The Daily Dispatch

As part of the Smithsonian art exhibit Journey Stories, the Richland County Historical Museum hosted a program Monday about the railroad and streetcar. Neoma Laken, Breckenridge resident historian, began the program by giving a lively history of the railroad in Breckenridge.

The main mode of moving materials in the early days was by river boat on the Red River, Laken said. However, in 1871, the railroad reached Breckenridge to eventually connect the city to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

When the railroad came to Breckenridge, the city became the main shopping hub for 65 miles. People would come to buy wood, sell grains and export them.

"It couldn't be a farming area until then because they couldn't export the crops," Laken said. "The grain was used originally for the animals at Fort Abercrombie and for people to make flour and such."

The railroad didn't cross over into Wahpeton, Dakota Territory, until 1880. There was actually a sign before this at the most western end of the tracks that read "the end," Laken said.

Breckenridge was considered the end of civilization by many who traveled to the area by train. But the people who lived here in the early days "had grandiose ideas," Laken said. "No dream is impossible and not accomplishment is too high when dedicated men and women apply themselves."

Marlys Haiby, Project Breckenridge, told the group of 20 about the Wahpeton-Breckenridge Streetcar Company, which ran from 1910-1925. It was the shortest interstate streetcar.

Interstate travel between Wahpeton and Breckenridge began with a ferry across the headwaters of the Red River. Later, when a bridge was built, horsecars and cable cars ran across the river.

In 1910, two yellow streetcars were purchased and set up by the Wahpeton Breckenridge Street Railway Company. The track ran 1.14 miles. The cars ran along Minnesota and Dakota avenues between Sixth Street in Breckenridge and Sixth Street in Wahpeton, which were the outer limits at the time. A round trip took 30 minutes. The first car would leave Breckenridge at 6 a.m. and Wahpeton at 6:10 a.m., Haiby said.

In 1912, the daily average number of people riding the cars was 748. The average daily income was $38.37 at 5 cents per ticket.

Pretty soon, the automobile created too much competition for the streetcar and the company shut down in 1925. The track was covered in Breckenridge, and the only part left was broken up and sold as paperweights in 1999 as a fundraiser for Project Breckenridge.

"Project Breckenridge wanted the shortest line to be preserved," Haiby said. "The line is in Railroad Park. All 50 paperweights were sold in an hour at Headwaters Day in 1999."

Journey Stories will be on display until Oct. 17 at the Richland County Historical Museum.

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