- Hi, I'm Lisa Vedaa collections manager at the Historical and Cultural society of Clay County at the Hjemkomst Center in Moorhead, Minnesota.
And this is my Artifact Spotlight.
(upbeat music) Here at the museum.
We have some artifacts in our collection that relate to the economic and infrastructure development of early Moorhead.
These tiles are from the grand Pacific hotel which was built in 1882 in Moorhead by the Great Northern Tracks at a cost of $160,000.
And it was considered to be the largest hotel at that time between Minneapolis and Spokane Washington.
It never really did make a profit though after it opened.
And it was actually torn down in the 1890s, the hotel was very grand for its time period, and it had crystal chandelier's and many beautiful furnishings.
Since you can tell on the photograph, it had many different little balconies, probably for some of the nicer rooms or some dining rooms had these beautiful tiles that were made and acquired from different manufacturers that were popular at the time.
So these tiles would have decorated all the different rooms in the hotel, and they were very much in the arts and crafts style, which is a very popular style at the time.
So this tile especially has a very arts and crafts feel to it, almost a William Morris style pattern with the large leaves.
almost a William Morris style pattern with the large leaves.
And there's a very intricate mosaic tile pattern And there's a very intricate mosaic tile pattern on these tiles here and a really nice floral vine pattern on these border tiles.
And they're very nice glazed look on this olive green tile with the central floral medallion.
It was kind of a boom period for Moorhead and it was, this hotel was a big draw.
Another sign of Moorhead's development would have been paving the streets.
And that is what these blocks are from paving the streets in 1896, with these Cedar blocks that were covered in creosote to make them more durable and longer lasting.
Cedar blocks were used at the time as an inexpensive option and the technology wasn't developed yet for concrete or asphalt.
Creosote is a tar product that is used as a preservative for wood, and it helped it prevent too much water absorption.
Paved roads would have meant much easier traveling through the streets, less dirt and mud and grime everywhere.
It would have been a lot nicer for people visiting Moorhead and especially the residents of Moorhead for their quality of life and traveling around the city.
Artifacts like these tiles from the grand Pacific hotel, and these paving blocks from paving Moorhead streets help illustrate the optimism that people had for Moorhead's future and attracting businesses and families to help Moorhead grow and become a prosperous.
Great place to live.
(upbeat music) - Funded by the Minnesota arts and cultural heritage fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008, and by the members of Prairie public.