Rourke, Riley, and Thomas, that supplied much of the labor for the sawmill.  (Courtesy of Connie Driscoll, Benton County Historical Society and Museum, Sauk Rapids, MN.)

For more photos:

Images of America: Sauk Rapids and Benton County by Ronald Christopher Zurek -  ISBN 0-7385-1960-X - featuring nearly 200 vintage photographs, Sauk Rapids and Benton County takes the reader on a historic tour of the remarkable past, from the Indian settlements of the Ojibwe, to the Great Northern Railroad, to the Sauk Rapids cyclone of 1886, to the Benton County ancestors, and to their present-day descendants with their businesses, industries, and daily activities.

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