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Clearbrook, Minnesota One Place Study
Purpose of Study
The objective of this place study and its two nearest neighbors, Leonard, Minnesota One Place Study and Gonvick, Minnesota One Place Study, are to document the history of places and people in Northern Clearwater County, Minnesota. The Northern half of Clearwater County was opened for settlement from the diminished Red Lake Indian Reservation in 1896. Many families built this area from scratch, and while some left legacies and stories, some did not. These one place studies aim to provide a space for continued research into the genealogy of all settlers and past residents, to understand more about patterns of migration, document stories of settlers, and compile well-sourced lists of past residents of the county for future genealogical and historical uses. To assist in the Wikitree mission of creating a global tree, all persons within one degree of anyone counted in these one place studies will have pages created with proper sourcing and categorization.
Anyone interested in the area, with family from the area, or who is living there is welcome to join.
The Clearbrook, Minnesota One Place Study covers Leon Township, Eddy Township, Holst Township, Sinclair Township, Clover Township, and most of Greenwood and Pine Lake Townships. These areas are usually considered to be part of the Clearbrook area.
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| Northern Clearwater County One Place Study boundaries and overlap |
Name
Clearbrook is a city in Clearwater County, Minnesota, United States. It was named after Silver Creek's clear water, which flows through the city.
Geography
History
Before Clearbrook
The story of Clearbrook began on May 15, 1896. On that day, 52 Townships formerly part of the Red Lake Indian Reservation were opened for settlement, including Leon Township. Lines formed outside of land offices in Crookston and Bemidji on April 4th as settlers would put in their claims for homesteads. Those with the quickest legs would wind up with the most promising farms. These men, called sooners but unlike the original purveyors of that word in Oklahoma, lined up neatly and orderly at the southern and western borders of the opening land waiting for a series of signaling shots. Most of these men were Scandinavian from Sweden and Norway, and were living in Minnesota or surrounding states when the news of a land rush reached them. Mixed in were a fair amount of Germans, French, and some Irish, along with some deep rooted Americans.
In Section 29 of what would become Leon Township, two men named Peter homesteaded. Peter Skog homesteaded the NW 1/4 of that section, and Peter Peterson homesteaded the SW 1/4. Skog moved away very soon after, Peterson buying the Southern half of his land and Lauritz Jensen buying the Northern half.
Torger Bergland and J.O. Johnson, both early influential figures farming in the area, conducted a "cow census" to determine the best place for a creamery. They decided on placing it on a hill in Section 29, on land owned by Peter Peterson. In 1907, Peterson partitioned and sold the North 160 acres of his land to become a town. This town was called Shanty Town and contained the bare minimum needed for the local community of farmers to thrive: a bank, a creamery, a school, and tent residences for laborers, as well as a general store built by Peterson. This land was bisected by Silver Creek, with the creamery's hill to the North of the creek prime for overseeing the town's progress.
A few miles to the East, a post office not unlike many others was started by Anton Olberg from his residence in Section 22 of Leon Township on his son Henry's homestead. He named the post office Olberg after himself. Albert Anderson was Anton's nephew and was a determined writer and postmaster from Southern Minnesota. He purchased Anton Olberg's land around 1902 and started publishing newspapers from the Olberg Post Office. His newspaper was prospering covering stories such as Clearwater County becoming independent from Beltrami County on November 4, 1902, and news of the railroad coming in 1910. With that news, he moved his printing operations to Shanty Town for what was to come.
Clearbrook
The Olberg Journal brought news that the Soo Line Railroad was coming to town, and Shanty Town would be a stop along it. The town needed a real name to place on a train depot, and some of those suggested were Ruffy Brook, Silver Creek, Leonville, and Edward Rydeen's suggestion, Clearbrook. Rydeen's suggestion won over those in the area, as the county had already been known for its clear water flowing in rivers. The southern half of the county is perhaps most famous for its Mississippi headwaters, which also begins as a brook only inches deep and clear as glass. Silver Creek was similarly clean, and at the time, people argued that water from Silver Creek and other nearby rivers flowed into the Mississippi (and wanted the headwaters to be considered further North). Thus, the city was founded as Clearbrook in 1910.
