Town History Linton - Emmons County, North Dakota GenWeb


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HISTORY AND STORIES OF LINTON

Article On History of Linton

Linton Photographs

The Williamsport History Contains More History of Linton ------------------------------

Linton (Sargent). This town site was founded in April 1883 at the terminers of the Northern Pacific Railroad's projected line from Fergus Falls, Minnesota to the Black Hills. It was located in SW ¼ section I-132-54 Milnor Township and was called the End of the Track and Graballs before being named Linton for Nathan Linton, a Pioneer Merchant. Here a boom town, complete with a newspaper began to form, but the NPRR was unable to obtain additional right of way at their price and another three miles of tracks were built westward in August 1883. Everything in Linton was soon moved to the new terminers in Section 9-132-54 three miles to the west which became Milnor.

Contributed by Cynthia Maier. ------------------------------

THE PASSING OF AN ERA

As the twentieth century rolled into our lives, Linton was already a small but established town in what was later called “Original or Old Town”. The business section occupied two blocks west of the present Emmons County Courthouse between Schley & Sampson Avenues, and consisted of a hotel, dance hall, blind pig, barber shop etc. By 1902 the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Co. had plans for running a branch here thru Linton and had the location of the tracks surveyed. H.F. Hunter was General Passenger Agent for the above railroad and knowing what the coming of the railroad would portend for the town, purchased the strip of land east of the tracks from homesteader, John Bartu, and tracts west of Broadway from C.A. Patterson, platting all these as Hunter's Additions. Buildings were already being constructed along Broadway; Petrie's Store, Patterson's Land Office on the southwest corner of Hickory and Broadway and Crain's Bank, later by 1909 the First Bank of Linton. The railroad became operable in 1903.

We are primarily interested in the History of the Linton Creamery which passed through many hands over the years. The various owners of Lot 1, Block 5, where the creamery was located are given as numbers one to ten below. Dates are not always available, but the sequence of owners is correct.

1. H.F. Hunter sold to Elmer E. Martin.

2. Elmer E. Martin sold to Orlyn E. Burge who had a livery stable there.

3. O.E. Burge sold to Wallace Keyes who also had the livery stable on the Lot.

4. Wallace Keyes sold the livery stable to William Carmichael in Aug 1904 or 05.

5. In 1906 Wm Carmichael installed an 850 candle power gasoline lamp in front of the livery stable. He also had a blind pig on Lot 2, Block 5. He sold in November 1924 to John Sautter, who then ran the livery barn.

6. John Sautter sold to Jacob J. Kremer, and the livery barn was torn down in April 1918 to make way for J. J. Kremer's Broadway Merchantile Co. On his other Block 5 lots Kremer began the John Deere Implement Agency and the Kremer Motor Sales Co. The J.C. Penney Co. moved into his building in April 1929. A fire began in the store at 2:30 the afternoon of February 7, 1938. Damage was estimated at $6,000, but there probably was no damage to the building on Lot 1, Block 5.

7. J.J. Kremer sold Lot 1, Block 5 to Otto Dobler who was his brother-in-law, being married to Katie Kremer. Dobler had a garage and auto repair shop there.

8. In March 1938 the building was remodeled for the Linton Creamery Co. which occupied it from then until the creamery closed on February 14, 1992.

9. During this time the creamery was owned by Elmer E. Schulz and on his death passed to his daughter, Patsy Galstead of Wisconsin but she had no interest in the creamery.

10. The present (March 1992)Lot 1 Block 5 is owned by Paul Leier of the First National Bank of Linton.

Employees of the creamery over the years were William Flegel, Steve Thomas, Arlene Davis. From June 1961 until closing Jerome Grossman and others. When Lester Renschler closed his restaurant on the west side of Broadway, coffee drinkers began having their afternoon break shooting the breeze at the creamery, an enjoyable habit that continued until it closed on Feb. 14, 1992. Coffee was served at 25 cents a cup.

Author unknown. From the files of Ronald Kremer. Contributed by his daughter Cynthia Maier.