Otsego Sign Project October Update
3601 Thurston Avenue
Anoka, MN 55303
763.231.5840
TPC@PlanningCo.com
MEMORANDUM
TO: Heritage Preservation Commission
FROM: Scott Richards / Kim Welter
DATE: October 5, 2017
RE: Otsego – Heritage Preservation Commission - History Sign Project
TPC FILE: 101.01 – 13.04
B
ACKGROUND
Please find as attached layouts for six park signs that have been discussed by the Heritage
Preservation Commission members. Kim Welter of designkW, LLC has been incorporating the
text and pictures into the layouts as presented here. TPC has been working with Gopher Sign
company on quotes for the image panel and frame. Please find the layouts and quotes for
completion of the signs as follows. The Heritage Preservation Commission should discuss the
image panels and frames at its October meeting.
Attachments:
Prairie Park Layout
Lily Pond Park Layout
Beaudry Meadows Park Layout
Kittredge Crossings Park Layout
Frankfort Park Layout
School Knoll Park Layout
Upright Sign Image
Cantilever Sign Image
Quote for Upright Signs
Quote for Cantilever Signs
A
NALYSIS
L: Ms. Welter is assembling a handout for discussion at your meeting that will outline
AYOUTS
the signage designs and will include a list of items to be added and questions she has related to
the final images.
1
:The Heritage Preservation Commission, at their September meeting was favorable to
FRAMES
an image size of 24 inches by 36 inches with an upright frame style. Gopher Signs, a company
that has done signage for the Minnesota Historical Society and cities throughout Minnesota,
has provided quotes for both the upright sign frame and the cantilever. There is no difference
in the cost. The sign faces would be fabricated on a metal base with a fade resistant image
which is found to be durable and is difficult to vandalize. Additionally, the signs can be printed
on both sides of the panel and flipped over if the image is compromised.
The quotes indicate that the approximate cost for each sign with shipping is about $635.00.
There will be an additional cost for City staff to install the signs. Once the artwork is approved,
the signs will take four to six weeks to fabricate.
Although the Heritage Preservation Commission has indicated a preference for the upright
frame design, a quote was provided for both to determine if there was a difference in cost. The
Heritage Preservation Commission should confirm their final decision on the frame style at the
October meeting. Please see the pictures provided.
C
ONCLUSION
The Heritage Preservation Commission should discuss the layouts and make a final decision on
the frame style options at their October meeting. Dan Licht will be at the meeting to answer
any questions.
c. Tami Loff, City Clerk
Kim Welter, kW Design, LLC
2
When the first permanent settlers arrived at Otsego in 1852,
Minnesota had not yet attained statehood; this occurred
May 11, 1858. In Wright County, Pleasant Grove Precinct was established
April 9, 1855 under the territorial government. The name Pleasant Grove is used
in several history books, but the name appears as Pheasant Grove on the 1855
Census and in some County records. The Township was established
April 5, 1858 and renamed Otsego.
The Otsego townsite of about 400 acres was surveyed and platted in
1857 [at the current intersection of Nashua Avenue and 95th Street
(CSAH 39)]. There was a school, town hall, post office, store, ferry,
sawmill, blacksmith shop, church, parsonage, tabernacle, camp grounds,
and hotel as well as a number of homes. A few original structures still stand.
Many of Otsego’s early settlers came from Maine and other New England
states. They made their living in the fur trade, lumbering and agriculture.
Most forests in New England had been cut down, destroying the habitat
for fur-bearing animals. The thin, rocky soil made farming difficult and
unprofitable. News of cheap, affordable land in the west attracted
many to this area.
Settling in the “Big Woods” presented a real challenge. The thick growth
of large hardwood trees and undergrowth of bushes and grasses had to
be cleared for crop land. The settlers chopped and felled trees, using oxen to haul the logs. Old fallen
and rotting timber and undergrowth was burned. To prepare the land for planting crops, a man walked
beside the oxen pulling the plow, using a stick or whip to guide them while another man steered the
plow through the hard soil, grasses and roots.
The trees that were cut down provided shelter and household furnishings. Log cabins were usually 12 by
20 feet. Floors were dirt, bark or wood. The cabinets, shelves, beds, tables and chairs were sometimes
home-made. Mattresses were often filled with grass or corn husks and supported by rope.
