These stories can also be heard on Sunday mornings around 10 am on WILD 102’s “Look Back in Time” program. Each week’s radio story will be posted here on our website.
Weekly radio stories are researched, compiled, and read by Sheila Winstead, RCHS Board Member.
January 19, 2025
This story comes from “Remembrances of Roseau County” compiled by Hazel Wahlberg. The
story is of Anton O. Hagen, Pioneer and Village Official, and was written by his daughter Carol
Schwichtenberg. Mrs. Wahlberg also states that material came from conferences with relatives,
pamphlets from churches, church secretary records, and family Bible.
Anton O Hagen was born in Rothsay, Minnesota on August 25, 1872. While still a baby his
parents purchased a farm just out of Dows, Iowa where they raised their family.
Anton graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa with a business major and then returned
to Dows where he built an International Harvester business building and office in which he had a
large personal library. When the building later burned to the ground, he was faced with the
decision to rebuild or seek New Frontiers. An Iowa man, Mr. Clapsaddle, told him about Roseau
and Anton’s pioneer spirit influenced him to try it. He arrived in Roseau in the summer of 1898
via train and then stage coach from Stephen Minnesota.
He stopped at the Roseau Hotel, then owned by Ole Oie, and secured work as office clerk in the
Hotel. During this time he applied for a homestead in Grimstad township at the Wannaska,
Minnesota location.
In the fall of 1900 he returned to Dows, Iowa and on Thanksgiving Day married his fiancée,
Anna K. Lee of Onawa, Iowa; he brought her to Roseau County and to a home in Wannaska
where he started a general store, -at the present time known as Lee’s store. Anton’s brother-in-
law, Knudt Lee with his wife, Anna, and daughter, Sarah, came from Soldier, Iowa to join him in
the general store business in 1902 under the name of Hagen and Lee.
The store was about one mile southwest of the present store and they decided to move the
store building to its present location in Wannaska. The moving was accomplished by horses
pulling the building on large logs which were moved from back to front as the building advanced.
In the meantime, “business as usual” was transacted in the store during the moving process. A
section of this store became the first permanent home of the Wannaska post office which was
moved there from Pete Larson’s home.
Anton Hagen ran for election as Roseau County Clerk of Court and sold his interest in the store
to Knudt Lee, his partner. Anton and his wife, Anna, moved to Roseau where he held the county
office for sixteen years.
Anton and Anna rented a house in Roseau near the court house. The courthouse was then
located in the frame building now occupied by Moe Floral (which has underground at least two
changes of ownership) on Center St across from the present courthouse. (Remember that this
book was written several years ago). Wooden sidewalks on the outside and wood and coal
burning stoves on the inside depicted the times. Office hours were long and vacations few. It
was considered dedication to a man’s work.
In 1907 Anton bought land for a home on the east side of the Roseau River at what is now 304
3 rd Ave NE. Several homes were built there after the thick woods were cleared leaving large
oaks and elms that were desired. Full basements of durable cement, tamarack beams and
joists, coal burning heaters and wood ranges were typical of these story-and-a-half homes.
Usually an extra bedroom was planned for a live-in household helper who generally was a
young girl from a country school who sought employment in town and was termed a “hired girl”.
These girls became part of the family and were very much loved and returned the love the
family showed them, coming back to visit after they chose marriage or left for other employment
– usually in the “city” Minneapolis or St Paul.
At the time the village did not furnish water and sewer facilities. Anton’s house was not
completely “modern” so in 1914 he rented out his house to the high school superintendent and
then rented a completely modern house from their friends, the Ben Holdahls, who moved to
Norway so their son, Theodore, could attend school and college there. Here they lived for about
seven years.
Mr Hagen served two terms as Mayor of Roseau and that was when he became intrenched in
the future growth plans for Roseau and Roseau County – particularly road improvement for the
town and the farming area. The early evening of Election Day for his second term brought the
news that he had won as Mayor and the Roseau City Band followed by a hundred townsfolk
serenaded Anton and his family in front of their home. Mr Hagen stood up on one of the four-
foot stone corner supports of the front porch with his family surrounding him while he received
the ovation of the crowd and made his acceptance speech.
I’ll finish the story of Anton Hagen next week.
Thank you to for letting us share our county’s history with your listeners by donating air time, studio time, and production staff every week.