Now with a proper name and an incoming railroad, Clearbrook became a booming town. Streets were properly laid out. Main Street ran North and South, parallel to Elm Street to the West and Oak and Pine Streets to the East. First, Second, and Third Avenue ran perpendicular to Main. Olberg Journal, now located in Clearbrook, became Clearbrook Journal in 1910. The general store from Shanty Town, called the Randahl Nelson Store, was on Main Street, and the creamery was located on top of the hill. New buildings came such as a hardware store, restaurant, blacksmith, mill, barber, a hotel and cafe, a meat market, and a bank. A lumber yard held stock for the town's expansion. The railroad brought many new residents as well, and the hill to the North of the townsite became a residential area. Clearbrook was incorporated as a village on June 15, 1918.
Townships
Leon Township (T149N-R37W), the center of this One Place Study, was organized on November 16, 1897. It was named after Leon Dickinson, the first white child born in the township. Leon was also the name of a post office on the land of Charlie Johnson of the Township, operated by Charlie's neighbor Daniel Dickinson, Leon's father. That post office operated from 1897 to 1910. Leon was born on May 22, 1895, near Clinton, Minnesota according to himself, and his father may have bent the truth to get his name on the town's history. The first meeting for township organization was held at Daniel Dickinson's house. This post office did not last long as Churnes took over its mail routes. Besides Leon, the other post offices in Leon Township were the aforementioned Olberg in Section 22, which operated from 1901-1910, and Beard in Section 13, operated by Olaf and Daisy (Beard) Johnson from 1900-1913.
Eddy Township (T148N-R38W) is Southwest of Leon. It was organized before 1899. Eddy Township was named after Frank Eddy, the United States Congress representative from the 7th congressional district. Many settlers came from the 7th district, which contained the Western counties of Minnesota. However, Clearwater (or Beltrami County as it was part of then) was part of the 6th congressional district at that time. In that way, their call to Eddy was not answered. The post offices in Eddy Township were all abandoned by the time Clearbrook came around, with the southern offices being replaced by Bagley mail routes and the northern ones being replaced by Clearbrook routes. Weme Post Office was in Section 18 from 1902-1912. Founded by Hans Weme, it tried to become a town after being a post office but is now a ghost town. Willborg was in Section 33 and was operated by Martin Willborg from 1897-1909. Rusten was located in Section 24 and was operated by Johannes Rusten from 1903-1906. Moonlight was located in Section 3, operated by Henry Olberg (son of Anton Olberg of Leon Township) as mail carrier and his wife Carrie as postmaster from 1902-1910, and was sometimes considered to be across the border into Pine Lake Township, Section 35.
Holst Township (T148N-R37W) is Southeast of Leon. It was organized on April 18, 1899, but was initially called "Silver Creek". The council of the township was told that they could not use that name because another township in the state had already used it, Silver Creek Township in Wright County. The discouraged township council sent in a letter containing their three picks for township name in order of priority: Bexell, Silverton, or Aneby. Over a year later, they received back that the township would be called Holst. Nobody knows why Holst was chosen. Hans Holst was the town clerk and was most likely the one to have sent in the letter, and one theory is that the county auditor in Bemidji lost the letter but not the envelope. It could have also been sent through the post office Holst, which was mistaken as the Township rather than a post office within it. Another is simply that his name was on top of any personnel listing from the township's government. Interestingly, in 1905, a Silver Creek Township was founded in Lake County with no issues regarding its name. Holst was the name of a post office operating from 1902-1906, though its postmaster and location are unknown if not Hans Holst himself on his farm.
Sinclair Township (T149N-R36W) is East of Leon. It was organized on October 16, 1899. It was named after John Sinclair, who was elected to be the first town clerk. This meeting took place at the home of Robert Neving, who operated the first post office in the township, Neving, in Section 14. It did not start with the name Sinclair, instead being called Clearwater Township in meeting records and never with notes about a name change. Neving was also starting to become a town but did not develop like Leonard or Clearbrook. Their post office operated from 1900-1920, with Robert Neving leaving for Canada in the middle of its lifespan. The post office Starlight was also located in this township in Section 21 from 1903-1907. The exact location and postmaster are unknown. It was authorized to change its name to Oswald on October 2, 1907, but Oswald never opened. Schliefview was a post office located in either Section 28 or 29 neighboring Starlight from 1909-1911, operated by Nancy Schlief.
Clover Township (T150N-R36W) is North of Sinclair. It was organized in 1914. It was the last township in the area to be settled, The early days of the township are less well-recorded. It was rough land, said to be occupied mostly by rowdy bachelors. Most land was not homesteaded, instead being purchased by logging companies. Besides being called by its township number, it was called Half Town from its North half being unorganized reservation land. By 1909 names suggested were Clearwater, Taft, and Steenerson, but the name chosen in 1914 upon organization was Clover, suggested by James N. Vail, after the fields of clover in parts of the township. It contained the post office Dunowen in Section 36, operated by Frank and Raymond Stevens, which lasted from 1906 to 1913.
