A look back at early area history as found in the archives and artifacts of the Enderlin Historical Society and Museum.
The following information is an excerpt from the files of the Writers� Project for Ransom County with information on Enderlin as collected by early Enderlin resident Mrs. Susan Vance for a 1936 tourist guide.
�Population: The population of Enderlin in 1930 was 1,830.�
�Civic Buildings: Among the buildings of note in Enderlin we find the school house, 68 by 160 feet, two stories high and basement, built at a cost of $97,500.00, in 1933. It has reinforced concrete construction, concrete floors and roof with brick facing. It is entirely fireproof and modern with recreation room in the basement. Architects were Lang-Rangland and Lewis of Minneapolis, with Rose and Harris of Minneapolis as Mechanical Engineers.
Enderlin has a City Hall on Railway St. at the end of Fourth Avenue, built in 1925, of red brick with white stone coping, in modern Colonial style. Braseth and Hoken of Fargo were the architects. It is 60 by 90 feet, two and one half stories high and cost $40,000.00. The first floor contains a banquet room, kitchen, library, two rest rooms, and a City Jail and fire hall in the rear. The second floor contains an auditorium to seat 600 and balcony to seat 300, large stage with two large dressing rooms. Also a City Council room and checking room. Soo Line Superintendent, George Baxter was instrumental in getting the Soo Line to lease land for this building and to heat it with steam from the roundhouse.
Another Civic building is the large Masonic Temple, built in 1927 on Railway Street and Fourth Ave., of pressed red brick with white stone coping in modern Colonial style. It is 35 by 85 feet and cost $26,000.00. It contains two floors with a specially constructed dance floor which the architect designed with a footing of cinders, air spaced to prevent buckling. It is also steam heated by the Soo Line roundhouse.�
�Transportation: The main line of the Soo Line railroad passes through Enderlin and as it is half way between Minneapolis and the Canadian Border, the Soo Line placed it�s large machine shops here. Also it is the largest Roundhouse outside of the Twin Cities. The dispatcher�s office at the depot takes care of the dispatching of all trains of the Minnesota division and branches, from Minneapolis to Portal, ND.
A bus line connects us with a branch of the Northern Pacific R.R. at Sheldon, six miles to the east. Various truck lines connect us with larger markets at Fargo and Valley City. A bus line established in the fall of 1936, connects with Fargo, where one may obtain bus service any where.�
�The Soo Line Roundhouse, Machine Shops, and Treating Plant: The first small roundhouse of four stalls was built in 1891 with boiler room, a cooling plant and a turntable installed. In 1896, four more stalls were installed; in 1900 four more stalls, and in 1906, twelve more added making a total of twenty-four in all. In 1906, a new boiler room and machine shop, store room, office, new cooling plant and a new 90 foot turntable were added and an electric lighting plant installed. In 1908, a water treating plant was added. In 1912, a larger water treating plant with water pumping plant was built. In 1928, machine shops were much enlarged and an electric turntable installed. In 1936, electric pumps were installed in the water treating plant and pumping plant. Water is obtained from a deep artesian well and treated to render it soft. Steam heat from the roundhouse is furnished to the City Hall, Masonic Temple, Hilton Hotel, Caf�, the Depot and the Superintendent�s house, owned by the Soo Line.