IMAGES OF A MINNESOTA TOWN LATER DESTROYED BY A TORNADO

A collection of 190 real photo postcards, circa 1910, from Fergus Falls, Minnesota, and the nearby cities of Alexandria and Garfield. Incorporated in 1907, Fergus Falls is situated along the Otter Tail River in the western part of the state, about 60 miles from Fargo, North Dakota. Scandinavian immigrants arrived shortly after the town was founded and today, Fergus Falls is the synodic headquarters of the Church of Lutheran Brethren of America.

Two major tornadoes hit Fergus Falls during the early 20th century, the second, on June 22, 1919, killed 57 people, leveled 44 city blocks, including the business district, and destroyed 159 homes. The (truncated) only church edifice left standing after the cyclone, which remains the second deadliest in Minnesota's history, was the predominantly black Baptist church. This collection includes a real photo postcard of the memorial windows at Grace Methodist Church.

The postmarks on some of the postcards indicate these images were captured about a decade prior to the disaster, when the population of Fergus Falls was just under 7,000. They show various residents, as well as homes and businesses. There are several shots of young adults gathering along the river and four portraits of students at the Park Region Lutheran College, including the baseball and basketball teams, respectively. Another four images show floats in an Independence Day parade sponsored by local businesses. About ten percent of the images bear the stamp of a Fergus Falls photographer: Andrews Studio, Bowman & Lyden, A. Carlson, or Rabajoff.

Only a small number of the postcards were mailed. These bear holographic messages on the verso, including one of the Mill Street Bridge in Fergus Falls from which the stamp has been excised. Others bear holographic notations on the verso identifying individuals or locations seen on the postcard. They seem to indicate the images once belonged to Beda Brita Edlund (1887-1947), a Swedish immigrant who arrived in America in 1889. The collection is accompanied by a sheet of handwritten notes identifying other individuals seen on the postcards.

Some general edgewear and occasional soiling to the postcards. A few are creased or lightly stained, but overall, the images are clear and free of fading. (Inventory #: 77873)