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History:  

Put yourself back in history to about 1869. Due to the Dakota Conflict episode at Lake Shetek in 1862 and the Civil War there were only a few settlers in Murray County. In 1872 Archibald and Neil Currie walked into what was to become the village of Currie. They were Scotsmen whose Scottish ancestors had immigrated to Canada and then south to Minnesota.

Irish families also came to Currie. Many left their beloved Ireland because of the potato family in the 1840’s. John Ireland came to Minnesota in 1848 with his family. He studied for the priesthood and served as a chaplain to the Catholics in the Union Army during the Civil War. In 1876 he set up the Catholic Colonization Bureau of St. Paul in an effort to bring Catholic settlers to Minnesota. John Sweetman, an Irishman, organized the Irish American Colonization Company in Ireland in 1880, following his trip to Minnesota where he purchased tracts of land from the Winona and St. Peter Railroad Company. (The rest of the paragraph can remain but delete the last sentence about Bishop Ireland founding St. Thomas Seminary.)

Some of the Irish names familiar to Currie are Gorman, Phelan, Neilan, Cummiskey, O'Brien, Donahue, Leonard, Malone, Sweetman, Galvin, and more.

Some names from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland are Larson, Anderson, Peterson, Hanson, Johnson, Carlson, Aanenson, Everson, Olson, Peltola, Sanderson, Torkelson, and more.

From France came the Boudreaus, the Pommiers, the Gervais, the LeClaires, the St. Pierres, the Deslauriers and many more.

Some of the Austrian, German, Luxembourg names remembered in Currie are Koppi, Andert, Kosak, Silvernale, Ruppert, and many more. Farmers and businessmen, they added their knowledge, and stayed through the good and the difficult years in early Currie.

When Murray County was platted in 1872, the nearest place to mill wheat into flour and buy supplies was New Ulm. Caravans traveled from this area once or twice a year by ox-drawn wagon to New Ulm, with the 75 mile trip taking about a week.

At this time Archibald Currie and his son Neil built a flour mill on the bank of the Des Moines River. It was located approximately where Schreier Construction is now. In the 1880s up to 20 teams would be hitched around the mill at a time. Farmers would come from as far as 30 miles away and often stay overnight. The Curries also built a little red store by the mill and stocked a line of general merchandise as well as a supply of medicines and drugs. The original building is currently located in the End-O-Line Park. The mill was later purchased by F.H. Silvernale and the store sold to Henry Paal and John O'Shea. O'Shea sold out to Paal in 1914. The first newspaper in Murray County was established by a Mr. Bromwich on January 1, 1878 and later purchases by J. A. Maxwell. Called the "Murray County Pioneer," the paper moved to Slayton when the county seat was relocated in 1889.

The first hotel in the village was called "The Farmer's Hotel," and was operated by Lon Cole. Another was started by Mr. Finch and operated by W. W. Caulkins. A fire in this hotel in 1884 was responsible for the creation of the Fire Department in town. Lewis Fling operated "Fling's Hotel" which was one of eight businesses lost when the county seat was moved. Fling dismantled the building and shipped most of the lumber to Stansberry, MO.

While the relocation of the county seat causes a decline in Currie's economy for a period, the building of a branch line from Bingham Lake into the village gave the community a real boost. By the early 1900s there were about 33 businesses bringing new prosperity to the area. Among the businesses at this time were the First State Bank with Floyd Silvernale as president. Other businesses were the depot, the post office, the Nickel Plate Restaurant, hardware store, undertaking parlor, two millinery shops, furniture store, drug store, implements and machinery company, meat market, two general stores, livery and dray, two hotels, a veterinary and a doctor.
Improvements that followed in 1909 were electric lights and power and the Woodgate Telephone Company. This point was probably the economic high point for the community.

In 1928, the oncoming depression forced the closure of the First State Bank. The Farmers and Merchants followed in May 1930. By February 1931, Henry Eiselein and a number of Currie businessmen started the Currie State Bank, which is still in operation today.

Many other businesses have come and gone in our community, including the Rex Theater, implement dealers, lumber yard, grocery stores, confectionery shop, livestock shippers, and more.

Courtesy of Murray County

CURRIE, a city in sections 16, 17, and 20 of Murray Township, was founded in 1872, when Neil Currie and his father, Archibald Currie, built a flour mill there, using waterpower of the Des Moines River about a mile below the mouth of Lake Shetek. Archibald Currie was born in Argyllshire, Scotland, November 13, 1816; came with his parents to America when five years old and to Minnesota in 1862; was a merchant in Winona County until 1874; then removed to Currie, where he engaged in merchandising and milling; was treasurer of this county, 1879-83; died July 15, 1904. This village, which was the first county seat, from 1872 to 1889, being succeeded by Slayton, was named in honor of him and of Neil Currie, who was born in Canada, December 15, 1842. He built the first store here in 1872 and aided in organizing the Murray County Bank in 1874; was postmaster of Currie, 1872-90, and clerk of the court, 1874-87; resided here as a merchant until 1905, when he removed to St. Paul.

Courtesy Minnesota Historical Society

Looking south on Mill Street, Currie Minnesota, 1916 LakesnWoods.com Postcard and Postcard Image Collection Visit The Currie Photo Gallery for more historic and recent area photos

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Government:

Currie City Hall 801 3rd Street PO Box 169 Currie, MN 56123 Phone: (507) 763-1540 Fax: (507) 395-0003 Regular Business Hours: Monday 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm Tuesday - Thursday 9:00 am - 2:00 pm City Council Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6:00 pm
Title	Term Ends	Name and Address		Phone
Mayor	12/31/2022	Jebediah Malone 221 Main Street Currie, MN 56123		(507) 382-4217
Clerk	appointed	Lynn Nicks PO Box 169 Currie, MN 56123		(507) 763-1540
Council Member	12/31/2022	Patrick Sweetman 117 Mill Street Currie, MN 56123		(507) 282-6463
Council Member	12/31/2022	William A. Olivier Jr 201 Main Street Currie, MN 56123		(507) 626-0655
Council Member	12/31/2024	Kala Larson 502 4th Street Currie, MN 56123		(507) 290-8908
Council Member	12/31/2024	Eugene Short 540 Mill Street Currie, MN 56123		(507) 829-4597

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Post Office:

US Post Office 121 Mill Street N Currie, MN 56123-1002 Phone: (507) 763-3662 Toll Free: (800) ASK-USPS Regular Business Hours: Week Days       8:00 am - 12:00 pm Saturday           8:15 am - 9:15 am

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Utilities:

Utility Type	Utility Name	Utility Phone
Electricity	Xcel Energy	(800) 895-4999
Natural Gas	n/a	--
Wastewater	n/a	--
Water	n/a	--
Telephone	Frontier Communications	(800) 435-1504
Cable TV	n/a	--

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Employer	Products/Services	Employees
n/a

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Minnesota State Highway Map of the Currie Minnesota area

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