Crocker, South Dakota
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Dakota please contribute to this page.
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The prairie has reclaimed site of depot, water tank and pump house.
For the story of the founding of the town of Crocker, we are indebted to the compilers of the Clark County Centennial History, 1881-1981, a 230-page volume which contains a number of interesting items pertinent to that subject, quoted in italics below, beginning with the survey and construction phase of the M&STL across the County:
"Ed O'Toole of Florence, who now resides in the Watertown Memorial Nursing Home, was a member of the railroad surveying crew of 1905. He tells that they surveyed for the railroad to go south of Crocker going west, but discovered that going through farther north (where it was finally put) would go through less steep hills to the valley.
He told of camping at Oak Gulch one summer and winter. The rail headquarters were located at the Gulch." Oak Gulch, a delightful location, was actually west of the site chosen for Crocker and quite near the next station to be named "Crandall."
"On March 10, 1906 Mrs. Emily Larrison, who was then the owner of the Oak Gulch Ranch, deeded a strip of land through Section 5 for the first railroad in the township (Warren)." "When the railroad was being built in 1906, the crew camped by the spring in Section 5. There were 100 men or more and 40 to 50 horses. The crew had their own blacksmith and their own chef who prepared the meals. He even wore a white chef's hat.
One day a spark from the blacksmith's area started a fire and since the grass was long, it spread quickly. It took the entire crew to subdue it and they practically evacuated the camp." "As with other pioneer communities, Warren Township had its fires. During the summer especially, when a special stock train went through the school section No. 16, where there was so much grass, sparks from the steam locomotive ignited the grass. This happened quite frequently and the section crew and neighbors would turn out to fight the fire."
"In 1978 crews came again; this time to demolish the track. The ties and rails were torn up and hauled away. This caused considerable reminiscing in the community as the train had been such a factor in the settlement and early lives of people here. Many took the train from Crandall to Aberdeen, did their business, and returned on the late afternoon train."
"Another interesting anecdote that is told about the time the railroad was being built concerns a rock on Section 21 where the tracks crossed Highway 20, west of Crocker. In the corner of the slough is a rock with the name 'C. R. Krenzien '06' carved in it. This was a mystery for many years, but people kept seeking clues as to what it meant, and then when the son of the man who did the carving visited the area, the story was told. This man's father and Mr. Krenzien were partners from Missouri who were working on the railroad. Mr. Krenzien was driving a wheel scraper, when the wheel went into a hole, the pan dragged on the ground and became unlatched. The lever flew up and caught Mr. Krenzien on the head and he was killed. His partner felt badly and he carved the name in the stone which can still be seen."
"Summit (Love's Siding)-Summit was a railroad siding at the junction of Warren and Spring Valley Townships about three and one-half miles west of Crocker. It was a sidetrack on the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad used for sidetracking heavy loads which the engines could not take to Watertown all at once. Since It was built on land belonging to Frank Love, it was also called Love's Siding."
"The first train started operating in 1907, and then went only as far as Conde. There was a railroad pump station in Crocker where the steam locomotives filled up with water. The well used for filling the overhead tank was over 2,000 feet deep. It was an artesian well and pumped into a cistern to settle the sand, and then was forced up into the overhead tank by a forced air engine. The tank sat between the depot and the grain elevator.
Charles Marlow was the first depot agent and J. H. Factor the first section boss.
Crocker once had four trains a day, with a sleeper on one train en route to Minneapolis." "There were four grain elevators in town. . . In the early days there were two banks-the Crocker State Bank and the Farmer's State Bank. The Crocker State Bank building was moved and is now part of the Crocker Lutheran Church. J. S. Jackson and Ernie Bastian operated the first dray line and Julie Morey the first livery barn. Bastian also had a livery barn later on."
"In 1915, Jerome Spratt built a huge brick general merchandise store which was the pride of the community. He carried hardware, clothing, and groceries, besides having an ice cream, and a meat market in the basement. Jerome and his wife, Pauline, operated this store. After he passed away on January 20, 1955, Mrs. Spratt continued to operate the store for a number of years. In the 1970's the building was torn down and the bricks and lumber salvaged."
Spratt's was said to be the largest store between Aberdeen and Watertown. It also contained the post office. Because of its "conservative" management, a large part of its inventory never turned over but just remained on the shelves over the years. In relatively recent times, Mrs. Spratt returned to Crocker on weekends and would open the store for those with collector mania. Where else could you get button shoes, for instance?
Both banks failed near the time of the 1929 debacle without, of course, any insurance for the depositors. The Crocker State Bank building may have achieved everlasting life when it became the main nave in the Lutheran Church as the Church remains today, only one of two functioning institutions on the ghostly main street of the original town; the Church at the north end and the Sportsmen's Bar at the south, contrasting sin with redemption. (See the photo of the central business district as it looked in 1995.)
Information sent by Woody Woodburywe@aol.com
View of the "central business district" in 1995.
Approaching Crocker from east. Town and abandoned MSTL right-of-way on
extreme left.
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