Here you stand at 4th & Main
With trade established here and the well used 240 mile Red River Oxcart Trail crossing the Crow Wing River just above this spot, it seemed like a good gamble. Gus called his town Wadena. His brother Nat drew the survey. Wadena was registered in St. Cloud as the county seat.
But the financial panic of 1857 suddenly made settlers cash poor, and the Indian War worsened relations between native tribes and whites. The Civil War drew men away. Worst of all, the promised railroad was laid four miles south.
Gus's post office, store and boarding house near 4th & Main lasted a few short years. All that is left is a faded town plot and the cut to the old rope ferry.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1857.
Location. 46° 25.41′ N, 94° 49.425′ W. Marker is near Staples, Minnesota, in Wadena County. It is on Old Wadena Circle, on the right when traveling north. Within Old Wadena
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Regionally, this marker is in Central Minnesota. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 3 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: "A Cloud of Barbed Arrows" (approx. 0.4 miles away); Staples Station (approx. 5 miles away); Motley, Minnesota (approx. 10.4 miles away).
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on March 19, 2016, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 454 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 19, 2016, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
