History of Credit River Part 5: Memories of Early Credit River

Susan Allen (Sherin) grew up in Credit River and was interviewed in 1928 as an elderly woman. Her parents, like many others, came from Ireland, and then to Credit River by way of Dubuque. They traveled to St Paul by steamboat, and then to an Ox Cart into the township. She recalled dances at the village hall: “Everybody had a far better time than young people do nowadays. My goodness, I thought nothing of dancing all night when I was a girl and most of our dances were quadrilles too, that kept us moving lively. Even the waltzes were far more lively than they are now because we whirled round” 

She also mentioned the hard work that it took to run a farm. Her father cleared land using horses, and she remembers him planting wheat and corn among tree stumps. She said, “Hard work and hard times didn’t trouble farmers in those days. In fact, they didn’t expect anything different. Life in a log cabin and work in the woods and the fields all day were the lot of all the settlers”

Of school, she recalled ““we had to walk quite a distance and carry our dinners”. She also said “the curriculum was vastly different then today but still we learned quite a bit”. She also said that the hair ribbons that she could get growing up in Credit river were “just a little bit better” then those she could get in 1928. 

Rosella Lyons taught at the Credit River school in the late 1930s, and was interviewed in 1987. She remembered “We turned out a lot of talented people. Several priests and sisters and some attorneys. We had a wood shed and one day in the fall all the children would pile the wood in the shed. We would be done by mid afternoon. Then a couple of children would be selected to go to the store and get peanuts and candy. We had a couple of dollars allotted to us”. 

The school at the time had 20 or 30 students from first grade through highschool. Lyons recalled 1936 as a banner year because they had 10 children in first grade alone, and a total of 20 in the elementary school.

On January 17th, 1999 a large reunion was held for people that grew up in Credit River Township. Several of the attendees shared photographs, articles and stories, and these were put together into a scrapbook. The introduction of the scrapbook reads “No business aside from the agricultural pursuits of farmers is carried on in the town. No wonders of natural scenery vary the beauty of the landscape, consequently the history of Credit River is told in few words”

Credit River History Part 4: Into the 20th Century



In the 1920s and 30s the children of many of the original Credit River families are said to have left the township for St Paul, seeking employment and higher wages. At that time, several Dutch families moved into the southern part of the township, and there was apparently some tension between the original Irish families and the new Dutch families. 

A poem (date unknown) was written by Julius Schnider that detailed life in Credit River. It tells the story of a confrontation between young Dutch and Irish residents that was settled by Pat White of White’s General Store. The complete text of the poem is at the end of this document. Schnieder said in 1987 “There was always two factions [Irish and Dutch] but it wasn’t really as bad as I wrote. You have to spice things up a little to make them more interesting.”

Enough Credit River residents moved to St Paul in these years that on March 7th, 1940 a “Credit River Club” was formed in the city. Melvin Faricy and Joe White were elected officers and former Credit River residents agreed to hold meetings as well as a large annual picnic every summer. 

In 1903 rural free mail delivery came to Credit River, closing the town post office. Telephones arrived in 1910, and electricity on March 28, 1929. The latter was exciting enough that a town party was held, though it was postponed so that the celebrations could commence after the end of Lent. 

The township had an important role during World War II. One hundred acres in Credit River, part of the Cleary farm, were used as a military training field.  Novice flyers and flight instructors would travel there from Fort Snelling and practice taking off, landing, and flight maneuvers. 

Jordan Independent, February 4th, 1960

As roads grew better, transportation easier, and cars more common, many Credit River residents began traveling to nearby Prior Lake for errands and social events. This was true for religious services as well. The last pastor at Credit River’s St Peter’s Church was named John Deere. He was remembered by resident Pat Cleary as tall and redheaded, “just the typical Irishman.” As the congregation dwindled, St Peter’s church closed in 1960. Soon after, in a decision that still saddens many residents, the archdiocese tore the church down for safety reasons. 

The Cleary family land was passed down through generations. Eventually the Cleary’s great great grandchildren sold the land to the parks department. Today it is known as Cleary Lake regional park. It features camping, skiing, a golf course, a dog park, hiking trails, and of course boating and swimming. 

Credit River History Part 3: The General Store and Pat White

Many stories of early Credit River center around the General Store. The true first store in the township was built by Dominick McDermott, who also constructed the first post office and saloon. Unfortunately, this building soon burned down, and a new store was built by Patrick White. This is the facility that became a focal point in Credit River history. 

In 1987, several elderly lifelong Credit River residents were interviewed about growing up in the township. Albert Fieldman remembered that the store sold “a little bit of everything, overalls, straw hats, socks, groceries, poultry feed, gasoline and hardware”. Eighty-nine year old John Wild called it “The Crossroads of America”. 

The store also had a tavern in the basement. Pat Cleary, another lifelong resident who was interviewed in 1981 recalled, “The credit river store was wonderful. Uncle Pat had a grocery counter in front, dry goods in back. And he’d usually ask his customers ‘Wanna have a little toxie?’ [beer].“ A side note, Pat Cleary is a fourth generation descendent of Cornelius Cleary. 

White’s store was the home of the first Credit River telephone, when lines were extended from Shakopee on January 11, 1910. Patrick White and his sons were also well known fiddlers in the area, and were in high demand at dances and parties. 

History of Credit River Part 2: The Township Grows

Credit River’s first municipal building was the post office, built in 1856. It was initially called the New Dublin post office. 

The choice of names is not surprising. The vast majority of the township’s early European American settlers were from Ireland, coming to the United States to escape the potato famine and to take advantage of the possibility of land ownership. Land in places like Credit River went quickly. The early Irish families claimed land through the homestead act or the territorial land act. All of this land had been claimed by 1870. 

