white bear township

HISTORY IN PICTURES
For over 150 years, the people of White Bear Township have marked the passage
of time through their accomplishments and tribulations. Settled in the 1840s and
formally organized in 1858, White Bear Township has a rich history recorded both
in documents and in the images of the day.
1843
The name “Bears Lake”, later known as White Bear
Lake, appears on a map drawn by Explorer J.N. Nicollet.
Nicollet Map with Bears Lake
1848
The Township is originally surveyed and roughly
platted into 36 one-mile sections.
Early Map of White Bear Township
1850
The first schoolhouse in the
Township is built near Lake
Vadnais. Teacher Eliza LaBarre
teaches the students in French.
Old Log Schoolhouse in White Bear
1858
May 11, 1858. Legally known as the Town of White
Bear, White Bear Township is formally organized at
John Lamb’s Hotel on the north shore of Goose Lake
-- the same day Minnesota becomes a state.
John Lamb’s Hotel –
Birthplace of White Bear Township
1861
April 12, 1861.
The Civil War
begins and scores
of White Bear
men enlist in the
Union Army. Two
of them, James C.
Murray & Thomas
Milner are elected
to Township posts
after the War.
Union Soldiers encamped in the Township
August 29, 1861. St. John in the Wilderness (Episcopal) is
dedicated becoming the first church in the Township.
St John’s Church
1868
September 10, 1868. The first
railroad train arrives in White
Bear from St. Paul. The Lake
Superior and Mississippi River
Railroad invites 500 guests to
travel the historic trip.
White Bear Train Station
1879
May 1, 1879. As
Ramaley’s Lake Shore
Refreshment Pavilion
opens, the resort era
in White Bear begins.
Ramaley’s Casino and Hotel on White Bear Lake
1881
February 18, 1881.
The Village of
White Bear incorporates out of the
Township.
Forty
years later, the
village becomes a
city and assumes
the name White
Bear Lake.
Village of White Bear
1885
March 10, 1885. Township residents authorize planning for a
Town Hall at the Annual Town Meeting. Renowned architect
Cass Gilbert designs the building. The first Town Hall meeting
is held on March 9, 1886.
Cass Gilbert
1894
September 1, 1894. James Root, Railroad Engineer and White
Bear resident, rescues 160 people from the Great Hinckley Fire.
Engineer James Root
October 30, 1894. Two hundred-ten men
and twenty women vote in the General
Election. This is the first of two elections
where Township women are recorded as
voting. Notably, women are not legally
qualified to vote in such elections until
1920.
Renaissance women of the Township
at the turn of the 20th Century
1898
March 1, 1898. Harry R. Vitt is appointed to
the Town Board and serves two weeks, the
shortest term in Township history.
Town Board Minute Book, 1883-1914
1904
November 24, 1904. The MinneapolisSt. Paul Suburban Railway Co. extends
streetcar service through Bellaire and
other parts of the Township.
Streetcar in White Bear
1913
August 13, 1913. George Hermann,
vaudeville performer and White Bear
Beach resident, appears in “The
Mysterious Masquerader” at the
Union Square Theater in New York
City.
Union Square Theatre, New York City
1917
April 6, 1917. United States enters
The Great War [World War I]. In the
following months, 360 White Bear
men register for military service.
World War I recruits in downtown White Bear
1919
October 4, 1919. The Town Board begins
treatment of “contagious diseases” in
response to the influenza epidemic.
Epidemic Poster
Epidemic Poster
1920
January 16, 1920. The
National Prohibition of
alcohol becomes law.
“Moonshine stills” and
“Speakeasies” become
prevalent
throughout
the Township. The
most notable speakeasy
is the Plantation on the
shores of White Bear
Lake.
Prohibition is
repealed in 1933.
The Plantation
1925
September 29, 1925. White Bear
wins the Minnesota State
Amateur Baseball Championship
The State Title represents White
Bear’s only appearance in the
State Tournament.
The White Bear Nine
1929
October 29, 1929. The
Great Depression begins.
As part of the national
recovery effort, canals are
excavated at Lake Vadnais
as a Works Progress Administration (WPA) project
in the Township.
Canal Construction at Lake Vadnais
1933
July 4, 1933. Kate “Ma” Baker and members of the BarkerKarpas Gang reside at Idlewild Cottage on Bald Eagle Lake’s
east side. They kidnap millionaire William Hamm Jr. and
receive $100,000 for his safe return.
