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Cologne / Village of Benton 1865-2007

'Village of Benton, Minn.', 1920's (left to right)... 'Coyle & Welters General Blacksmithing & Horseshoeing', Glenn's House - 'The Lakeside Saloon' - owned by Jordan Brewery and operated by Chas. Fritz., The Chas. Fritz home, purchased from August Christ and moved here in 1920.
'Village of Benton, Minn.', 1920's (left to right)...
'Coyle & Welters General Blacksmithing & Horseshoeing'
Glenn's House - 'The Lakeside Saloon' - owned by Jordan Brewery and operated by Chas. Fritz.
The Chas. Fritz home, purchased from August Christ and moved here in 1920.

Village of Benton, Minnesota - January 28th 2007

Chas. Fritz - The Lakeside Saloon ~1920(?)
Benton Fourth of July Parade celebrations?
(Note the street flags, and banners in the widows and deck railing.)

Glenn Hagfors residence - January 28th 2007
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Chas. Fritz - Lakeside Saloon Newspaper Advertisement ~1920(?)

Meuwissen Wirtz new hardware store, Benton announcement
September 19th 1878 - The Weekly Valley Herald - Chaska

Meuwissen Wirtz new hardware store, Benton advertisement
September 26th 1878 - The Weekly Valley Herald - Chaska

Village of Benton - July 4th, 1910 Parade
<br>Village of Benton - January 28th 2007

Village of Benton - 1981

Village of Benton - February 11th 2007
 

1874-1886 the property was owned by George Bleichner Sr. I have yet to find what the business was during that ownership.

During 1891-1894, I show Henry Sieben and Eugene Vreyens owning the property and I've found an 1892 newspaper advertisement for a "Sieben & Vreyens, Benton, Minn." for "General Merchandise & Grain" and "Lumber at Bottom Prices".

The Lakeside Saloon was probably owned by the Jordan Brewery (Peter Schutz & Peter Hilgers of the Schutz & Hilgers Brewery) and run by Charles "Chas" Fritz and his wife Coroline (Bleichner) Fritz at this time. (1913-1941) The house next door (to the right) was moved in from Cologne by the Fritz family and made their residence in 1920. The Fritz house is long gone. (Moved back to Cologne?) Chas Fritz's son-in-law Richard (Schuster) Wirtz and daughter Marion (Mary Ann) Fritz (Wirtz) continued to run the business as "Schuster's" until 1973. I bought the home from Mary Ann Wirtz in 1994.

So, do you think the horses and wagons in front of the Fritz home are the wagons Chas used to deliver beer to the neighboring towns as a youth?

The Blacksmith Shop hosted blacksmith's Pat Coyle and Mathias (Matt) Bleichner (Any relationship to Caroline?) and probably owned by John Welters. (John Welters is on my abstract 1894-1913.) I show George Bleichner Sr. (Matt's father) on my abstract as an early property owner. The property ownership was briefly transferred to George Bleichner Jr. (Matt's brother) following the father's death. Before burning down, I think the Blacksmith shop also had a rich history. The foundation for the blacksmith shop is still buried in the front yard and is evidenced by a distinct square brown outline in my lawn in the late summer.

Front and back of the "Post Card". I've got some investigation to do before I believe the "1881" date. 1881 is the date of Benton's and Cologne's incorporation. Ten years later in 1891, Benton was vacated. Electricity was reported to have come to Cologne in 1916. The Fritz family purchased the neighboring house from August Christ in Cologne and had it relocated here in Benton about 1920. Hhmm... Maybe 1920's? (I'd guess someone missed the mark by only 40 years.)

   

Plat of the Village of Benton Carver County Minnesota

Plat of the Village of Benton City (Cologne) Carver County Minnesota

The original Lots 1, 2, and 3 of Block 10!
(Most of my lot is in the west portion of Lot 2 - "M. Ertz" - and part of Lot 1)

My resurveyed and new west lot line. (I'm Parcel 1)
(Can you see the remains of the original Lot 2 and the north line of the Mohrbacher lot?)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
 
   
   
   
   
   
 
 
   
   
   
   
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