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In 1896 New Hampton had a population of 2284 persons. The 1896 City Directory lists businesses and self-employed men and women of the city. There were more than 400 residences and about 600 employed men and women in the city. The image below, depicts New Hampton in 1896 with many of the significant businesses, churches and buildings marked. The naming convention pertaining to streets in New Hampton is that north/south streets are designated "Avenue"; east/west streets are designated "Street". NORTH is at the top of this map. |
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Since the print is so small, the following narrative summary of the major landmarks should help. If you would like any help with a detail, feel free to send me an email message and I will try to give you additional information. My email address appears in numerous places throughout the website, although the front page may be the quickest. -On Milwaukee Street, the first east/west street, beginning at the top of the map, is the stockyard, next to the railroad track. -Above Milwaukee Street and beyond the railroad track (to the right of center), there is a cemetery marked with a cross, this is St Joseph Calvary Cemetery, on the extreme north end of Pleasant Hill Avenue. -Follow the north/south meander of the Chicago Great Western Railroad track, to about the center of the city. The next north/south street to the left is Water Avenue. On the far south end of Water Ave we find a residential area and then St Paul’s Lutheran Church, also called the German Lutheran Church for many years. Going a bit further Water Ave is bisected by Short Street, where the Creamery is located, next to the railroad track. -The next north/south street to the left (west) is called Locust Avenue and in these blocks we find the Congregational Church, Methodist Church, the Court House block, the Fire Department, the Windsor House (Hotel), Schaffer’s Bank, The Saturday Gazette, the Opera House, and Darrow’s Bank. -The next north/south street to the left (west) is called Chestnut Avenue and in these blocks we find the Court House block with the jail, the Arlington House (Hotel), and the Baptist Church. -The next north/south street to the left (west) is called Walnut Avenue. Walnut has always been primarily residential. -The next north/south street to the left (west) is called Linn Avenue and in these blocks we find (starting at the north end) the Jewish Synagogue, the Central House (Hotel) and the Public School block. Linn Avenue is the boundary line for the west side of New Hampton Township, and to the west of Linn Avenue begins Dayton Township. -The next north/south street to the left (west) is called Broadway Avenue. At this time (1896), just south of where Broadway Avenue intersects with Main Street, the continuation of Broadway Avenue was called Mulberry Avenue. (At some point after this time period, the name Mulberry Avenue was discontinued and the entire street was designated as Broadway.) -On Broadway Avenue we find what was once called the Town Square; however, for many years (at least 50) it has been known as Runion Park. In the very next block we have the St Joseph Catholic Church, Residence, and Convent. -At the far south end of Maple Avenue the area labeled as a cemetery is the New Hampton Graceland Cemetery. This gives one an idea of the shape and area of the cemetery in the 1896 time period. (Today the cemetery is a complete rectangle and larger in area, than in 1896.) St Mary of the Visitation Parish Cemetery is not marked on this map, as it did not come into existence until the following year (1897). St Mary’s would be located just below the southern boundary line of Graceland in this diagram. Special Note: CCGS thanks the Carnegie Cultural Center (in New Hampton) for furnishing us with a copy of the original directory census list, used in the preparation of this data. |
