The Railroad Brought Rapid Change

Before the advent of the railroad in this region, the majority of travel for centuries was by the Mississippi and connecting waterways, and by overland trails. The forested wilderness and its remoteness sheltered the region from major change, well into the early 19th century. When the railroad arrived in 1870, this region developed more rapidly than at any other time in history, before-or after its arrival.

The earliest Euro-Americans to inhabit this region were fur traders and voyageurs. They lived in relative harmony with the indigenous peoples of the region for nearly two centuries. By the late 1800s, a flow of Americans seeking a better life in the west, and escaping a depressed economy in the East, began populating the region. This new blood was comprised of people who sought to make their living in farming, lumbering and industry. While the fur trade exploited the fur-bearing mammals of the region, this new wave of population sought resources in such great volume that the land began to change drastically. Forested wilderness soon became farmland, factories and homesteads. The industrial age was starting to make its mark on the region.

Cultural Diversity Comes By Rail

The railroad was responsible for much of the early settlement of the nation, west of the Great Lakes. Explorers may have mapped the way, but it was the railroad that truly marketed settlement, platted towns and sold much of the land to the early pioneers. In addition to the Americans fleeing hard times in the east, Scandinavian immigrants looking for land to farm joined German, Italian, and other European immigrants seeking out a better life. Many of those early pioneers settled in this region, at least partially, because of the access to this area provided by rail.

Lifeline Of The Community

The railroad kept the community in contact with the rest of the nation. The trains brought traveling salesmen who pitched the latest inventions and variety of goods. Commodities were shipped in, and local produce shipped back out to market. The railroad carried passengers, delivered freight and mail. It also brought the local newspaper their national news stories and railroad telegraph operators wired the latest news flashes via telegraph. Whistle-stop campaigns brought candidates to the people. Sometimes the local sheriff would even hop the train in pursuit of a fugitive fleeing from the law, and would often return the same to justice via the next train home.

The Northern Pacific continued to operate passenger service in Aitkin until about the 1930s, and commuter train service into the 1960s. The Northern Pacific Depot still stands in Aitkin today and is listed on the National Register as a historic treasure.