1921 Duluth & St Louis County MN, Van Brunt.pdf - Garon.us

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556 DULUTH AND ST. LOUIS COUNTY
Hotel Superior, and in a short time erected the building on Third
Avenue" later occupied by John Orr and Company.
Some of the Original Happenings.— ^One of the most interesting
"first" happenings, perhaps, was the tax levied, for all purposes, in the
village of Hibbing for its first municipal year, 1893. The total assessed
valuation of taxable property then was $31,318, and total tax was
$963.03. One is able to get a quick appreciation of the enormous
growth of Hibbing since that year by knowing the figures for recent
years. The county "Tax Notice for the Year 1920," shows that the
taxable value of Hibbing property in 1919 was $84,603,682, upon
which the total taxes for that year were $4,670,123, which is more
than one-jfifth of the total revenue of the county. Add the Stuntz
township tax, $1,570,510, to that of Hibbing, and it is clear that Hibbing
district yields more than one-fourth of the revenue of the whole
county. And St. Louis county is by far the largest tax-payer in the
state.
Interesting other first happenings are tabulated by Mr. Atkinson.
It appears that
To Mr. and Mrs. Edw. Champion belong the honor of being the parents
of the first child born in Hibbing. The child was a boy, and was named
Philip. He did not, however, live.
Mrs. York was the first woman to arrive in Hibbing; she afterwards
'became Mrs. William Wills. (By the way, Joseph Moran claims that "Mrs.
Champion, wife of James Champion, engineer, was the first white woman to
reach Hibbing; that she came in on horseback, and that it was hard to state
which was 'horse and which was rider, the mud was so thick over them).
Mrs. Charles Gourdette was the first person who died in Hibbing.
There was no cemetery at that time, and the cofifin was carried along a path
connecting the embryo village with Leighton's lumber camps, east of town.
In the woods, about forty rods ofif the trail, a cemetery was staked ofif, and
the grave is yet (1902) to be seen at the east end of Superior street, Pillsbury.
The first man who died here was James Dixon; he was the father of Miss
Jennie Dixon, of the telephone exchange.
The Hibbing News * * * was the first newspaper of Hibbing.
John Bergman, later a prosperous business man of Duluth, was a member
of one of the early village boards of trustees, and when a motion to install
an electric lighting plant came before the 'board, Mr. Bergman moved that
the "lection lamps be placed under the table." A motion to "adjoin" was
then made and carried.
D. C. Rood was the first resident physician and surgeon.
Hibbing's first postmaster was John Murphy.
The first depot was a D. M. & X. box-car.
John E. Meehan was the first policeman.
J. Fred Twitchell was the first real-estate agent.
Murphy brothers had the first hardware store.
John Daigle had the first restaurant, and he "made considerable money."
The first religious service was conducted by Reverend Mevel, who found
his way in here from Cloquet.
F. E. Doucher was the first lawyer.
The first drug store was established by J. H. Carlson and J. O. Walker.
Carlson later was the head of the Carlson Mercantile Company, and Walker
went to the county auditor's oftice in Duluth.
The first man arrested in Hibbing was "Paddy, the Pig"; he stole a
ham from Grocer Gandsey, and ham's were worth something in those days.
Ed Lehman was the first contractor and builder.
Mrs. Reynolds, now Mrs. Casey, was the first wash-woman. She made
money later in real estate.
Malcolm Noble was the first miner injured in the district. A bucket
fell fifty feet in the shaft at the Sellers mine, striking him on the head. The
injury was a bad one, but Mr. Noble weathered it.
James Dillon was the first drayman. On his dray was a sign which read:
"Pioneer Drayman." James Dillon is reputed to have moved one Hibbing
family six times in one year "on an advertising contract of $1.00 per." He
did well in business.
The first fire occurred on the morning of February 20, 1894, when the
Coppinger Hotel was burned.