By Laura Oyen
I ran across a picture the other day of a group of men standing outside of the Northern Pacific Como Shops. The picture was taken in 1913. For those of you who don’t know, the Como Shops were a part of the Northern Pacific Railway Company located in what is now the Energy Park area (Subdistrict 4) of the Como Neighborhood. Established in 1885, the complex was used to construct wood framed railroad passenger cars on top of steel underframes. Each car accommodated about 50 people and by 1912 the Northern Pacific railroad had over 1,100 passenger cars that also required maintenance and servicing every eighteen months.
Written on the back of this picture was: “Axel E. Carlson in middle row, third from right”. I got to thinking about this group of men and I wondered about Axel. Who was he? Where did he live? How long did he work at Northern Pacific? I wondered if I could find out any information about him with all the technology we have at our finger tips these days. So, without wasting much time I started to dive into Ancestry.com to see what I could find. Below is the story of a man who spent the majority of his life within the District 10 Como Neighborhood. Here is his story.
Axel Emanual Carlson was born on November 29, 1884 in Horda, Sweden. He lists himself as a farmer working on the family farm from 1906 to1908. He immigrated to the US between April and May of 1908 at the age of 24. From his application for employment with the Northern Pacific Railway we are able to trace his early years in the U.S. He first worked on a farm in Lidgerwood North Dakota for about 9 months, then he moved to a farm in Minnesota followed by working for a lumber company in Nashwauk, MN. In 1910 he moved to Saint Paul where he began working at the Jackson Street rail yard for the Great Northern (GN) Railroad.
On April 24, 1912 Axel Carlson of 647 Olive St applied to the U.S. Northern Pacific (NP) Railway Company. He was 28 and not married, 5’8” tall 171 lbs, with brown hair and blue eyes. He noted that his mother was living in Horda, Sweden. He was hired the same day he applied as a Car Carpenter at the NP Como Shops by Freight Car Forman, Albert F Helfman. In 1913 the attached picture of Axel and his co-workers was taken. Axel resigned from the NP on July 28, 1913. After resigning from the NP Como Shops in 1913 he went back to Jackson St. and the Great Northern. On his resignation form it was noted that his service was good and he made 25 ½ cents an hour in wages.
Between 1910 and 1918 Axel went back and forth between railroad companies and working as an independent carpenter. Axel was working at GN when he married Augusta “Alice” Johnson on June 24, 1915. He stayed at GN until 1916 when he quit and went to work as a Carpenter for Frank Peterson, a contractor, in St. Paul. In less than a year he was back at the Great Northern Jackson St. yard. After a couple of months at GN he went back to Frank Peterson and worked there for over a year. Axel seemed to be hired back by his previous employer/foreman in each case, but it makes you wonder why all the moves between companies in relatively short periods of time.
On August 19, 1918 Axel again applied for work with the NP railroad. According to his application he now had a wife and daughter Astrid who was 2 ½, he did not use alcoholic drinks, he had been employed by the company in the past and had no physical injury or ailments. Axel was rehired by his previous Forman as a Car Carpenter at the Como Shops for a much improved rate of $0.58. In September of 1918 Axel completed a Registration card for World War I service. It showed Axel and his family were living at 1414 Ashbury (Asbury).
In 1918, World War I was still raging. On December 28, 1917 President Wilson issued an order to nationalize the railroad system in the United States. From late 1917 to March 1, 1920 the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) worked to ease rail congestion and expedite the flow of goods while bringing together management, labor, investors, and shippers to work on behalf of the nation’s war interest. Documents included in Axel’s personnel file at the Northern Pacific requested a deferred (military) classification of 2-D to temporarily exempt or discharge a person from the draft. Axel’s experience as a railroad car repairer was necessary to the effective operation of the railroad!
By the 1920 Census, Axel was a naturalized citizen, owned a home that was mortgaged at 1364 Arona, was married to Alice and now had a four year old daughter Astrid. Axel had been in the United States a little over 10 years. Axel continued to work at the Northern Pacific Como Shops until 1922. In May of that year he was allowed a 30 day leave of absence and it is unclear if he ever went back. Reviewing city directories shows Axel and his family living at the following addresses, during the bracketed dates. All homes are in the Frankson Addition north of Midway Parkway in the Como neighborhood. All of these homes would have had racial covenants within their deeds. I wonder how many of these homes Axel built?
- 1366 Arona (1918-1919) Built in 1917
- 1414 Asbury (1919) Current home on site built in 1962
- 1364 Arona (1920-1922) Built in 1919
- 1343 Simpson (1922-1923) Built in 1922
- 1388 Simpson (1924-1927) Built in 1923
- 1380 Simpson (From 1928 to 1980) Built 1927
1380 Simpson became the family homestead. In the 1930 Census it notes that Axel is working for “wage or salary” as a Carpenter in the Building industry and the house at 1380 Simpson is valued at $6,000. By 1940, Census Axel is “working on own account” as a carpenter. It is also noted that the highest grade Axel completed was 8th grade. The 1380 Simpson house is owned, though now valued at $4,000, this might be the result of the economic crash following the depression. By the 1950 census, Axel is now 65. He is still a carpenter and runs his own business building homes. His daughter Astrid in 1950 is 34 and married to Ralph Miller age 30. The are living with Axel and Alice in the 1380 Simpson house along with a granddaughter Marilyn Miller age 6 and a grandson Daryl Miller age 2.
Daughter Astrid Elizabeth Carlson Miller passed away in 2004. Alice passed away in 1979 and Axel Emanuel Carlson passed away on July 24, 1980. The family is buried in Roselawn Cemetery, just across the street from where Axel spent his life, living and building in the Como Park neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota. I wonder how many other homes in St. Paul were built by this talented craftsman?
Sources:
- http://collections.mnhs.org/cms/display.php?irn=10779366
- Hanson, Aaron. “Northern Pacific Railway Como Shops.” MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. http://www.mnopedia.org/thing/northern-pacific-railway-como-shops (accessed March 1, 2023).
- Ancestry.com
- United States Railroad Administration – Wikipedia
- Axel Emanuel Carlson (1884-1980) – Find a Grave Memorial
Did you know Axel or his family? Are you living in one of the homes he helped build? Did Axel build your home?
Do you know some interesting history about your home, your neighbor or about the Como neighborhood? Anyone is welcome to do an interview, share historic photos or do a write up for the Know Your Como segment of our newsletter! For more information on how to submit go to our Know Your Como page.
For more information regarding the Como Neighborhood History Project click here. If you have any stories to share please send them to history@district10comopark.org