Page:History of Goodhue County, Minnesota.djvu/293

 111STOKY OF I >HUE COUNTY 235 directions, make it easy of access to the owners of the rich farms within a considerable radius. Zumbrota lias been considered by many competent judges to be an ideal home town. Near enough to several cities to make city attractions and lectures possible, it combines all the best features of village and country life, with none of the temptations of the city and none of the squalor of city slums. Its schools give the children exceptional advantages, and the social features fur- nish recreation after busy days of business, professional or agri- cultural endeavor. Modern Zumbrota has a beautiful high school building, afford- ing excellent educational facilities which takes the pupil from primary grades through a college preparatory or normal course; a Carnegie library; a city and three private halls; a Congrega- tional. Methodist. Synod, Norwegian Lutheran, United Norwe- gian Lutheran, German Lutheran. English Lutheran, Catholic and Episcopal churches, connected with which are the various auxiliaries; a Lutheran hospital; several literary societies; an annual Lyceum course; a large number of fraternities, and- three fraternity halls: a weekly newspaper; a beautiful park; a band, and a company of state militia. It also has a large clay manu- facturing company: three elevators; a mill; a bank with a capital stock of $45,000; two hotels; two lumber yards; one creamery; a cement block plant; six general stores; two clothing and dry goods stores; two furniture stores: two photograph galleries; three barber shops; one horse and auto livery; one garage and machine shop; four blacksmith shops; two jewelry stores; one fur factory; one meat market; two drug stores; one laundry; one bakery; three restaurants; one pool room; one wagon shop: two hardware stores; one cigar factory; two harness shops; one shoe store: real estate and collection agency; five saloons; four mil- linery stores and one tailor shop. Among the advantages which makes Zumbrota a valuable place of residence are a perfect sys- tem of water works and sewerage; excellent streets and drive- ways extending into well kept country roads ; five miles of cement sidewalks; good volunteer fire protection; electric lighting plant; local and rural telephone system; three telegraph lines, and two express companies. The professions, aside from the clergy, are represented by one lawyer, two dentists, three physicians, one veterinary surgeon and one optician. Water Works. The water works system was started in the summer of 1883 and consisted of three blocks of mains along the main street, which were supplied by a pump in the Palmer elevator and the water taken from the river. This was for fire protection only. Two vears later the system was extended and n 75,000