To the editor:

I want to thank The Journal for a very informative article on what tourism means to the New Ulm area. Unfortunately, we have lost two historic sites that at one time brought many visitors to New Ulm from all over the world. Namely, the Harkin Store and Fort Ridgley, both owned by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Harkin Store was an 1870 general store; original building with some of the artifacts still left when it closed. The site told the story of riverboat traffic, the riverboat town of West Newton, pioneer life and shopping the general store (the Walmart of its time). Back then, shoppers could sit by the stove, have a game of checkers and visit neighbors while waiting for the clerk to fill their order.

Fort Ridgely was originally built to help keep peace on the frontier and was later used as a training site for union soldiers to fight in the Civil War. In 1862 the Dakota Indians attacked the fort, and the soldiers used their training to protect the fort and slow the Dakota advance down the Minnesota River Valley to New Ulm. This gave New Ulm time to fortify itself. As a historical site, visitors learned about a soldier’s life on the prairie and the bravery of the outnumbered soldiers during that two-day battle.

It is truly sad that the area has lost two popular attractions, but it is much sadder that we have lost a piece of our history.

Opal Dewanz

New Ulm