On This Date in Minnesota History: May 31

May 31, 1863 – An upset lamp in Colbath Brothers shoe store started a serious fire in Anoka, Minn., on this date. George C. Colbath, in his store at the time, died from his injuries and the store and all of its contents were destroyed, including most of the county’s treasury books and papers as Colbath was county treasurer at the time. Herman L. Ticknor was appointed Colbrath’s successor as county treasurer by the county commissioners.¹

Ticknor had arrived in Anoka in 1855 and went into the dry goods and grocery business. In 1864 he opened the first drug store in Anoka²; it is still in business today as Goodrich Pharmacy.³

Built in 1867, the Ticknor family home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1979. Today, it operates as Ticknor Hill Bed & Breakfast.

¹http://archive.org/stream/historyofanokaco00good/historyofanokaco00good_djvu.txtHistory

²Williams, J. Fletcher; “History of the Upper Mississippi Valley”; Minneapolis, Minn.; Minnesota Historical Company (1881); p. 250

³http://abcnewspapers.com/2012/08/22/anoka-county-history-rich-history-of-goodrich-pharmacy/

Herman L. Ticknor
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/94DucSxJ7FCREltIX7IDvdMTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0







The Ticknor family home in Anoka, Minn.




Now Ticknor Hill Bed & Breakfast

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain May 31, 2014,
as long as acknowledgement included.