Mercantile Hotel

 I know it was on South Main Street but not exactly sure where. In 1903 their ad stated it was the BEST $1 a day Hotel with plenty of room and pleasant surroundings. The weekly price was $4.50. The Hotel was owned by a Mr August  Benedett. His ads encouraged people coming to Minot to shop to stay at the Mercantile Hotel. The picture is from a post card collage of hotels in Minot in the early 1900's 

Dacotah Hotel

Angus McDonald was one of the early developers in Minot who did well and became quite wealthy. In Minot’s early days he bought two lots with a total frontage of 80 feet. On these he built the Dacotah Hotel. One lot was purchased from the Great Northern Railroad the price was $350.00 for one lot and $400.00 for the other. These lots are on the east side of Main Street and as far north as one could go. In 1913 the two lots with the Dacotah Hotel were valued at $40,000. I also came across a story about the Dacotah Hotel being robbed in the early morning hours. The thieves got away with $34.00. 

Dacotah Hotel in the forefront - picture time frame estimated between  1895 and 1905

Water Fountain Saga - Part 5 - Permanent Home

History Of the Downtown Minot Water Fountain…

Part 5 -  The Fountain gets a new permanent home. In 1987, after 50 years on the college campus the fountain became an integral part of Minot’s history. The city was celebrating its Centennial and the Downtown merchants requested that the fountain be returned to Downtown Minot. The College Board of Regents agreed under certain conditions. The missing lion head had to be replaced, the fountain would be fixed and function again and the granite had to be polished. All conditions were agreed to and with the help of Monarch Concrete it was disassembled into its five pieces and moved to a slab that was poured on the corner of Main Street and 1^st Avenue. In front of what was then B&B Drug. The fountain still stands there today. I would guess that many people drive by it and don’t see it and many more know little if anything of the History of the Fountain. I don’t know how many of the 100 built in 1910 are left but I do know that ours is secure on Main Street once again

Fountain Saga Part 4

History Of the Downtown Minot Water Fountain…

Part 4 – Jump ahead to 1922. More and more people were driving and few horses were seen in Downtown Minot.  Because of  its size it became difficult for people to maneuver around it. As time went on the fountain was causing many traffic problems and accidents.  In 1922 the fountain was moved over by Bridgeman Creamery but still it was causing traffic problems. The grain trucks hauling to the nearby elevators had trouble getting around it so in 1937 it was moved again. This time the fountain was moved to Minot State College, (not yet a university). The fountain was place in the area of Dakota Hall, a women’s residence hall. While at the College one of the brass lion’s heads was stolen and the fountain never worked. It became a lawn ornament, usually filled with geraniums and petunias. This is where the fountain resided for 50 years.

Fountain Saga Part 3

History Of the Downtown Minot Water Fountain…–

Part 3 --  At a Meeting of the City Commissioners the decision was made to accept the fountain and abide by the requirements. The Fountain cost the New York Humane Alliance $1250.00. It is made in five pieces from granite quarried in Maine, polished and trimmed with bronze. The total weight is over five tons. The height is 6 feet 8 inches and the bowl is 6 feet in diameter. The fountain held the equivalent of 24 common buckets of water and the bowl was high enough so horses could drink from it while still harnessed. Originally there was a cluster of electric lights on the top of the fountain which Minot Light & Telephone agreed to provide at no expense to the city.

Water Fountain Saga Part 2

 I have come into the possession of copies of the original letters and newspaper clippings about the fountain in downtown Minot … its history and how it came to Minot.

Part 2 – Mr Lewis Seaver and the National Humane Alliance of New York decided to send the Fountain to Minot provided certain conditions were met by the city . 1. The City of Minot had to unload the fountain from the rail car – freight was pre-paid. 2. The City of Minot had to transport and locate the fountain on the designated site. 3. The City of Minot had to provide a good, continuous water supply to the fountain and 4. The City of Minot had to provide permanent, proper care and maintenance for the fountain. Minot was the smallest city in the United States to receive a fountain. Because of the rapid growth the city was experiencing at the time, Minot received a fountain.

Fountain in Downtown Minot - Saga Part 1

History Of the Downtown Minot Water Fountain…– I have come into the possession of copies of the original letters and newspaper clippings about the fountain in downtown Minot … its history and how it came to Minot.

Part 1 – the year was 1910.. For the past two years Mrs. Alex Scarlett had been corresponding with Mr Lewis M Seaver who was the Secretary Treasurer of the National Humane Alliance of New York. She had been asking his organization to donate one of the 100 fountains they were giving away to the City of Minot. The Fountains were to provide water for horses and small bowls at the bottom would supply water for dogs. Mr Seaver was traveling to Denver and decided to stop in Minot on the way to look over the situation. Seaver was entertained by the Scarletts and other City Officials at the Commercial Club as the proposition was discussed. Collectively the Minot group along with Seaver decided the fountain should be located at the intersection of Main and Third Street … (in the early years of Minot the streets ran east and west and the avenues ran north and south. First Street was Central Avenue, which means that Third Street then is Second Avenue now)

Fountain on Main