Location:
-Located in the Crookston cemetery.
Special notes:
-Please park outside of the gates on the street, then hike in from there.
General info:
Permanent settlement of the Crookston area began in June of 1871, mostly along the Red River. These early settlers were predominately of Scandinavian, Irish and Scottish descent. Since the land was not surveyed, squatters made their boundaries and raised stock on the rich prairie hay. Ox teams were used for transportation and the settlers farmed on a small scale for their own needs because of the lack of markets.
The present site of Crookston, on the Red Lake River, wasn't settled until 1872. At the time, the St. Paul and Pacific Railway terminated at Glyndon; when they announced the extension of their line to St. Vincent, they placed the crossing of the Red Lake River where Crookston now stands.
Crookston was named after Colonel Williams Crooks, a pioneer railroad man who brought the first steam locomotive into Minnesota. In 1873, Crookston was named the county seat of Polk County. It wasn't until 1879 that the town was incorporated.
In 1873 all railroad construction stopped because of the Panic of 1872. Many of the Crookston citizens were railroad workers and because of the big blow to the railroad, they had to find a new way of life. Red River steamboats, operated by James J. Hill and Kittson, ran up the Red Lake River to Crookston in 1874 and 1875. These steamboats were loaded with freight that had come by rail from St. Paul and carried up the Red River of the North from Grand Forks to Winnipeg. Crookston soon became the head of navigation due to the favorable water conditions found here. During this time, more than 1000 tons of freight were hauled out of the office and depot that consisted of a box car.
Hill and Kittson built the railroad to Fisher's Landing in 1875 and Fisher became the terminus of steamboat transportation. This move of steamboat transportation ended Crookston's history as a river port.