Ma Barker
1934
January 9, 1934.
Paul
Manship, classical sculptor
and summer resident of
Bald Eagle, dedicates the
Prometheus Fountain at
Rockefeller Center in New
York City.
Prometheus Fountain, New York City
1939
June 13, 1939. Crown Prince
Olav and Princess Martha of
Norway visit Solheim on
Bald Eagle Lake’s west side.
The mansion serves as the
Consulate for Norway and
Sweden.
Solheim Mansion
1943
March 2, 1943. Paul Cromer is elected to a three-year term
on the Town Board. Inducted into the Army Air Corp during
World War II, he is replaced by Carl Olson who serves as his
“Substitute”. Cromer returns from the service and reassumes
office from Olson on January 7, 1946.
Paul Cromer
1956
July 17, 1956. North Oaks organizes
as a village out of the Township. In the
next three years, the villages of
Vadnais Heights and Gem Lake also
separate from the Township.
Threshing on the North Oaks Farm
1958
May 11, 1958. The Township observes its Centennial
having emerged from a year of political instability. During
a five-month period in 1957, seven different men serve on
the three-member Town Board, four of them as Chairman.
Earl Benner served three months as
Chairman - died in office July 1, 1957
1960
August 1, 1960. Mary Pope is appointed
Town Clerk. She becomes the first woman to
serve in Township office. Pope is later
elected three times as Clerk and twice as
Treasurer.
Mary Pope administers oath of office to Tom Jefferson
1964
December 25, 1964.
Fred Hargesheimer,
Bald Eagle resident,
appears
on
the
nationally televised
“Jack Paar Show”.
He
recounts
his
World War II story of
being shot down over
New Guinea and
saved by friendly
natives.
Fred Hargesheimer helped establish Airman’s Memorial School in New Guinea
1968
March 7, 1968. Ralph
Plaisted, Explorer and
Bald Eagle resident, leads
a snowmobile expedition
to the North Pole.
Ralph Plaisted’s Polar Expedition
1974
March 13, 1974. Tamarack Nature
Center is approved for Ramsey
County acquisition. Four “Open
Space” regions are ultimately
designated for preservation in the
Township: Poplar Lake, Otter Lake,
Tamarack Lake and Bald Eagle
Lake.
Tamarack Nature Center
1979
June 1, 1979. Gerry Spiess sets
sail across the North Atlantic
Ocean in his homemade 10-foot
sailboat, Yankee Girl. The voyage
takes 54 days covering nearly
3,800 nautical miles.
Spiess
builds the sailboat in his Bald
Eagle garage.
Gerry Spiess with Yankee Girl
1988
July 1, 1988. Economic
Development Authority is
granted to the Township.
Specialty Manufacturing Co.
(SMC) becomes the first
development project, leading
the way for the expansion of
commercial development and
the creation of new jobs.
Specialty Manufacturing Co. (SMC) Plant
1994
March 8, 1994. “Sunday Liquor” is
approved by Township referendum with
the Town Board limiting liquor sales to
restaurants. All on-sale licenses are
issued by Ramsey County.
Appleby’s Restaurant – first ”Sunday” on-sale license
1996
June 23, 1996. Benson Airport
is donated to the Township.
Established in 1940, the airport
is preserved with a grass
runway, passive open space/
parkland and a water tower site
Small plane enthusiast Slim Flatten with dog, Tammy
2003
May 31, 2003. Polar Lakes
Community
Park
is
dedicated. Started in 1999,
the outdoor community
center is developed with
lighted baseball and soccer
fields, picnic shelters,
trails and an open air
Amphitheater.
Township’s Park Board with St Paul Saints mascot
Sesquicentennial Billboard
2008
May 11, 2008. White Bear Township and the State of Minnesota celebrate their 150-year
birthday (Sesquicentennial).
Sources include: “White Bear: A History,” by Catherine Carey, © 2008.
White Bear Lake Area Historical Society
For more information about our history, read White Bear: A History by Catherine
Carey, available at the White Bear Township Offices, 1281 Hammond Road,
White Bear Township, Minnesota 55110. Books are also available through the
White Bear Lake Area Historical Society at The Depot, Lake Country Booksellers,
The Nest, Common Good Books, Festival Foods and Kowalski's Market.