Source: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission, 1996. Otsego - In the Beginning 1852 to 1880.
Otsego General Store
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Otsego townsite in Otsego township surveyed and platted in 1857
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Otsego Blacksmith Shop
Credit: Otsego Heritage
Preservation Commission
PRAIRIE PARK
13355 90th Street NE Otsego, MN
est.1858
TOWNSHIP OF OTSEGO
WEBwww.ci.otsego.mn.us
Myrtle (Williams) Davis, Claude Davis, Emmeline (Spencer) Davis, Grace & Joe Davis, Arthur Davis
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Prairie Park & City Campus
LILY POND PARK
10135 Kadler Avenue NE Otsego, MN
WEBwww.ci.otsego.mn.us
est.1858
TOWNSHIP OF OTSEGOAll of Otsego falls within an area of the state known as The Big Woods, a huge densely
wooded eco-region originally 100 miles long and forty miles long running diagonally
from Minnesota to Wisconsin.
Settlers cleared much of it for farming in the early settlements during the 1850’s and 1860’s. Lily Pond was
a transient hunting area for Native Americans. This area or townsite, Lily Pond (also called “Bedford”) was
considered a close neighbor, but separate from Otsego townsite in the early days of settlers from Canada,
New England and Europe in the 1850s. Both were in Otsego township, however.
Settlers mostly farmed and worked at the Ingersoll brick factory or the lumber industry seasonally. Some
worked on the river as “River Pigs,” where lumberjacks steered the logs from as far away as Aitken downriver
by jumping from log to log and using tools designed to manage the flow. It was a very dangerous undertaking!
Prominent features of the area were the Lily Pond School (at the northwestern corner of Highway 39 and
Kadler Avenue NE), the Lily Pond Methodist Episcopal church (directly across from the school) and the
Baker Ferry crossing the Mississippi at the end of Kadler, but slightly east of the current Kadler Avenue.
Source: TBD
Caleb T. Baker Farm, Otsego
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Methodist Episcopal Church Sunday School Class; Easter 1906
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation CommissionGoing to the Ladies Aid in Otsego; 1916
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Methodist Episcopal Church
District 10; 1910
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation
Commission
BEAUDRYMEADOWS PARK
11375 77th Street NE Otsego, MN
WEBwww.ci.otsego.mn.us
First inhabitants of this area were Native Americans who did not
build permanent dwellings, but moved seasonally. The Beaudry
family who homesteaded in this area were French-Canadian and are first listed in
the 1880 census. They were and are hard-working dairy farmers who milk 70 or
more cows a day and seldom get a day off.
The Otsego Creek runs through this area on its way to the Mississippi River. In the
past, carp from the Mississippi would swim into Otsego creek and children would
spear them with pitchforks and bring them home to clean and cook.
Source: TBD
est.1858
TOWNSHIP OF OTSEGO
“Pride of Otsego” barn built by Alvin Frank and Alfred
Beaudry. The blocks used for the building were made on
the farm site. Dairy farming was conducted in this barn
until 1998. It is still standing; can you find it?
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Children by Otsego creek near old City Hall – taking a break
from the Methodist/Baptist church Sunday school; ~1900
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Greeniger School District 30 – located on McAlister
and 67th Street in the area known as the “Crossroads”
– the building no longer exists.
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
KITTREDGECROSSINGS PARK
7150 Kittredge Parkway NE Otsego, MN
WEBwww.ci.otsego.mn.us
Original dwellers of this land were Native Americans who hunted here seasonally.
A couple of significant battles took place on the Mississippi River between the
Dakota and Chippewa 1772-1773.
Early permanent settlers came from New England, Canada and Europe in the early 1850s. A grasshopper
infestation plus a national recession in 1856-7 caused farms to fail and some people to abandon their land
claims. Others survived by harvesting ginseng which grew naturally in the woods. Ginseng was bought by
traders from Virginia who sold it to those who used the ginseng as medicine.
