With Winton’s 125th anniversary celebration set for this Saturday, Aug. 22, six long-time residents shared memories and reflections on the town’s history.
City council member Sue Scufsa and city clerk-treasurer Anne Jackson gathered with Jim Maki, Joe Mertel, Bob Tholen and Joan Martin at the Community Center to tell stories about days gone by.
“(Winton is) half as old as the United States, for crying out loud, when you think about it,” Scufsa said. “And we’re still here.”
The community found its beginnings as a gathering of small houses around a sawmill established by the Knox Lumber Company on Fall Lake in 1892, mainly inhabited by Finnish immigrants. Logging occurred all the way up to Basswood Lake.
The town featured many bars in the early days that saw a high volume of foot traffic from lumber industry workers. A one-room jailhouse was built in town to handle incidents arising from this situation, Martin said.
The building was torn down in recent years, a loss of history that some residents lamented. Jackson said the one-room jailhouse may have been one of the only of its kind left standing in Minnesota.
Other local establishments included a public sauna, the Winton Co-Op, a hospital and the Finn Hall, where community dances were held. Residents launched a shoemaking venture, a dairy, a blacksmith shop, a hotel and many more businesses.
Locals grew their own fruits and vegetables in large gardens. Barns sat along the alleyways and families raised chickens and cows.
“ It’s ama z ing how self-sufficient people really were,” Scufsa said.
The very first female mayor in the state took her seat at the head of Winton’s city government in 1921. Jackson said Winton’s Finnish heritage may have contributed to this big “first,” as it was not out of the norm for women to assume leadership positions in the old country.
“Some of them coming from Finland would have thought nothing of electing her, and the men were probably too busy working in the sawmills, supporting the family,” Jackson said.
The sawmills closed in the mid-1920s, leading to a population decline as many families moved their houses from Winton to Ely to begin work in the mines. Some of those houses are still standing, including several two-story houses on Boundary Street and one on the western end of Sheridan Street.
“Winton got smaller. Ely got bigger,” Jackson said.
Residents could access other towns via the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway, which had its own depot right in town. The train now on display at Tower’s Depot Park would carry Winton residents into Ely for just a nickel.
Though the population had subsided from its peak by the mid-twentieth century, Winton was still a tight-knit community with many young families.
“This was such a good town to grow up in as kids,” Scufsa said. “We had sliding and we had skating and we had all that good stuff and a Sunday school.”
Local children would sled down the slope by the water tower in winter. Scufsa said there were never any major injuries beyond a broken leg, as there were fewer vehicles driving the road at the bottom of the hill at the time.
Rubber gun fights and basketball ensued in the hippodrome on Main Street, and kids could also play baseball at the town’s ballpark or ride bicycles.
Young people would also hold nightly bonfires in winter and skate on the river until it grew unsafe following the DNR’s removal of a small dam.
Community members looked out for one another, and the older kids watched over the younger ones.
“You could let your kids out to play and they could play all day long,” Jackson said. “Somebody’s mom would feed them a sandwich.”
Winton once filled two buses with schoolchildren in the mornings. Now, Mertel said he doesn’t hear the sounds of children playing outside anymore.
“We don’t have families with small kids, and that kind of worries me because you need someone who’s going to follow and take over the city government,” Scufsa said. “I’d like to see more young families come.”
Jackson said the town has transitioned to mostly a residential community.
Scufsa expressed hopes to see the town continue on in its own right for many years to come and keep its identity.
“To live here is really inexpensive, and we try really hard to consider all the taxpayers, and a lot of them are seniors, too. We try to keep that levy as low as we possibly can but still maintain our city government and what we need here,” Scufsa said. “We use a lot of foresight when we’re planning what is coming up.”
Scufsa’s path took her from her roots in Winton, out to California and Illinois. She said Winton’s easy access to water eventually brought her back.
“My mother passed away in 2015, and so there I am back in my growing-up house,” Scufsa said. “I came full circle, and I just have absolutely loved being back. There’s something about Winton. It’s peaceful, it’s friendly, it’s kind, it’s a big family.”
“It’s a caring place to live, and I’ve really enjoyed that,” Scufsa said.
