The Clearwater Area Historical Society offered historical tours during Clearwater’s Heritage Days celebration last weekend, their fourth year doing so.

 

Because of the popularity of previous tours, the group had two 45-minute trolley tours running from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The tours were well attended, with over 100 people participating.

 

New locations were included in this year’s tour, including T.O. Plastics, the blacksmith shops and information on area trading posts.

 

“Each year what we try to do is take some staples and then tweak it and add some new things,” explained member Karolyn Boucher. “That’s what keeps the tour interesting.”

 

The tour began at T.O. Plastics, which opened its facility in Clearwater in the 1960s specifically to service Franklin Refrigeration, which today is Electrolux.

 

The building was expanded a number of times over the years, and in 2001 was purchased by the current owner, Otter Tail Corp. Today the company employs 135 people between its Clearwater and Otsego locations.

 

Information was shared with the groups on how some streets in town got their names. Porter Street, for example, was named after Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Porter. Mrs. Porter was the first white woman to settle in Clearwater.

 

A stop was made near the Mississippi Bridge and its history discussed. The first steel bridge was actually secondhand, and was floated up the river from Anoka on barges in 1930. 

 

The current bridge was built in 1958, and according to MnDOT, weekdays 15,600 vehicles cross it daily. They estimate that by 2032 that number will have increased to 30,000. The new bridge is scheduled to be completed fall, 2017.

 

The old Clearwater creamery was pointed out to participants, which today houses Clear Water Outfitting, and next to them T & R Meat Processing, which began as a co-op meat locker plant in the early 1900s.

 

Around the 1930s and 1940s, what is now Ash Street was known as Blacksmith Hill, due to the two blacksmiths operating businesses there. On the west side was Isaac Whitney, and on the east, D.E. Collins. 

 

Shortly before Heritage Days, the historical society discovered a garage located on the west side of Ash Street is Whitney’s original blacksmith shop, its interior walls still showing burns.

 

At the top of Ash Street the old post office was identified, which today houses Freedom Bible Church, as was the laundromat, which began as Killeen’s Garage and Gas Station.

 

Another new item to this year’s tour was the Hollywood Steak House and Motel, which was originally behind the school and the First Congregational Church. 

 

Built in 1957 by realtor Ray Matthees, it was constructed so the motel portion of the building could be separated and relocated in the event the highway moved. The highway did move, the building was separated, and the motel transferred to where today’s Holiday station is sited.

 

There is local folklore concerning the First Congressional Church, built in the 1880s. It’s said to have been surrounded by a stockade, and that there was a tunnel built under it as an escape route from the Indians. No documentation of the tunnel has yet been found, however the historical society has found one reference to a stockade. 

 

The tour again included the Masonic Lodge. Although the building was built in the late 1880s, Masonic Lodge #28 was actually established in Clearwater in December 1858.

 

Not far from the Lodge the tour stopped by the ferry landing trail. The Clearwater Ferry was the first to cross the Mississippi River and was its longest running swing-line ferry. 

 

The ferry operated from 1856 to 1930, until the first bridge was installed. After ice jams caused the bridge to go out in 1943 the second ferry opened and operated from 1944 to 1950. From that point until the new bridge was completed in 1958 there was no way to cross the river.

 

The two trading posts that operated in this area of the river were introduced. The first, run by Asa White and Isaac Marks from 1844 to 1850, was located near today’s Travelers on the Mississippi Country Club. The second, run by J. Davies and Nathan Myrick from 1850 to 1855, was closer to the golf course.

 

One of the ways the historical society gathers information is from people who’ve lived in the area. Brothers and lifetime Clearwater residents Lyle and Curtis Heaton separately attended a tour, each sharing stories about growing up in the area.

 

Another tour included six brothers and sisters from the Al and Maxine Abeln family, whose grandfather had several businesses in town over the years. They also shared stories about their childhood and their grandfather.

 

Anyone interested in Clearwater history, the Clearwater Area Historical Society or future tours can email clearwaterhistory@yahoo.com, or visit their Facebook page or website at clearwaterhistory.org.