Greenwood Township (T150N-R37W) is North of Leon. Its year of organization is unknown, as well as why it was called Greenwood. It was first called Greenwood in the 1905 Minnesota State Census. Much of its early years were dominated by logging, with only some permanent residents farming. It is probably named after the trees, containing dense pine forests that left settlers seeing green and wood year-round. It contained Churnes Post Office in Section 35, operated by Alick Churness from 1903 to 1913 with August Jacobson as a mail carrier. August was a popular mail carrier who was quick to adopt the car for mail carrying and carried mail throughout the Clearbrook area. Another post office was in Section 7, called Meadows, operated by Emma Campbell from 1902 to 1907.
Pine Lake Township (T149N-R38W) is West of Leon. Most of its history is related to Gonvick, a city founded by the Gonvick family in Section 10 of the Township. The township was named after Pine Lake, a large lake within the township. Pine Lake was named after the pine trees that surrounded it. It was organized very early, around 1897. The post office Teckla was located in Section 25 and was operated by Anna Gunelius from 1897-1910. Also in the township's early days was Pinelake post office, lasting from 1897 to 1903, its location and postmaster unknown.
Churches
The early days of the Clearbrook area included many short-lived congregations holding services in houses. Seljord Church was one of the first permanent structure churches, with a building being built in Section 18 of Sinclair Township. The congregation had been founded in 1899. The current building was built in 1910. Seljord had held Swedish and Norwegian services in the early days, as the two did not want to have the same church. A Swedish congregation existed south of Neving for some years before moving to Leonard. Swedes to the West of Clearbrook formed a congregation named Betsadia in 1910. This church changed its name to Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1945. Norwegians in Greenwood and northern Leon organized the Greenwood Congregation in 1898 and built a church on land donated by Anne Gunning. The congregation admitted some Swedes and new members in the 1920s, which upset the Nelson and Jacobson families, who created their own Clearwater Lutheran Church congregation in 1924. They built a church in Section 35 of Greenwood Township. Oak Park Congregation was organized by Swedes in Eddy Township, just East of Weme, on land donated by Martin Olson. In what would become Clearbrook, Norwegians made the First Lutheran Church congregation in a schoolhouse with a cemetery south of town. Augustana, Oak Park, First Lutheran, Greenwood, and Seljord would merge into one congregation, the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Clearbrook, in 1966.
Most of the rural churches of Good Shepherd have been demolished except Seljord. Local Baptists created a congregation and church Northeast of Clearbrook, but a fire destroyed the church and all records. They reestablished a church in Clearbrook and put a new cemetery called Maple Hill south of Clearbrook. They combined with the Baptist congregation in Holst Township, established by Noak Abrahamson in Section 9 of the township. Near Leonard, the Norway Lake Congregation was established and their church was built in Holst Township. This church was moved to Leonard and combined with the Swedish church in town to create Our Savior's Lutheran Church of Leonard.
In 1955, Elim Lutheran Brethren Church was established in Clearbrook. Towards Bagley, the Zion, Concordia, and Emmanuel churches were built in southern Eddy and Holst township.
Faith Chapel in Clover was built in the late 1940s in Clover Township. The only new churches to come after Faith Chapel are the Country Faith Church, a non-denominational church started in 1982 and built in 1985 Southwest of Clearbrook, and a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints built in Clearbrook in 1971. There have never been many Mormons to join but the church remains in town.
Closely affiliated with the local churches of Clearbrook is the Good Samaritan Center. Once the Clearwater County Memorial Hospital was built in Bagley, the hospital in Clearbrook became abandoned. The pastor of First Lutheran Church in Clearbrook, Knut A. Knutson, wanted to save the hospital as a home for the elderly. Oliver Hagen rebuilt the foundation of the hospital to become structurally sound once again, and many businesses in the community pitched in to support Knutson's dream. Initially called the Lutheran Rest Home, it quickly was changed to the Good Samaritan Center. It started operations on May 2, 1952, with the first residents being Anna Anderson and Christ Berg. and continued into the 2010s when staffing shortages and an aging building strained its ability to function, culminating in its closure in December 2017. Almost all lifetime residents of Clearbrook and the surrounding areas spent some time in the home and nearly every family had at least one relative both working and living there. However, the building was again abandoned and in a worse state than the hospital that came before it until its demolition in 2024.
