Next gen rural retail:
about our storyteller
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what's happening on main street?
In rural America, the health of a community can be determined by the vitality of its Main Street businesses. It has been a common economic trend for many rural communities to have lost two of their local staples--the hardware and grocery store--yet the City of Houston has both Cox Hardware & Appliance, a locally-owned True Value store, and the cooperatively managed, Root River Market. Cox Hardware sits on a prominent corner in town that has housed hardware stores for generations. Dollar General is rapidly expanding throughout the US, and especially in rural areas. overall numbers of supermarkets have dropped from 2005 to 2016overall numbers of supermarkets have dropped from 2005 to 2016
"I work in town, too." >> Carlson roasting, houston, minn.
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"Carlson Roasting is an artisan small batch coffee roasting company located in downtown Houston, MN. It originated from my dad’s passion for excellent quality coffee in November 2015. Like most businesses, it started in our garage. It quickly moved to 214 E. Cedar St. in Houston. After a year we had outgrown that location and moved 101 W. Cedar St." You can find Carlson Roasting coffee in the Root River Market and International Owl Center in town. The beans are also available in various other grocery stores and coffee shops in the region and online, including The Wired Rooster in Caledonia.
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Historical research
Houston County's Railroading Glory Days Remembered
At the Houston County Historical Society archives, Tiffany located several articles and images detailing the county's rich rail history. The "Milwaukee Road" (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul Railroad) ran across the northern part of the county along our Root River and today's Highway 16. Additionally, passenger trains connected people in our small towns until the rails were retired in the 1960s and 1970s and we transitioned into a modern bus system. Our guide at HCHS, Deb Wray, recalled catching the bus in Caledonia in high school to travel from town to town. It was a great transportation option for young people without their license nor their own vehicles. Today, both passenger trains and buses are no longer in service, leaving many Houston County residents with a growing rural transportation crisis. While some citizens Tiffany spoke with have formed their own rideshare programs to support friends and family in need of transportation, only one or two private transportation services for the elderly have been established. For commuting workers, MNDOT has a few designated Park & Rides available, yet most systems remain informal, or nonexistent.
In the video below, Tiffany reads excerpts from the 1979 article, "Railroading's glory days still remembered," featuring archival footage of the "Milwaukee Road" in 1946.
In the video below, Tiffany reads excerpts from the 1979 article, "Railroading's glory days still remembered," featuring archival footage of the "Milwaukee Road" in 1946.
watch the story
Story map
What follows is a collaboration between Stories: YES Houston and Ian Ehrnstrom, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee studying geographic information systems (GIS). He visited our program in late June 2018 to connect with students. Through mapping and data analysis, he provides a regional context for the retail shift that Houston County communities face. While Lilli's eloquent narrative of her hometown gives us the lived experiences of Houston and Caledonia residents and business owners, Ian's map puts those hyper-local perspectives into a richer regional context that compares Houston's story to other retail trends, region-wide.
Do you have a story to share? Do you have ideas for creating transportation solutions in your community? Contact us at StoriesYesHouston@gmail.com
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