Minnesota and It's People

Transcribed by Jodi Magnuson from the book: "Minnesota and Its People", edited by Joseph A. A. Burnquist, L.L.D.; published by The S.J.Clarke Publishing Co., in 1924; pages 461-462 of volume 2.

ISANTI COUNTY

On February 13, 1857, Governor Gorman approved an act creating the county of Isanti, the name being derived from a band of Sioux Indians later known as the Santee Sioux. It is situated in the middle eastern part of the state. The area is 458 square miles and the county is divided into 13 townships. The St. Paul and Duluth division of the Great Northern railway system runs north and south through the central portion ? the only railroad in the county.

Cambridge, the county seat, is the largest village in the county, It is situated on a railroad, a little east of the center; has three banks, a wool carding mill, a starch factory, a creamery, flour and feed mills, electric light, water works; sewer system, three churches and several mercantile concerns. It is one of the oldest settlements in the county and was named for Cambridge, England. The population in 1920 was 1,080. It is on the Rum River, with a number of small lakes in the neighborhood, and is a popular resort for fishermen.

Braham, a railroad station ten miles north of Cambridge, reported a population of 511 in 1920. Some writers have stated that this village was named by officials of the Great Northern Railroad Company. J.A. Monson, a resident of the place, tells a different story. He says that on February 12, 1888, the birthday anniversary of President Lincoln, a petition was sent to the post office department asking for the establishment of a post office and suggesting the name "Abraham." Upon being informed that a post office of that name already existed in the state, the petitioners dropped the first letter and the name became "Braham." It has two banks, a creamery, a carding mill, a hospital, four churches, general stores, a Civic Association and is the trading and shipping point for the northern part of the country.

Isanti, six miles south of Cambridge on the railroad has a starch factory, two grain elevators, two banks, a creamery, electric light, a potato flour mill, two churches, general stores and in 1920 reported a population of 411.

Grandy, population, 165, and Stanchfield, 121, are small railroad stations and local trading centers, and there are a few little hamlets scattered over the county.

Isanti County has four weekly newspapers, the Isanti and Chisago County News, published in Cambridge, was established in 1905. The Braham Journal, the oldest in the county, began its career in 1899, and the Isanti News was founded in 1901.

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