The Mounds' picturesque hills gave Mounds View Township and later the school district, high school and village their names. For many years a play area for youth, hikers, picnickers, and skiers, the Mounds were taken out of the public and private domain by the Army for the Twin Cities Arsenal in 1941 and has since been carved by the mining of its extremely high grade of sand and gravel. Pictured here is the excavation of the Arsenal Sand and Gravel Company which had produced 750,000 tons of sand and gravel per year. The buildings in the upper right perimeter of the photo are ammunition sheds from the Arsenal. Many area residents found employment at the Arsenal or gravel company.
Aerial view from the south village limits of New Brighton was taken by MacGillis & Gibbs Company, a pole yard company, which is seen in the lower half of the photo. Notable buildings include the First Congregational Church, New Brighton Elementary School, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, and the New Brighton Village Hall.
The stockyard industry was a million dollar operation at the turn of the century. The stockyards, completed in September, 1889, could accommodate 5000 cattle, 10,000 hogs, 20,000 sheep, and 500 horses on its 30 acres. Cattle pens are shown.
The Beisswenger and Johnson Grocery was located in the former Transit Hotel building. Lawrence Johnson, left, with his brother-in-law, Adoph Beisswenger, and their wives, Mable Beisswenger, center, and Rose Johnson, right, owned the store. Later the store moved across the street to the Treat Building, where it was in business until the 1960s.
Ed and Fred Beisswenger in the Beisswenger and Johnson Grocery Store in 1927. Later the store moved across the street to the Treat Building, where it was in business until the 1960s.
Bell Lumber and Pole Company was formed in 1919 to treat telephone poles and lumber. This machine is called a perforator which perforates the lumber and telephone poles to allow the preserving chemicals to penetrate.
Bell Lumber and Pole Company was formed in 1919 to treat telephone poles and lumber. The pole yards were very important to the employment and economy of New Brighton. All of the heavy work was done by horses and pole yard workers in the early years.
Bell Lumber and Pole Company was formed in 1919 to treat telephone poles and lumber. The company hired many local men. A fire in 1923 is destroyed the complex, but the company rebuilt and is still in business today.
The Belt Line Brick Company began about 1910 and operated on a 24 hours-per-day basis employing many New Brighton men. It was located east of present-day Sunnyside School. Its operation slowed up in post-World War II years as the plant became outmoded. It was dismantled in 1962.
The Belt Line Brick Company operated a plant in New Brighton beginning in 1910. They ran the business on a 24 hours-per-day basis. Its operation slowed up in post-World War II years as the plant became outmoded. It was dismantled in 1961. The brick yard employed many New Brighton men.
The Belt Line Brick Company began about 1910 and operated on a 24 hours-per-day schedule. It employed many local men. Its operation slowed down in the post-World War II years as the plant became outmoded. It was razed in 1961. John Zellie and Joe Hillyard, employees, others unidentified.
Burlington Route Black Hawk railroad car with Lorado Taft, sculptor, Governor Theodore Christianson, and F. E. Williamson, President, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway
Alvena Cota's Beauty Shop opened in 1945 and operated into the 1980s. Her shop was located first on the south side of Tenth Street and later moved to Old Highway 8, behind the Skelley Station.
The Devine Hotel, also called Brighton Hotel and Long Lake House, in New Brighton was located along Front Street and Sixth Avenue in New Brighton during the stockyards heyday. It was built by William Devine I. There were five hotels in downtown New Brighton, all catering to the stockyard staff and workers. The hotel also contained a saloon. On the far right is the spire of the old Town Hall located on 5th Avenue.
Mounted cattlemen in front of the opulent Exchange Hotel in 1900. Built to accommodate 159 guests, the hotel, first called the Cattlemen's Hotel, was constructed at a cost of $30,000. This building housed a hotel, dining room, bank, land company, railroad offices, stock commission offices, telegraph office, newspaper presses, barber shop, saloon, and gaming rooms. It eventually became a canning factory and lastly Beisswenger's Hardware. The building was razed in October, 1988.
Prominent local businessman Franklin M. Searles, owner of F. M. Searles Lumber, a firm that also served as the Post Office, fuel store, and feed store in New Brighton. Pictured, far right, with children Monna, DeWitt, Isola, Coy, and wife Sadie Alice Sackett Searles. Searles also served on the Village Council and as a delegate to various Republican conventions.
Children of Franklin Searles, New Brighton prominent businessman, are shown: son Coy Searles; daughter Marnie Searles; friend E. Lawrence Haglund; daughter Maude Searles
Among the retail establishments in New Brighton in the 1920s was Frank Zamor's Ice Cream Parlor with Rosina Boryczka working behind the counter in 1925.
Harris Brothers Forge and Rolling Mill began in the Irondale area in 1891. This mill turned bundles of scrap iron into large balls which were made into various shapes and forms. Seventy-five company homes were built for workers and their families near the mill. Ruinous fires brought the demise of the iron foundry in 1893.
The Hudoba Building, built by Alexander Hudoba, served as a general store, saloon, living quarters, and hotel, with the basement level used for farm animals. Alexander Hudoba, and sons, Walter, Alex, and Leonard Hudoba stand outside the building.