Royalton, Minnesota

Part of the fun of genealogy is exploring the "side stories" we get interested in, like this business of the faith healer in Royalton, Mn.  We (ok, Larry) discovered him last week (look 2-3 posts down).

Royalton was/is different, I think, because it's small, and situated on the railroad.  Where Buckman (17 miles NE) was all German Catholics, and North Prairie (west) was almost all Czechs, Royalton was settled by a mix of faiths and ethnic groups.  The censuses show English, Irish, Polish, German and Czech families, among others, and it had  Methodist, Lutheran and Catholic churchs early on.

This photo was most likely taken from the grain elevator next to the RR tracks, looking south on what eventually became Highway 10.  (Treasure City would be just off the left side there 60+ years later).

"Front Street", I'm pretty sure, is the main east-west street that becomes the Little Rock Road beyond where AA and Lizzy Hesch, farmed--past what's now the High School.

This was 1948--and the "Log Bar" is still a bar, all these years later.  In fact, we had a reunion meeting there last spring...lol  The 2-story part of it was removed to widen Highway 10.
If you're curious, there's a great series of  OLD ROYALTON PICS online, including these.

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