In 1858 the Federal Homestead Act was passed and signed by
President Abraham Lincoln. The Act allowed settlers to get 160
acres of cheap land ($1.25 per acre) if they built a house where
they lived and worked the land for a specific length of time, often
five years. Farmers supplemented their income by working
seasonally as loggers on the Mississippi.
Later, land was divided so that farms became much smaller, an
average of 80 acres, mostly dairy farms with subsistence stock
and varied crops. Some still remember when Interstate 94 came
through the area in the 1960s and split some properties again.
Otsego was not incorporated as a city until 1990!
Source: TBD
est.1858
TOWNSHIP OF OTSEGO
Painting of the Lorenzo Smith Family barn; 1900?
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Leonard Smith on a working farm horse; 1900?
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
American Ginseng
Credit: Shutterstock.com
ROYALTY-FREE PHOTO
KIM TO PURCHASE IF OKAY
Lahn home built with local Vasseur brick; 1912
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Vasseur home built with local Vasseur brick; 1920
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Ingersoll home built with Mississippi mud brick; 1875
Credit: Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
FRANKFORT PARK
5500 Randolph Avenue NE Otsego, MN
WEBwww.ci.otsego.mn.us
est.1858
TOWNSHIP OF OTSEGOThis area used to be part of Frankfort Township which was settled in the summer
of 1854. Many of the pioneer settlers came from Germany and chose this name of
an ancient city in Prussia. There is also evidence that Native American burial mounds
are in this area but history is unclear about which tribes created them.
In Otsego there were a couple of well-known brick producers who made bricks from local mud along
the Mississippi or near the Crow River on the Vasseur farm. Good examples of the yellow/cream brick
produced in the Frankfort area are the Lahn and Vasseur houses and the old St. Michael Catholic
church (1866.)
Another brick production area was on the Mississippi River at the Ingersoll Farm (later Davis house)
which was built much earlier, in the late 1800s. The original Ingersoll house is still standing on Highway
39 East about 2 miles east of the intersection of Highways 39 & 19. According to Will Holt, a farmer who
lived close to the Ingersoll farm and kept a diary from 1877 to 1890, many farmers worked at the
brickyard for extra cash.
Source: TBD
37
COUNTY
37
COUNTY
39
COUNTY
42
COUNTY
39
COUNTY
19
COUNTY
36
COUNTY
42
COUNTY
37
COUNTY
18
COUNTY
101
101
94 KA
D
L
E
R
A
V
E
N
U
E
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
District 11 > Lily Pond
District 10 > Otsego
A collection of Otsego youth in the year 1926
Photo: Courtesy of the Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Photo: Courtesy of the Otsego Heritage
Preservation Commission
Opened in 1995.
Photo: Courtesy of Otsego Elementary
1906. Mrs. Hitsman
Photo: Courtesy
of the Otsego
Heritage Preservation
Commission
1937. Front row: Gordon DeMars, Rinehard Barthel, Alroy Barthel, Kenny Valerius
Back row: Cletus Vetch, LeRoy Valerius, Wilfred Beaudry, Sylvester Barthel
Photo: Courtesy of the Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
Closed in 1941. Photo: Courtesy of the Otsego Heritage
Preservation Commission
Closed in 1954. Photo: Courtesy of the Otsego
Heritage Preservation Commission
Photo: Courtesy of the Otsego Heritage
Preservation Commission
Moved to Otsego in 2008; Approx. enrollment is 520.
Photo: Courtesy of the Kaleidoscope Charter School
Photo: Courtesy of the Otsego Heritage
Preservation Commission
District 112 > Richter
District 30 >
Greeninger (Greninger)Former Schools
KEY
Current Schools District 12 >
Otsego Heuring
District 9 > Carron
Kaleidoscope
Charter School
Otsego
Elementary
SCHOOL KNOLL PARK
15501 83rd Street NE Otsego, MN
WEBwww.ci.otsego.mn.us
est.1858
TOWNSHIP OF OTSEGO
In the 1940s, eight rural schools provided
an education for the children of Otsego.
The schools were established through Wright County.
Districts were formed as needed when residents
petitioned the County Board. The district boundary
lines were constantly changing with the population
and a numbering system revision in the 1950s renamed
several of them.
