Episode notes
Hans Phillipson: The Boomtown Era: Railroads, Rivalries, and Resilience in Early Brookings County
Generations at the Museum - Season 1 Episode 8
In Part II of our series, the arrival of the railroad in late 1879 ignites a fierce battle between Volga, Aurora, and Brookings for the county seat—complete with stolen election ballots, late-night pamphlet drops, and newspaper wars featuring a lawyer nicknamed "Frogpond James." Central guide Hans Phillipson gives us a front-row seat to the chaos as he digs the town's very first well and helps build its first storefront. Join us as we explore the wild political drama and community grit that forged early Brookings from the ground up
Episode Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
02:46 - The "Frogpond James" & "Brookings Thieves" Pamphlet War
08:23 - The -30°F New Year’s Mission to the Irish Settlement
13:47 - Digging the First Well & Becoming the Town "Architect"
18:39 -The Collapsing Fence at the First County Fair
20:58 - Outsmarting High-Interest Loan Sharks
Mission Statement:
Generations at the Museum uncovers the extraordinary history embedded in our regional soil, spanning from 19th-century pioneer struggles to the vibrant growth of the 20th century. We bring historical archives out of the display cases and straight to your ears, tracing the human stories that built our community from the ground up.
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Links & Resources
- Visit the Museum: https://www.brookingscountymuseum.org/
- Contact the Show: BrookingsCountyHSSD@gmail.com. All feedback is welcome. Please let us know if you have a story we could add to our collection. We look forward to hearing from you!
- Bibliography for this episode: The Boomtown Era: Railroads, Rivalries, and Resilience in Early Brookings County
Production Credits
- Host & Producer: Gabe Mydland
- Audio Production: Mixed and edited using Adobe Podcast and Grammarly software.
- Theme Music: Adobe. (n.d.). After Blues Loop A [Audio file]. Adobe Express. https://express.adobe.com