Dinner Club Recap

One of our tables from the April 2nd dinner at Gary's Supper Club sent in a photo, and yeah, they had a great time.

Salads, drinks, and a lot of laughs. This is what the Dinner Club is all about, six strangers walk in, and by the end of the night, they're making plans to do it again.

The next one is Wednesday, April 29th in Apple Valley.

Stay tuned.

THE HORSE THAT BUILT A RAILROAD

THE CITY OF SAVAGE is named after a man. The man was named after a horse. Sort of.

In 1906, Dan Patch was the most famous athlete in America. Not a boxer, not a baseball player—a horse. A pacer who set 14 world records and drew crowds of more than 90,000. His name was on cigars, coffee, toys, washing machines. He had his own private railcar, painted white with gold lettering, staffed by grooms in white uniforms.

His owner, M.W. Savage, loved that horse so much he built a railroad to bring people to see him. When the horse died, the man died the next day. The railroad collapsed five days later.

The tracks are still there. You drive over them every time you take I-35 through Burnsville

THE HORSE

Dan Patch was born in Indiana in 1896. He was a pacer—a type of harness racer where the horse's legs move in lateral pairs instead of diagonal. He was so fast that by 1902, other owners refused to race against him. There was no point. He'd win.

M.W. Savage bought him for $60,000—more than $2 million today. Savage was already rich from his International Stock Food Company, selling animal feed and veterinary supplies out of a massive building on the Minneapolis riverfront. He had offices in Toronto, Memphis, Scotland, Ireland, England, France, Germany, and Czarist Russia. His slogan: "Three feeds for one cent."

But Savage wanted horses. He bought 750 acres along the Minnesota River in the town of Hamilton and built what he called the International Stock Food Farm. A mile track. An indoor half-mile track with 8,400 windows. And a stable so grand they called it the Taj Mahal—an octagon center 90 feet across, wings 157 feet long, 130 heated box stalls.

Then he brought Dan Patch home.

THE RECORD

September 8, 1906. Minnesota State Fair.

More than 90,000 people packed the grandstands to watch Dan Patch race against the clock. He paced the mile in 1 minute, 55 seconds—a world record that would stand for 32 years.

Crowds welcomed Dan Patch in downtown Minneapolis afterward. Savage renamed his company the Dan Patch 1:55 Stock Food Company. The horse's image went on everything. He became the most marketed athlete of his era, decades before Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.

And Savage had a problem: how to get people from Minneapolis to his farm in Hamilton, 18 miles away, to see the most famous horse in America.

He built a railroad.

THE RAILROAD

In 1907, Savage incorporated the Minneapolis, St. Paul, Rochester and Dubuque Electric Traction Company. Nobody called it that. Everyone called it the Dan Patch Line.

The symbol was a lightning bolt on a horseshoe. The coaches were luxurious—red plush seat cushions, fringed shades on the windows. Construction began in 1908, and by late 1910, the line ran from 54th and Nicollet in Minneapolis down through Bloomington, Burnsville, Savage, and Lakeville to Northfield.

But Dan Patch alone wasn't drawing enough riders. So Savage built something else.

THE END

July 11, 1916. Dan Patch died in his stall at the farm. He was 20 years old. The cause was listed as an enlarged heart, though some said overfeeding.

July 12, 1916. M.W. Savage died. He was 59. They said it was a broken heart.

July 16, 1916. The railroad—which had never turned a profit, reportedly running at an operating ratio of 147%—slumped into receivership.

Antlers Park was sold in 1917. The railroad was bought out of bankruptcy in 1918 by the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway. Passenger service limped along until 1942, then ended entirely. The line became freight-only.

The horse, the man, the railroad, the park—all gone within two years.

WHERE TO GO

Antlers Park (Lake Marion, Lakeville) — Swimming beach, playground, picnic shelters. The new John Hennen Pavilion sits on the footprint of the original 1910 dance pavilion.

Dan Patch Historical Marker — There's one in Savage, though the original farm buildings are gone. The stables burned in 1917, the indoor track was demolished soon after.

The Corridor Itself — Drive County Road 42 through Burnsville and Savage. You're following the Dan Patch Line. The tracks parallel the road in places. Look for the rail crossings.

A horse set a world record. A man built a railroad. A park drew thousands. Then it all ended in a week.

The tracks are still there.

1438 Kings Wood Rd, Eagan

➡️ 4 bed, 4.5 bath, 0.58 acres
➡️ 3 fireplaces, hardwood floors & newer roof + windows
➡️ 14 total rooms, daylight basement & in-ground sprinkler

Price: $845,000

MLS #6804327

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