The last rural school to close was District 11, Lily Pond
School, which consolidated with Monticello and Elk River
in 1955. It was a two-room stucco schoolhouse built in
1914. Otsego City Clerk Jerome Perrault attended the Lily
Pond School. The building is located on CSAH 39 at Kadler
Avenue. It has been remodeled into a private home.
The Otsego School, District 10, was located in the Village
of Otsego. Perrault believes the existing building was
erected in the mid-1920s after the first building burned.
Perrault recalls as a boy seeing the rectangular indent in
the ground where the previous building had stood.
“Report on Rural School House,” by A. A. Zech, school
superintendent, provides an inventory card of the Otsego
School before the fire. It is dated June 26, 1916.
The 1916 Otsego School was a frame building in good
condition on one half acre. It was built in about 1885. The
school house had one room in fair condition 28.26 feet
by 25.33 feet, a hall and a basement. There was a Storm
King No. 240 furnace in the basement. The Otsego
School had 125 square feet of slate blackboard, 51 single
desks, and an ordinary teacher’s desk in poor condition
($4 value.) Pupils could get a drink with individual cups
at the water cooler. A basin and towels were provided for
washing hands. Two outhouses in good condition were
lighted and had toilet paper.
Otsego Heuring School, District 12 (later
2633) closed in 1954. This building is now
a private home located on CSAH 37 at O’Dean
Avenue. The St. Michael Village School building
(District 20) was located outside the city limits
of present day Otsego although Otsego children
attended. It was a brick building constructed
in 1908.
Joint District 39 (later 285) was shared between
Wright and Hennepin counties, serving children
from Otsego and Frankfort. The Richter
School, District 112, the Greeninger School,
District 30, and the Carron School, District 9,
all closed in the 1940s. The Richter School was
located near McIver Avenue and 80th Street.
The Greeninger School was at McAlister
Avenue and 67th Street in the area known as
“The Crossroads.” The Carron School was
located on River Road (now vacated) across
from the Lefebvre farm. This area is now the
Country Ridge development.
Source: Elaine Norin, Otsego historian & former OHPC Commissioner. This article was published in the Otsego View in about 1990.
NEED TO ADD
PRAIRIE VIEW
Gopher Sign Company
1310 Randolph Avenue
Saint Paul
Minnesota
USA 55105
Quote
12920
09/27/2017
60 Days
BILL TO:
City of Otsego
13400 90th Street NE
Otsego
Minnesota
55330
SHIP TO:
City of Otsego
Ross Demant PH:
13400 90th Street NE
Otsego
Minnesota,55330
Account Name:City of Otsego Quote Stage:Draft
Contact Name:
Email:
Adam Flaherty
Phone:763-441-4414
Project: Parks Signs with Upright Exhibit Stands
Product Details Qty List Price Total
1.Imageloc Sign-Framed (ILOCF)
ImageLOC sign panels for double-post upright signs - 36" w x 24" h x .125"
in thickness, printed on both sides with the same image on each side; 1/8"
radius corners and small 1/8" processing holes on the top left and right
corners of the panels which will be hidden by the frame; no additional holes
in the panels
7 $141.00 $987.00
2.Exhibit Base/Mounting Hardware Mounting
Upright Mounting base system for Image-Loc Signs - 36" w x 24" h x .125" in
thickness consisting of two 87" long 3" x 3" aluminum posts with a welded
top cap; rivet nuts inserted into the posts to simplify installation; full
/125" thick aluminum extruded frame wiht back plate surrounds the entire
sign panel to provide added strength and appearance; the frame attaches to
the upright posts with the rivet nuts; (all hardware included); the entire
exhibit base is powder coated a textured dark brown for added weather
resistance and improved aesthetic appearance
7 $426.00 $2,982.00
3.Digital File Setup Art
Includes preflighting the graphic files, pdf proofs, uploading the graphic
files to the RIP, Ripping the files, uploading the ripped files to the
printers and checking the router cut outline files for the sign panels
7 $28.57 $199.99
4.Estimated Shipping
Estimated shipping charges to destination on common carrier from zip code
57226 to zip code 55330 on an oversized skid to protect the shipment from
damage; actual shipping charges will be invoiced at time of shipment.
