Personal letter of the Dan Patch Electric Line with map on back dated 1905 or so - Americana

Very interesting letter from president and treasurer M.W. Savage of the Dan Patch Electric Line to a shareholder regarding his payment needed to complete a road. Map of Dan Patch Electric Lines on back. Connected to the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Co.

The Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway, designated by the reporting mark MNS, was an American shortline railroad spanning 87 miles (140 km) that linked Minneapolis and Northfield, Minnesota. Incorporated in 1918, it took over the tracks of the previous Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company, commonly referred to as the Dan Patch Lines. On June 2, 1982, the Soo Line Railroad acquired it, operating it as an independent railroad until its merger on January 1, 1986, with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road). Marion W. Savage, the owner of the racehorse Dan Patch, envisioned an electric railroad that would connect the Twin Cities to his farm and stables located south of the Minnesota River.

In 1902, Savage purchased Dan Patch for $62,000, a considerable sum at the time, and he extensively promoted his equine star. Savage and his investors selected 54th and Nicollet, which was then the border between Richfield and Minneapolis, as the starting point for the new railroad. The Nicollet streetcar line in Minneapolis terminated at this location, allowing passengers to conveniently transfer to the adjacent Dan Patch system. The owners named their new enterprise the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company, although the full name was rarely used; they preferred the nickname "Dan Patch Line."

Construction commenced in 1908, ultimately reaching Northfield by late 1910. Grading for an extension to Faribault began in 1911, but the company was unable to secure access to Faribault and subsequently abandoned the project. The new railroad established four stations in Richfield, with platforms situated along the Nicollet Avenue corridor – at Bachman's farmstead spur on 62nd, Goodspeed's farmstead on 66th, Irwin's farmstead on 72nd, and Wilson's farmstead on the southwest corner of 78th. Additionally, they developed a picnic area known as Antlers Park, which is now part of the Lakeville city park system.

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