What has come to be known as the Dalton building was built in 1894 by O. P. Carson and M. E. Carson for a general store in the pioneer days of Bemidji. Indeed, it was advertised as Carson Brothers’ Pioneer Store, “We came first and will stay to the last.” It occupied ground space 25’ x 90’ even before Third Street was officially platted. The building was sold in 1899 to Edward Rose who remodeled this building and the one adjoining it – the Bemidji Hotel. That hotel building burned in January 1906, but the firemen were able to confine the fire to just the one building.
John A. Dalton established the Dalton Hotel on the corner on Aug 14, 1906. As his business developed, Dalton took the stable area, remodeled it and added a restaurant to his hotel facilities. He did a thriving business during the years that followed. The two buildings were sold to Mr. and Mrs. Willliam Sanderson in 1909. The Sandersons were from Rusk, Wisconsin, and they made the deal through Attorney G.W. Campbell, for the sum of $10,000. The property was composed of a lot, 140’ x25’ feet and two two-story frame buildings, one occupied as a saloon; and the other as Dalton’s restaurant and lodging house.
On May 16, 1912, J. A. Dalton became the owner of the building occupied by his hotel and restaurant. Always aware of the danger of fire in Bemidji’s frame buildings, contractors installed a new sheet iron roof on the Dalton building in April 1913. Two years later, the Dalton Hotel suffered a $4000 fire. A few weeks later, a chimney fire was discovered, but this time only slight damage was done. Despite precautions, on December 21, 1916 the original Dalton Hotel burned to the ground. The members of the fire department had a major challenge. The fire hose was ice coated and wet; all the apparatus used to combat the blaze and the men also wore shimmering coats of ice. According to the Pioneer, the boys were wet and cold and tired out and were thankful no more alarms came in to disturb their slumbers the following night.
Soon after the destructive fire, Mr. Dalton commenced to figure on a new building to replace the one burned, but with the outbreak of the war, he decided to take his time. In February 1918, Jack Dalton announced that he would erect a handsome two-story building and basement on the corner. The contract was let to Edward Jackson, with plans drawn by a Duluth architect. The structure covered ground space of 25’ x 140’ and cost around $125,000. The south portion of the building hosted a restaurant, 26×70 feet, and the front part of the first floor was arranged for a business house. The. upper floor was arranged for rooms on the European plan. The building was rebuilt of brick and was reopened in August 1918.
George T. Baker, the jeweler and music dealer, immediately moved into the business section of the Dalton block. Mr. Baker’s music store covered the entire front of the handsome new Dalton block. The front consisted of a large plate glass window set in copper. The corner display window was one of the largest in the city. The floors were of hardwood. It had a steel ceiling and an indirect lighting system. Special oak fixtures were made by the St. Hilaire Lumber company, in addition to the regular oak equipment. Arthur W. Peterson, an expert jeweler and watchmaker, was a member of the store staff.
Then what happened? Of course, another fire!
Fire of unknown origin, discovered at midnight on Nov 1, 1920, caused a property loss estimated at $5,000 to the Dalton hotel and the Baker Jewelry store in the Dalton building. Damage by fire was confined to the source, the stairway leading to the sleeping rooms on the second floor, but damage by smoke and water was considerably heavier. The Baker stock on hand, especially the stock of phonographs for the Christmas trade in the basement and the workshop in the rear of the store was almost completely destroyed and the loss to watch repair tools was heavy. Patrons of the Dalton Hotel made their exit from the second floor by means of windows since the burning stairway blocked the only means of passage to the floor below. The quick work of the fire department held the fire down and the loss was not as heavy as it might have been under more drastic circumstances. Considerable difficulty was experienced in locating the origin of the blaze but as soon as it was found it was quickly extinguished.
Mr. Dalton died in 1921, leaving Mrs. Dalton in charge of the hotel. Dalton Hotel sold by Mrs. J. A. Dalton to E. P. Jester of Austin.
G. T. Baker and Company remained in the Dalton building until June 1933. He then moved to a new location at 417 Beltrami Avenue. He wanted to add a new line of stock and carry a different line of merchandise at a fresh location.
Abe Patterson leased the Dalton store building on the corner of Beltrami Avenue and 3rd Street in January 1934. Mr. Patterson had been a resident of Bemidji since 1916. Following two years in the military service, he returned to his position with Abe Grossman until he started the Toggery in 1924. In 1928 he purchased Mr. Grossman’s interest in The Hub where he continued until a fire there necessitated his removal. Mr. Patterson stated that every item of the stock in the old store had been disposed of and that when he opened in Jan 1934, he had enough new merchandise to satisfy the immediate needs of his customers. “The store will be open though we will be doing some remodeling and arranging. I am buying complete new stock which will be ready in a month or six weeks. While the fire was decidedly unfortunate, it gives me an opportunity to put in a completely new stock of up-to-date merchandise.”
When Ron Patterson returned from the Korean War, he went back to working in his father’s clothing store. As his father, Abe, worked less and less, Ron took over Patterson’s along with his wife, Ralyhe. Together, the two continued making the men’s clothing store a staple of the downtown shopping area. I often thought of Bob Wilson and Ron Patterson as a pair of businessmen who served us well in Bemidji. They were both active and involved and both loved Bemidji. One could add the Gills, the Sumans, Lloyd Lind, and the whole Third Street crew. They all made shopping on Third Street fun!
Steve Patterson, Ron’s son, came back to Bemidji in 1974 and began working at the downtown store with his wife, Sally, just as Ron had done with his father Abe. In her time helping the family with Patterson’s, Janet would help customers in the building’s lower level called The Dungeon, which was all young men’s clothing.
In April 2018, Steve and Sally’s daughter, Molly, and her husband Jeff Miller took over the business, becoming the fourth generation to run Patterson’s in downtown Bemidji. The top part of the building still says “Dalton” and the awnings advertise “Patterson’s”