Cemeteries
Most residents of the Clearbrook area were buried in local cemeteries. The following cemeteries are in the areas covered by this One Place Study.
- Silver Creek Cemetery is located just south of Clearbrook in Section 32 of Leon Township. The land was donated by Nils Anderson around 1897.
- Augustana Cemetery is located in Section 25 of Pine Lake Township on land donated by Erik Gunelius. It began as Betsaida Cemetery. Some confusion exists on the date it began being used; the first burial is said to be Hilda Peterson in 1911 but several burials are said to have been done in the "Swedish Cemetery West of town" before then, none of whom have a stone in Augustana. There may have been another Swedish Cemetery used before Augustana but no records indicate that.
- Seljord Cemetery was one of the first churches in the county and was the first church in the northern half, starting in 1899. There are 2 acres of burials as well as a church on the property located North of Leonard and East of Clearbrook.
- East Seljord Cemetery, also called Westby Cemetery due to the Westby family's use of it, is located next to Armstrong Lake, North of Leonard.
- Norway Lake Cemetery, founded in 1897, was an early cemetery associated with the Norwegian speaking Norway Lake Congregation. The church that once stood on the site is now in Leonard, and burials spread across just under 4 acres. It is managed by Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Leonard.
- Oak Park Cemetery is located in Section 17 of Eddy Township, just East of Weme. The land was donated by Martin Olson.
- Elim Cemetery in Section 26 of Pine Lake Township on land donated by Walter Sovick.
- Maple Hill Cemetery is located in Section 1 of Eddy Township. It is affiliated with the Baptist church in Clearbrook. The land was donated by Hans Dahlberg.
- First Baptist Church Cemetery/Loun Cemetery was located in Section 20 of Leon Township on land bought from Thore Nelson. A Baptist church was there until a fire destroyed it, after which it rebuilt in Clearbrook and established a new cemetery, Maple Hill Cemetery. Most grave markers are lost.
- Greenwood Cemetery is located in Section 4 of Leon Township on land donated by Anne Gunning. The first burial there was in 1902. A church once stood on the site.
- Clearwater Cemetery is located in Section 35 of Greenwood Township near the Clearwater River. It is on land donated by Jacob Nilson. A church stood on the site from the 1920s to 1950s. The congregation was started by Jacob, his siblings Hans Nelson, Julia Churness, and August Jacobson, and some of their friends after disagreements over new members caused their split from the Greenwood Congregation in 1924.
- Sinclair Cemetery, formerly called Neving or Mission Cemetery, was also founded soon after settlers arrived. It is under 1.5 acres and is located Northeast of Leonard.
- Friendship Cemetery is located in Section 11 of Leon Township on land donated by Byron Evans. It did not have a church located on it and was used by local English-speaking settlers who congregated around Beard in Leon Township.
- Concordia Lutheran Cemetery is located in Section 28 of Eddy Township on land donated by Tor Klevstad.
- Emmanuel Lutheran Cemetery is located in Section 20 of Holst Township on land donated by Soren Pederson.
- Old Emmanuel Cemetery/Rusten Cemetery is located in Section 24 of Eddy Township on land donated to Emanuel Church by Johannes Rusten. He buried several of his family members here before the church decided on building East of Rusten's land. Very few burials occurred here and the cemetery is mostly lost to forest.
- Zion Lutheran Cemetery is located in Eddy Township in Section 35 of Eddy Township. It is usually considered part of the Bagley area and not Clearwater, but it falls within the boundaries of this one place study in Eddy Township.
- Samhold Lutheran Cemetery is the cemetery associated with Samhold Lutheran Church in Gonvick. Those who lived in or moved to the Gonvick area, including many residents of Pine Lake Township, were buried there.
- Bagley City Cemetery is the largest public cemetery in the area, and was the final resting place for people across the entire county.
- St. Joseph Cemetery is a section of Bagley City Cemetery designated for Catholics. Catholics from the Clearbrook area were sometimes buried here because it was the only Catholic Cemetery in the area.
Population
Notables
- Wes Westrum (Westrum-32), was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager, and scout. He was born in Clearbrook, played for local Clearbrook teams before his professional career, and retired to a cabin on Clearwater Lake in Sinclair Township. His brother Lyle Westrum also played Minor League Baseball.
- An "Icyball" refrigerator owned by Rudolph Stockman which now lives in the Smithsonian Museum.