These early European American settlers lived mostly in the northern part of the township, which was almost exclusively Irish. In 1870, as the final land was claimed, records show that the township was ⅔ Irish and 95% Catholic. 

After the post office, the town built a church. The first church building was a log cabin built in 1862 on a hill overlooking Cleary lake. Unfortunately, this early building burned down. The township’s second church was completed in 1871 and named St Peters. It featured a hand carved altar, stained glass windows, a choir loft, a tower that was sixty-five feet high, and a 1200 pound bell. St Peters stood next to where Credit River Cemetery is now located, along Highway 27.

The church didn’t have a dedicated priest. Instead, a traveling priest would come through first monthly, then weekly to perform the service. In the late 1980s, several elderly lifelong residents recalled that in the winter or during difficult weather conditions Sunday services would begin when the priest arrived, not at an appointed time. This meant that they sometimes did not start until late afternoon. 

Sketch of St Peter’s Church in Credit River. From the Shakopee Valley News, August 12, 1987

According to early residents, much of the town’s social life was centered around St Peter’s Church. The church hosted weddings, banquets, anniversary celebrations and card parties. It was not uncommon for the people in the town to arrive at Sunday services very early, and stay several hours after the service ended to chat with their neighbors. 

In 1878 a reporter from the Shakopee Courier took a weekend trip to Credit River in order to write an article about what life was like in the community. He went in December and wrote of his journey “It was slightly chilly outside of a good buffalo robe especially in an occasional blinding snowstorm.” He said of his arrival “When we got to the settlement we found everybody going to church so we fell in line and did likewise.”

Outside of the church, the township was home to a blacksmith shop, general store, creamery and village hall. There were taverns attached at various points to both the store and the town hall. 

The village hall was a public place, and residents remember parties, weddings and basket socials being held there. A basket social was a tradition where a young woman would pack a basket with a meal or baked goods. Men would bid in the basket, with the hopes of sharing the meal with the lady who originally packed the food. The money was generally donated to a charitable cause. 

Early Childhood in Credit River in the 1940s: Part 3

Part 3
Written by Angeline Mares Stone for the Credit River Reunion, January 17th, 1999

Steam powered thresher, 1965, from the SCHS Collections

During the summer, we got to see the Kalal kids, Mary and Willy, and play with them. Our parents were friends and the families worked together at threshing time, a high point of the harvest season. Along with the Kalinas, our relatives, the crews arrived in the early morning after livestock chores were done. The air of excitement, of great work, was unmistakable. The work was hard, I dare say, especially for the women, for I remember that Mom would work in the fields, shucking wheat, and still plan and prepare the meal that would be served to the very hungry men. My sister, Mary Jo, as her assistant during those years. Our tasks as children were limited to taking lemonade out to the men as they worked in the hot afternoon sun. They were always appreciative of our efforts and made us feel useful. Another task we often had was to even out the grain as it came tumbling into the wagon from the thresher. We were barefoot and the grain would tickle our toes.

These were the assigned tasks, but on one occasion, my sister Nancy and I were given another task, snapping the fresh green beans; it seemed like mountains of them. We sat on the front stoop, snapping away. “Tsk, tsk” said one of the ladies, arriving that morning as she passed her way into the house. We hung our heads in shame- and sorrow. We would rather have been playing with the Kalal kids, like we did the day before But the day before we let ourselves get carried away in fun, and thought it would be really great throw lots of straw into the outdoor stock tank and splash around in it. We gave no thought to what affects this would have on livestock looking for water or anything else. We were just having fun. But our misdeeds became known during evening chores and we were punished in the worst way- we could not have company the next day. The chore of snapping beans was the mild punishment because we really liked the Kalal kids.

St. Wenceslaus Catholic School in New Prague, early 1930s. From the SCHS collections.

Our experiences were not limited to farm and school. During my second grade I attended St. Wenceslaus School in New Prague in order to prepare for First Holy Communion My father had made the decision to take our family to New Prague to church after going to Credit River for awhile. New Prague became a spiritual home for us and I was comfortable there. When my parents were given the option of keeping Ewald buried in the American soldiers cemetery in Margraaten, Holland or having him brought back to America, they chose to have him brought back and buried in New Prague. On October 12, 1948, a funeral Mass was held at St Wenceslaus for Ewald. It was also our parents’ thirtieth anniversary. The support of the Credit River and New Prague people gave our family a solid sense of community. And I acquired a sense of a much larger world.

We were connected to the Twin Cities too mostly through relatives living there. My sister, Edith, having just graduated from high school became part of the household staff at the Archibald Bush home on Summit Avenue, and once in a while we got to visit her. I felt lost in that huge mansion- nothing in it seemed familiar. While Edith worked in St Paul she met Dorothy Broshofke who would later become Mile’s wife. Dorothy began to visit our home and play the piano. I remember my mother loving this and she made known her favorite songs. Two that I remember are “Juanita” and “The Swiss Boy”. My own repertoire of songs increased greatly because of those songfests and there was one more reason to be joyful.
In June of 1949, Miles and Dorothy were married. They had two wedding dances, one in St Paul and one at Armie and Mac’s in “downtown Credit River”, the nerve center of the Credit River community at that time. Everyone knew everyone else and they danced their hearts out at that place. We would dance there again soon, for we were about to say “good-bye” to our life in Credit River.

Dad bought the Bill Deegan farm in Lakeville and in the all of 1949 we moved. During the week that we moved, a windstorm blew the roof off a chicken coop at our new place. And somehow, when the livestock moved, my new pet chicken Annie got lost. She didn’t make it to our new home. And so I grieved the loss of her and the end of my life in Credit River. But I would keep forever in my heart the memory of rich experiences I had when I lived there.