Welcome To CanbyCanby Minnesota AA 20212021 PublicationPublication ofof TheThe CanbyCanby NewsNews 2 Table of Contents WelcomeWelcome toto CanbyCanby Welcome to Canby, Minnesota, a small town with a lot to Some “insider knowledge” about the town: offer! - The KT - If you ask directions to the golf course, people will Whether you’re just visiting or here to stay, come with us probably tell you it’s two miles out on the KT. This stands for on our stroll around Canby to see some of its historical sites “King of Trails” and is the local term for County Road 13/190th and amenities. Join us at the fun events that happen through- Street. It runs north out of Canby for 12 miles and then ends at out the year, and get active in the community with the numer- County Road 12. ous clubs and organizations - there’s always something fun - The Vo-Tech - Minnesota West Community & Technical Col- for you to get involved in! lege was originally called a vocational-technical school; it got Canby has a population of 1,795 (as of the 2010 census) shortened to “vo-tech,” and that name has stuck. and is located in the west-central portion of Yellow Medicine - 1st Street - Canby has two 1st Streets. The one referred to County at an altitude of 1,243 feet. most often is Highway 68, but 1st Street South is located just It is approximately 165 miles west of Minneapolis-St. Paul, one block over and runs by the Sanford Clinic entrance and be- 106 miles north of Sioux Falls, S.D., and 175 miles south of hind Canby Farmers Grain until it meets Poplar Avenue South. Fargo, N.D. - The four-way stop - While there is more than one four-way Two highways converge in Canby, U.S. Highway 75 and stop in Canby, THE four-way stop usually refers to the inter- U.S. Highway 68. section of Highways 75 and 68. One unique feature of Canby is its orientation to the world. - The Schott’s building - The Schott’s Corporation has not owned the building in some time, but it is still referred to by that Canby’s streets do not go north to south and east to west; name. It is now owned by Sanford and hosts events throughout rather, they were built parallel to the railroad which cut the year. It is located to the northeast of Jim’s Market. (We think through the area from northwest to southeast. it’s time it gets an “official” name.) Canby News Table of Contents Your local source of news. Historical Highlights. Page 3-4 120 ST. Olaf Avenue North • Canby, MN, 56220 Learn about some of the history of the city, how it got its name and one of the well-known former residents. [email protected] 507-223-5303 Stroll Around Canby . Page 5-10 Take a walk around Canby and visit some of its well- known places - Lund-Hoel House, Canby Depot, Lun- dring Service Station, Berckes Station, and Canby Theatre and Gary locations such as Buffalo Ridge. Recreation & Amenities. Page 12-20 Discover what Canby has to offer - parks, disc golf course, golf course, public library, airport, schools, farmer’s market, and medical center. Calendar of Events . Page 22-27 Join in the fun - Spring Showcase, Hat Daze, Yellow Medicine County Fair, Crazy Days, Fall Fest, Holiday Showcase, Hometown Holidays, Gary’s Independence Day Celebration, and Porter’s Harvest Festival. Clubs & Organizations. Page 29-47 Take part in the community - churches, fire department, The Connection, Canby 4 Kids, summer rec., YAMS, 4- H, Blue & Gold Foundation, Canby Area Arts Council, VFW and Auxiliary, Rotary, Sons of Norway and more. Historical Highlights 3 Canby started out as a one man town, literally, when John Swen- Canby station was built by the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Com- son moved to Norman Township in 1872. He homesteaded on sec- pany. tion 4 where he built a claim shanty and opened up a store in his Swenson began to branch out into other businesses, operating an cabin. elevator and flour mill, a lumber yard and implement business, and That was the start of Canby, and Swenson’s list of job titles only in his spare time, he invested in land. grew from there. He was a settler, farmer, merchant, statesman, Soon after, he founded a bank, and his banking interests spread banker, lumberman, miner, and philanthropist. to nearby towns and even to other states. Swenson was born in Norway in 1842 and moved to the United By 1882, Canby had a newspaper, two banks, two law firms, a States in 1868. flour mill, several general stores, two lumber yards, three hotels, a When he moved here, Swenson did not speak a word of English livery stable, a school house and two