| Summary: | iWKK: W-6 .'**_ 3»«HS Note: There were also some private homes built on Main Street in 1888 and 1889. Some other early businesses listed in early records were the following: Doctors Cowan & Pinkerton Drug Store; Alex Porteus Blacksmith Shop; Rolette County Herald, 1905 (O.A. Graham, publisher); Farmers & Merchants Bank; Disc Harrow, 1892 (T.T. Tillotson, publisher); A.O. Graham's Jewelry Store; Becker Investment Agency; Charbonneau Lumber Yard; Armstrong Feed Barn; Atlas Lumber Company; McLean Blacksmith Shop & Merry-Go-Round; Clarke & Tanguay Store; Chang Laundry, 1904; O'Laughlin Brothers Implement; Harrington & Flynn Implement; Flynn & Mosher Hardware; Henry Olson Store; Andy Taylor, Tom Ellison, and Wm Jolliffe Livery Business; Rolla State Bank 1902-1928; Wagner & Gailfus Abstracting Co., 1902; Marcotte Meat Market (operated 40 years) 1893; Fee Brothers Jewelry Shop, 1902; Mrs. S.R. Wood Dressmaking & Millinery Shop; Hersing Elevator, 1893; and Farmers Grain Co. Turtle Mountain Star and Post Office with a Lodge Hall upstairs. The first part of which was built in 1898. PIONEER INDUSTRIES Early in its history Rolla had several industries which, as CR. Jacobsen says, "were very good for a town." The first was the large flour mill established by Matt Harrison who had built the first flour mill in Manitoba at Fort Gerry for the Hudson Bay Company in 1887. From there he went to Bottineau and established a mill there. He was soon influenced to establish a mill in the town of Rolla, and purchased one from A. Messner and Father Malo of St. John about 1890, moved it to Rolla, and made it the Rolla Roller mill. He remodeled from time to time and increased the output of his flour which he called "Harrison's Best" from 100 to 250 barrels a day. He sold flour in North Dakota, Montana, the eastern states, and the surplus was exported to Europe. Before Mr. Harrison's flour mill began production, flour had to be brought to Rolla from Dunseith where Mr. Gottbrecht had opened a mill in 1885. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1907. He did not rebuild, and in 1910, he left Rolla and moved his family to Minneapolis. Another industry which was of great value to Rolla was the private light plant established by John Munro in the back of his garage about 1909. In 1913 the Rolla Light and Milling Company was established (See "Electricity Comes to Rolla" for other details). They built a large three- story flour mill and produced "Lilly White" flour, bran and shorts, and did custom grinding and feed grinding. The first flour was produced January 2, 1917, and was reported by Mr. Hoskins of the Turtle Mountain Star as having been of "superb quality." It had a capacity of 50 barrels a day. In 1926, Mr. Munro and his associates sold the business to Erickson Brothers of Rugby who operated the mill until they sold it to Otter Tail Power Company, at which time the mill was torn down. Rolla also had a brickyard which was established in 1902 by Charles Duchesneau. It was located about a mile south of the fairgrounds. Although it operated for only about two years, the Scanned with a Zeutschel Zeta book scanner at 300 dpi. Edited with Multi-Page TIFF Editor.
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