Harkin Store dedicates new marker

By FRITZ BUSCH

Journal Staff Writer

WEST NEWTON -- The New Ulm Battery's cannon echoed across the Minnesota River Valley Sunday while polka bands entertained guests during a Patriotic Celebration at the Harkin Store.

The fare included watermelon and homemade ice cream at the store, once a center of activity at West Newton, a community that vanished after the railroads bypassed it and steamboat traffic dwindled 130 years ago.

The store was forced to close with much of its unsold inventory still on the shelves, where it still remains.

Thanks to the efforts of the Brown and Nicollet County Historical Society and help from the Minnesota Historical Society, visitors can savor the smells and sights of an 1870s general store as they sample the wares and try a game of checkers.

The plaque itself tells the story.

West Newton in 1870 was a thriving town serving riverboat travel on the Minnesota River. It consisted of a hotel, boarding houses, dance hall, livery stable, brewery, sawmill, wagon works, two blacksmith shops, three saloons and many dwellings that made the town an important shopping center.

In the heart of West Newton sat the Harkin Store, a combination general store and post office operated by Alexander and Janet Harkin. The store was the social center of the community,where farmers and townsfolk gathered to buy groceries, barter for supplies and exchange the news of the day.

The Harkins, both natives of Scotland, settled in the area in 1856. Alexander, a successful farmer, who also ran a grain shipping business, became such a respected community leader in West Newton, a local newspaper dubbed the town "Harkinville."

As long as the town prospered, so did the Harkin Store. In 1873, the railroad bypassed West Newton in favor of New Ulm. River traffic dwindled and West Newton saw its role as a commercial center come to an end.

Further misfortune came in the 1870s when grasshoppers devastated area crops and Janet Harkin died. Farmers could no longer buy goods or pay their debts. By 1890 the Harkins' business dropped to a trickle as most of their customers moved away. The store closed in 1901.

With much of its original stock still on the shelves, the store reopened in 1938 as a museum operated by the Harkin's granddaughter.

The Minnesota Historical Society now owns the store that was opened to the public as an historical site in 1977.

In 1986, it was one of three state sites put on the MHS's closure list. At that time, the Brown County Historical Society, directed by Kathleen Backer, worked out an agreement with the MHS to keep it open.

Backer was on hand Sunday at the marker dedication.

"The Harkin Store is such an important site to commemorate local history," Backer said. "Site manager Opal Dewanz is a big reason why it remains open."

Dewanz said the store is one of few in the state that contains original merchandise.

The store, located eight miles northwest of New Ulm on Nicollet County Road 21, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday June through August. It is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on May and September weekends.

Upcoming Harkin Store events include the 25th Annual West Newton Day, 1-4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 1. Visitors will learn about one-room schools, old school books and photos of rural schools on Sept. 5. Old-time winter preparation will include food-drying and sauerkraut-making on Sept. 12.