It’s pretty easy to drive by the Downtown Park Square in Kenmare and not give it a second thought. In fact, to many, it is merely home to the Old Danish Mill, another stop on the Talking Trail. But have you ever paused and considered the history behind the square itself? What was it before the Danish Mill moved in? Before the drug store and the flower shop and the marquee lights of the theater? Listen on for the history of the square.

The city of Kenmare was officially platted on May 8, 1897. The park square existed as an undeveloped block at the center of the business district. The city itself looked vastly different than it does today. Close your eyes and imagine how this spot would look, with businesses surrounding the square and not much beyond it, with the exception of an incoming wagon or nearby homestead. The intention, at that time, was not to create a Downtown Square, it sort of just happened.

Kenmare sprang to life when businesses bloomed around the square, including a general store, livery barn, a hardware store, blacksmith shop, hotel, an ag machine dealership, telegraph office, bank, lumber yard, and the McBride Meat Market, which still exists at the Pioneer Village. Five short years later, Kenmare had shown phenomenal growth. The square, still a barren city block, was then surrounded by dozens of businesses, with grain elevators peaking over the skyline from along the nearby railroad tracks.

In the early 1900s, presumably motivated by growth and expansion, the Kenmare Townsite Co., operated by E.C. Tolley, attempted to cut up the square to sell as business lots, which had become almost non-existent at that point. By 1907, ten to fourteen store buildings lined each of the four sides of the square. Solid business development was happening up and down Central Avenue and First Avenue was booming as well. When Tolley’s plan was made public, business owners were less than impressed because they were told that Block 2, the park square, would never be developed. The block was never officially dedicated as a park, which gave Tolley the option to break his promise.

In the back of Tolley’s mind, however, was a county courthouse, standing proudly in the center of Kenmare, which he hoped would become the county seat of Lake County. Of course, that would never happen as Kenmare would stay in the gooseneck of Ward County when Imperial Ward County was separated into Ward, Burke, Renville, and Mountrail Counties. When he realized Kenmare would never be a county seat, his efforts to sell lots in the park square intensified, which was met with resistance from the citizens and business owners of Kenmare. We know how that story ends, as the Downtown Square remains, recorded as a public square, park, and common by the Ward County Register of Deeds office on May 16, 1931.

We live in a state of constant change. Businesses opening and closing, people moving in and people moving on. The square has witnessed change, devastating fires, and new beginnings. Some of the businesses that encompass the square today have become staples to this community, like the Hardware Store, pharmacy, and local watering hole. Many locals look back fondly on the businesses that are no longer there…the Chinese restaurant, ceramic shop, Murray’s, and a dry cleaner, amongst others. Learn more about some of the past and present businesses surrounding the Downtown Square further along the Talking Trail!