Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, March 31, 1900, Page 38

= 26 DEER RIVER, ITASCA COUNTY, MINNESOTA. A VIEW OF DEER RIVER FROM A POINT NEAR THE RAILWAY JUNCTION. DEER RIVER AND TRIBUTARY REGION. Facts that Offer Many Interesting Pointers to People Who Contemplate Settling in the Western Country. The above is a Deer River view tak- en from a point at the south end of the village. A side view of the Northern Hotel is given, and in front of the Northern Hotel the Eastern Minnesota water tank, depot and warehouse stand ina row. The depot of the Itasca Logging Railway Com- pany is at the end of the sidewalk that appears in the foreground, but is a lit- tle too far to the left to be included in the picture. On the extreme right, and further away, one side of the Hotel Deer River isseen. Near the center of the picture, looking past the water tank, may be seen dimly in the distance part of James A. Quigg’s large hotel, that extends clear across the block from one street to another, and has a front on each end. Tuller & Terpenning’s large store is next to the Quigg Hotel. The business cen- ter is from the Hotel Deer River to the postotfice, and is partly shown in the picture at the top of page 25, in which is seen the store of the newly elected village treasurer, Jas. Everton, and of his son, Councilman W. A. Ey- erton, who has just been re-elected. The firm-name is J. Everton & Son. This firm has built up from a small beginning an exceedingly prosperous and growing business. Their store is the building next beyond the hotel. Councilman Fisher Baker, a very popular business man, is in business on this street, as isalso C. W. Robin- son, school treasurer and newly elected village recorder, a prominent citizen who is mentioned elsewhere herein. There are also other business houses on thisstreet. The next corner beyond this block is shown in the picture at the bottom of this page, where the first building is the store of A. D. Brooks and his son, P. R. Brooks, the THE BROOKS STORE, THE POSTOFFICE AND THE METHODIST CHURCH. the former being county: commissiner. In the smaller building next door beyond the Brooks store Postmaster Murry J. Taylor runs the postoffice and the Itasca News, both with satis- faction to the public. He also hasa farm near town. The building up the street a block from the postoftice is the Methodist church. The new school building is about 300 feet to the right of the church. THE TRIBUTARY COUNTRY. In the vicinity of Deer River the settlers are all making money, but many of them neglect the improve- ment of their farms on account of the large profits and immediate cash re- turns made by cutting and selling timber. Some get out pine, others make a specialty of cedar, and others get out railroad ties and all kinds of wood in various forms. Every kind of wood that:grows has a cash value in the market, and it is a crop that is always ready for the harvester. One well¥ known citizen says that the ease with which a living can be made is an encouragement to laziness. A man can easily have plenty of game and fish, an acre of land yields more vegetables than he and his family can use, a cow furnishes enough milk and butter, and when money is needed some timber is cut and sold. Wild hay always brings a good price in the winter, especially if it has been cut early and saved in good condition. If at any future time the supply exceeds the demand the excess can be baled and shipped to the head of Lake Su- perior, where it will always command city prices. It is unquestionably true as stated that the abundant means of living easily in this region tends to diminish rather than stimulate hu- man energy, yet the settlers in gen- eral are industrious, and wiil make the country blossom with the rich products of the soil as soon as they make up their minds to do less lum- bering and more farming. It is ex- pected that there will be a largerjper-