Our History - The Early Years
1854 - Rushford is settled. It was a shanty town of about 20 log houses. Surrounding land had been claimed by farmers who were beginning to produce crops and animals in excess of their immediate needs, thus creating a need for access to the eastern markets. Initially Indian trails evolved into territorial roads. Then there was a short period of steamboats on the Root from the Mississippi to Rushford.
1866 - The U.S. Congress assured the railroad would extend to Rushford with the grant of lands necessary to finance the project. The greatest credit for the extension of the railway to Rushford was due to the untiring efforts of Charles D. Sherwood, Dr. Luke Miller, B.D. Sprague, Hiram Walker, and C.G. Wykoff who successfully lobbied Congress and the State Legislature. All but Wykoff ended up moving to Rushford.
1867 - A single-story depot was built, and the arrival of the Southern Minnesota Railroad turned Rushford into a “boom town” of commercial activity. The population swelled to 1,600 (2,000 by some accounts). The 1867 City Assessor ' s Report notes that more than 150 buildings were constructed that year with a total valuation of $204,000. It included 35 stores, 7 grain warehouses, 5 hotels, 2 bridges, 2 breweries, 18 saloons, 7 churches - and the Depot.
1868 - Rushford was incorporated as a city. Due to a clerical error it was incorporated as a city rather than a village, which created considerable problems with the township years later. In 1885 the farmers, fearing the spread of the city and encroachment of their land, incorporated the entire township as the Village of Rushford. The newly-incorporated village completely surrounded the City of Rushford and the Village of Peterson - a situation so unique that it was reported in the nationally syndicated newspaper column Ripley ’ s “Believe It Or Not” in 1938.
1870s - Rushford was no longer the western terminus of the railroad and ceased to be a booming frontier town. The unprecedented growth slowed, but the people who remained were those who bet on the development of the town. Businesses included grocery, dry goods, clothing and shoe stores; shoe and boot manufacture and repair; butchers and meat markets; cafes and confectioneries; patent medicines, drug stores and pharmacists; hardware stores, jewelry stores; milliners, beauticians and women ’ s apparel; merchant tailors and clothiers; tonsorial saloons and barbers; funeral parlors and furniture stores.
1878 - The March 14, 1878, issue of the Rushford Star said, “Soon workmen will commence the enlarging and improvement of our depot. Van Horne has promised one of the best depots on the road, and he will do just as he says.” (Note: W.C. Van Horne was then the general manager of the Southern Minnesota Railway.) The August 1, 1878, Preston Republican noted that upon completion of the work, Rushford’ s depot was “both the largest and best one along the line of road. It is a two-story frame building, the upper portion of which is used as a residence. This 1910 picture of the depot is thought to be very similar to what it would have looked like in 1878.
1879 - This 1879 map of Rushford includes Elm Street, Mill Street, Park Street, Jessie Street, Maple Street - and the railroad tracks and Depot. The yellow arrow points to the Depot.
1880s - In 1880, the Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company, known as Milwaukee Road, took possession of the railway and depot. Rushford was one of the busiest depots between LaCrosse and Austin. Freight trains of over 30 loaded cars were significant loads for locomotives of the era. During September 1885, the Rushford Depot received over 900,000 lbs. in lumber, merchandise, and manufacturer shipments. About 250,000 lbs. of timothy seed, flour, eggs, butter, wool, and hides were shipped from the depot.
1899 - Thousands of carloads of livestock were shipped from the Rushford yards over the years. On April 13, 1899, the Rushford Star reported, "Thirty-four railcars of stock were shipped from Rushford during the month of March and during the same month the following shipments were made: 14 cars of grain, two cars of wagons, and 30,330 lbs. of butter.
Cattle being unloaded at Chicago stockyards
1900s - Passengers of noon trains arriving at Rushford were served meals prepared at the Northwestern Hotel. Two-wheeled carts were used to transport the meals from the hotel to the train. The soiled dishes were left at the station on the return trip.
Sources - Dr. Droivold's The History of Rushford: Volume I The First Decade & Volume II Railroad Boom Town. (Droivold books can be purchased from the Rushford Area Historical Society)