- Vern McGriff, professor of special education at Jersey City State University and wife of Erline Perkins McGriff (Perkins-22827), was born in Clearbrook. Vern is also the brother of Hershel McGriff, who was born in Muncie, Indiana where the McGriffs moved to.
Genealogical Sources
Censuses
Censuses are not only a valuable tool for genealogy, but are also a checklist for residents of the community. This community was enumerated in the 1895 and 1905 Minnesota State Census, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940, 1950 United States Federal Census. This also provides a backup to third party sources and corrects errors in transcriptions on other sites. Profiles are linked as they appear in each census. Work in progress.
| 1895*† | 1900* | 1905 | 1910 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearbrook | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |||
| Leon | L95 | Leon-1900 | Leon-1905 | L10 | L20 | L30 | L40 | L50 |
| Eddy | E95 | Eddy-1900 | Eddy-1905 | E10 | E20 | E30 | E40 | E50 |
| Holst | H95 | Holst-1900 | Holst-1905 | H10 | H20 | H30 | H40 | H50 |
| Sinclair | S95 | Sinc-1900 | Sinc-1905 | S10 | S20 | S30 | S40 | S50 |
| Clover | C95 | N/A | Clover-1905 | C10 | C20 | C30 | C40 | C50 |
| Greenwood | G95 | GrnWd-1900 | GrnWd-1905 | G10 | G20 | G30 | G40 | G50 |
| Pine Lake | P95 | PnLk-1900 | PnLk-1905 | P10 | P20 | P30 | P40 | P50 |
*Before 1902, all of Clearwater County townships and cities were in Beltrami County.
†Small sections of what would become southern Clearwater County were included in the 1895 Minnesota State Census.
Homestead Records
The Bureau of Land Management General Land Office kept records of completed homesteads through land patents for most of the United States. These records provide a list of homesteaders to be placed in the Clearwater County, Minnesota category. In the future, there will be free space pages for each township's homesteaders with custom plat map images showing which plots were homesteaded and which were not, acerage of homesteads, double homesteaded plots, and eventually through work with the Minnesota State Historical Society's collections of land office notes, records of failed and cancelled homesteads as well.
Sources
- Curtains Going Up... The History of Clearbrook and the Surrounding Area. Gonvick, Minn.: Richards Publishing Co., n.d.
- Clearwater County, Headwaters of Mississippi River. Gonvick, Minn.: Richards Publishing, 1984.
- Main Street Now and Then (Clearbrook Centennial, 1910-2010, June 24-27 2010). Unknown publisher, Unknown author., 2010
- Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names. Minnesota Historical Society, 1920, pp. 121–134, https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/.
- “MN: Individual County Chronologies.” Digital.newberry.org, https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb/documents/MN_Individual_County_Chronologies.htm#Individual_County_Chronologies. Accessed 11 Jun. 2024.
- Ringborg, Axel. 1912."Atlas of Clearwater county, Minnesota.." University of Minnesota Libraries, John R. Borchert Map Library., Accessed 11 Jun., 2024. https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/item/p16022coll231:658
- W.W. Hixson & Co.. 1916."Plat book of the state of Minnesota.." University of Minnesota Libraries, John R. Borchert Map Library., Accessed 11 Jun., 2024. https://umedia.lib.umn.edu/item/p16022coll231:3111
- Atlas of Clearwater County, Minnesota. Bemidji, Minn.: American Atlas Company, 1966.
- Jim Forte Postal History, Clearwater County, Minnesota. Accessed 11 Jun., 2024.
- "United States Census, 1900." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 30 May 2024. Citing NARA microfilm publication T623. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
- "Minnesota State Census, 1905." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 23 May 2024. Citing Census Bureau. State Library and Records Service, St. Paul.
- "United States Census, 1910." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 30 May 2024. Citing NARA microfilm publication T624. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
- "United States Census, 1920." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 30 May 2024. Citing NARA microfilm publication T625. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
- "United States Census, 1930." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 30 May 2024. Citing NARA microfilm publication T626. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002.
- "United States Census, 1940." Database with images. FamilySearch. https://FamilySearch.org : 27 May 2024. Citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
- Ancestry.com. 1950 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2022. Original data: Department of Commerce. Bureau of the Census. 1913-1/1/1972. Population Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 - 1950. Washington, DC: National Archives at Washington, DC. Population Schedules for the 1950 Census, 1950 - 1950. NAID: 43290879. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, Record Group 29. National Archives at Washington, DC., Washington, DC.
