1869 was the year of many firsts for Dassel. Our small settlement was platted this year by the St Paul and Pacific Railroad.
St. Paul and Pacific railroad known known as The Great Northern reached Dassel this year. James H. and Chas A. Morris opened our first general merchandise store. James H. Morris built a modern sawmill.
The McKinney sisters were also well known in Dassel this year. Called the Seven Sisters, they arrived in Dassel with their father and uncle and worked to clear the land and build two large log cabins connected by a frame building. Their home became a community gathering site and was identified fittingly as The Seven Sisters.
People traveled to specifically stay at Seven Sisters, enjoy the hospitality offered and the excellent food cooked by these industrious women. Their site became an unofficial hotel and community hub.
And 1869 is the year that Dassel held our first fourth of July celebration, with our very first United States flag.
This splendid flag was stitched together from scraps red and white wool flannel by the seven McKinney sisters, with stars on a field of blue cambricon and flown proudly at our festival. This 4’ by 6’ flag contained 31 stars, the number of states in the union at the time.
Dassel was becoming a village. The flag, the celebration was not only created for our countries Independence Day, but it was also a symbol of our future.
note: A replica was created of this flag by descendants of the sisters in 2000. The location of both flags is now unknown.
note: the flag pictured is not the original flag, but a facsimile. The picture of the main street, though found within the Dassel archives is not necessarily Dassel.
Source:
Those were the Days by Oscar E Lindquist page 30
Saloons, Space Aliens, Cold Cases by William Ward
Words from community memories
Dassel’s First Flag Story by Amy Wilde Dassel Dispatch July 5,2000 Page 1 & 10
Tilly Evan Jones 