In 1868, a year or two after the railroad come through Carroll
County a depot was built and station fixed at what is now
Glidden. It was named in honor of the director of the railroad
company. The next building was A. B. Wattles' store which has
since been torn down. Martin L. Peters built a hotel, now
vacant. William Stiles, S. H. Glidden, William Harris, W. E.
Potter, M. W. Beach and L. G. Bangs also located here in 1868,
and of these Mr. Potter is the only resident survivor. Glidden
grew slowly for several years. In 1870 the population was 177.
During the next decade the number of inhabitants increased to
584. It has since remained about stationery, the state census in
1885 giving it 522 people but in 1898 the population had reached
1,000. During the last five years a better class of building
have been put up and the village has a much more substantial
appearance.
The village of Glidden received the name of an incorporated town
on October 2, 1873.
A hand engine and 800 feet of hose were purchased in 1878 for
protection against fire. The apparatus is in charge of a
volunteer company of sixteen members which meets monthly in a
building just south of the bank bought by the town for the use
of the fire department. The most serious fire in Glidden's
history occurred on Christmas Day, 1883 when nine buildings were
destroyed. The conflagration began in a drug store.
The schools of Glidden are the pride of the town, The college of
which we publish a picture and give a description on another
page is a fine institution. Besides this, there is a splendid
school building and the corps of teachers is above the average. |
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