churches. and had no money; he actually was in debt for his ticket to Amer- On the evening of Sept. 8, 1893, Canby suffered a very large fire ica. that destroyed 23 business firms and five residences at an estimated Swenson started off working in Wisconsin, where he learned cost of around $150,000. English and married Olava Olson. The surviving stores included A.M. Olson’s general store, Mrs. He and his brother, Charles, headed west in 1872 to find home- Carri Landru’s millinery store, the flour store of N.K. Landru and steads. They ended up in Redwood Falls and heard about the vast N.N. Smart, the lumber yards, elevators, hotels and school house. rich lands of western Yellow Medicine County. According to the special edition of the Canby News on Sept. 9, Upon arriving, Swenson settled on Two-Mile Creek in Norman the fire broke out in the butcher shop of Odland and Landru. Mr. Township. Odland was filling an oil lamp when an accident caused the flame After deciding that farming would be “too slow,” he traded his to spread. claim for one on which the city now stands. He opened up a store Soon after the fire, Canby was filled with the sound of hammers with roughly $50 worth of merchandise and traveled to Marshall to as the rebuilding effort began. pick up supplies. There was another building boom in 1915 with about 50 new In 1874, Swenson secured a post office for the growing commu- homes and the new light plant built. nity, suggested the name of Canby, and became Canby’s first post- Canby was struck by another fire on July 23, 1920, which caused master. $275,000 worth of damage. The railroad came to Canby in 1876, and on August 24, the The Canby Flour Mills, the connecting elevators, warehouse, powerhouse, and office went up in flames. Canby suffered yet another fire on October 15, 1960, when front street (1st Street today) stores were destroyed with a loss between $100,000 and $150,000. A final fire on December 31, 1984, broke out in PK Egans Restaurant and also affected neighboring businesses. In 1963 and 1965, Canby had severe flood damage. The 1963 flood started when 5.23 inches fell within three hours. The 1965 flood was due to melting snow and several inches of rain. In 1979, Canby had 146 businesses in town with a population of approximately 2,154. Since then, Canby has had businesses come and go, and the pop- ulation has shrunk a bit to around 1,800. Recently, the city has improved their municipal pool, infrastruc- ture, and purchased the Canby Theatre. The city keeps its downtown looking nice and has expanded its opportunities for industrial businesses. 4 Historical Highlights How Canby Lee Savold Minnesota Boxing Hall of Famer was named Lee Savold was born in Canby John Swenson was responsible March 22, 1916, and was a force to for naming the city of Canby in be reckoned with during the 1940s 1874. He chose to name it after and ‘50s. Savold touched hands General Edward Richard Sprigg with some of boxing’s biggest Canby, an American army officer names at the height of his career. who had been killed the year be- Savold was known to be an ex- fore. pert feinter and possessed consider- General Canby was born in able jabbing speed and crushingly Kentucky in 1817 and graduated strong punching power, reflected in from West Point in 1839. He served the all-time Minnesota record of 72 in the Mexican War from 1847-48. career KOs. Savold sported a career At the start of the Civil War, he was record of 97 wins and 38 losses, as well as 11 newspaper-decided given command of the Department bouts, with four wins, four losses and three draws. of New Mexico and defeated a confederate invasion attempt in 1862. He got his first fight at the age of 15 when he attended the county In 1864, he took command of the military division of West Mississippi fair in Madison. Savold defeated his opponent and won $25. Savold and captured Mobile, Alabama, in 1865, where he received the surrender began boxing at 150 pounds in local fights, kicking off his boxing of the last two confederate armies remaining in the field. career with his 1933 debut fight in Sioux Falls, knocking out his General Canby was murdered by Modoc Indians in California in 1873 opponent. In his late teens, Savold departed for the Twin Cities and while trying to negotiate a peace treaty between the U.S. Army and the had several unneccessary losses during his early career. Modocs. He was the only U.S. general to die in the Indian uprisings of the Savold’s interest in boxing waned, but he returned to the ring in 1860s and 1870s.