History (Re) Photographed:
by Concordia College students in History 112HU, Fall 2016

Jocelyn Skoda

Rephotography of Minnesota Roads Using Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
 
    Society is a system in which everything changes in order to maintain a quick and more simple way of living.  Roads are a great example of how society has changed to make individuals live in conformity and continue advancements.  Because of other advancements in technology,  mostly the use of vehicles and other sorts of transformation, our roads have been forced to make changes so that simplicity will remain in society.  While I photographed pictures of roads in my hometown of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, I came to the conclusion that roads have become very vital to our way of living progressively as time went on throughout history.  It will be crucial to look at the history of the roads, such as when they were dirt, cobble, or non-existent, and then to how the roads are now and what they do to Minnesota’s transportation.
    While researching historical pictures of my hometown, it was evidence enough to see the dirt roads and streets empty of vehicles such as the cars we see today.  I decided to take a look at the History of Detroit Lakes to see why dirt roads were prevalent at that time.  The Becker County Historical Society in their “History of Detroit Lakes MN”, stated that there were only two roads in the small town in the 1800s.  Old Red River Road and a road from the Red River Ox Cart Trails, which cut through Detroit Lakes, were the two roads.¹  The examples of the roads made me discover the fact that Detroit Lakes was a place heavily invested in trade.  The Ox Cart Trail led people through Detroit Lakes so that trades could be handled and made.  Because of this information, I came to find that not many people actually lived in Detroit Lakes until later, when more roads were developed.  Minnesota as a whole traveled with horse and wagon.²  In a piece called “Does Minnesota Have Too Many Rural Roads?” written by J. E. Fruin and D. Halbach, we get the evidence that technology did not originally start to develop more until the late 1950s.  So my picture, taken in 1950, must have been the roads just before they were recreated to support the needs of the town in that day and age.  Roads were becoming more developed throughout that time because cars and other means of transportation were replacing the horse and wagon idea of travel.  Trains, boats, planes and larger road vehicles were going to become the way that trade was done.  Dirt roads were not logical to have if something could be done to make travel quicker, easier and much more efficient.
    When I took a look at my second photograph, taken in 2016 of the roads in Detroit Lakes, the evidence of the change became extremely clear.  Instead of dirt roads and limited sidewalks, pavement and cement were put in place to make travel more efficient.  Although it has little to do with the roads, buildings also began to improve.  I came to another conclusion that taxes and funds to the government had a large role in improving roads and buildings to give more comfort and societal change.  The roads became more easy to travel on and changed the way that trade and living happened.  With roads and better transportation, trade was becoming easier and continues to be a better process even today.
    In conclusion, it is easy to see from the photographs that I have taken that roads and buildings both changed a lot in history.  I took the roads from Minnesota, specifically from Detroit Lakes, and saw the differences and how they changed.  It’s important to know why the roads have changed, however, and this was evident throughout history.  Trade was a big thing in the little town of Detroit Lakes until it became a tourist town.  The new roads and updated buildings let people know that this was a trade town and made living easier for the people.  Minnesota as a whole as grown through our advances in the roads, buildings and how we travel with new means of transportation.
 
 
¹City of Detroit Lakes, “History of Detroit Lakes MN”.   Accessed 12/1/2016 https://www.visitdetroitlakes.com/about/history
²Fruin, J. E. & Halbach, D.  “Does Minnesota Have Too Many Rural Roads?” The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
Medicine.  Accessed 12.1.16 https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/04/