1 $152.24 $152.24
5.Proof -10x8 Hard (Single Side) Hard Proof
10" x 8" x .125" aluminum Imageloc-tm proofing sample. Price includes
ground shipping to destination. Specify ship-to address if different from
that shown above.
1 $35.00 $35.00
Sub Total $4,356.23
Tax $0.00
Adjustment $87.12
Grand Total $4,443.35
All artwork submittals for this project must reference above Quote #
When appropriate please further identify line item and/or panel size to aid in file identification
Terms and Conditions
ImageLOC® signs are warranted for 10 years against UV fading, cracking, peeling, blistering or delaminating as noted in
the Limited Warranty. All Prices are FOB Clear Lake, SD, 57226 unless otherwise noted. Price does not include sales
tax. Payment is due prior to shipping or net 30 day terms are available with credit approval. A 2% fee has been added to
the total to cover the processing fee charged by your credit card company.
Normal production leadtime on proofs is 1 - 2 weeks; typical on signs and exhibit stands is 4 weeks after approval of
the PDF proofs + transit time.
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Gopher Sign Company
1310 Randolph Avenue
Saint Paul
Minnesota
USA 55105
Quote
12921
09/27/2017
60 Days
BILL TO:
City of Otsego
13400 90th Street NE
Otsego
Minnesota
55330
SHIP TO:
City of Otsego
Ross Demant PH:
13400 90th Street NE
Otsego
Minnesota,55330
Account Name:City of Otsego Quote Stage:Draft
Contact Name:
Email:
Adam Flaherty
Phone:763-441-4414
Project: Parks Signs - Cantilever Exhibit Stands
Product Details Qty List Price Total
1.Imageloc Sign-Framed (ILOCF)
ImageLOC sign panels for double-post upright signs - 36" w x 24" h x .125"
in thickness, printed on both sides with the same image on each side; 1/8"
radius corners and small 1/8" processing holes on the top left and right
corners of the panels which will be hidden by the frame; no additional holes
in the panels
7 $141.00 $987.00
2.Exhibit Base/Mounting Hardware Mounting
Cantilever Exhibit base system for Image-Loc Signs - 36" w x 24" h x .125"
in thickness consisting of two 92" long 3" x 3" aluminum posts with a welded
top cap; rivet nuts inserted into the posts to simplify installation; full
/125" thick aluminum extruded frame with back plate surrounds the entire
sign panel to provide added strength and appearance; the frame attaches to
the upright posts with the rivet nuts; (all hardware included); the entire
exhibit base is powder coated a textured dark brown for added weather
resistance and improved aesthetic appearance
7 $426.00 $2,982.00
3.Digital File Setup Art
Includes preflighting the graphic files, pdf proofs, uploading the graphic
files to the RIP, Ripping the files, uploading the ripped files to the
printers and checking the router cut outline files for the sign panels
7 $28.57 $199.99
4.Estimated Shipping
Estimated shipping charges to destination on common carrier from zip code
57226 to zip code 55330 on an oversized skid to protect the shipment from
damage; actual shipping charges will be invoiced at time of shipment.
1 $152.24 $152.24
5.Proof -10x8 Hard (Single Side) Hard Proof
10" x 8" x .125" aluminum Imageloc-tm proofing sample. Price includes
ground shipping to destination. Specify ship-to address if different from
that shown above.
1 $35.00 $35.00
Sub Total $4,356.23
Tax $0.00
Adjustment $87.12
Grand Total $4,443.35
All artwork submittals for this project must reference above Quote #
When appropriate please further identify line item and/or panel size to aid in file identification
Terms and Conditions
ImageLOC® signs are warranted for 10 years against UV fading, cracking, peeling, blistering or delaminating as noted in
the Limited Warranty. All Prices are FOB Clear Lake, SD, 57226 unless otherwise noted. Price does not include sales
tax. Payment is due prior to shipping or net 30 day terms are available with credit approval. A 2% fee has been added to
the total to cover the processing fee charged by your credit card company.
Normal production leadtime on proofs is 1 - 2 weeks; typical on signs and exhibit stands is 4 weeks after approval of
the PDF proofs + transit time.