Author Topic: The Founder of Hackensack, Minn  (Read 6512 times)

Offline Long Ago

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The Founder of Hackensack, Minn
« on: June 08, 2016, 06:32:58 PM »
When I was a youngster, back in the days before zip codes were invented, I once ordered a nifty glow-in-the-dark Roy Rogers belt from a merchandise offer on one of the General Mills breakfast cereal boxes.  When the company sent out my package they made a mistake and addressed it to me at “Hackensack, Minn.”  The “Minn” had later been crossed out and someone had handwritten “try N.J.” on the package, and believe it or not I actually received my belt after a long delay.

This was the first time I had ever heard of another Hackensack, and I learned that it is actually located in the lake district of Minnesota.  It is just a small community of about 300 people, and as an advertising gimmick they say it is the home of Paul Bunyan’s fictitious sweetheart.  :)

The Wikipedia entry for Hackensack, MN says it was named after Hackensack, NJ.  Out of curiosity, I did a little internet searching and found out that the town was founded and named by a former Hackensack, NJ resident named James Curo back in the 1880s.  Here is one of the links:   

http://www.resilientregion.org/quality-of-place/hackensack.html

I’ve been trying to find out more about the man who was apparently so proud of being from Hackensack, NJ that he gave the same name to his new settlement in Minnesota, but I’m not coming up with anything.  Does anyone else have any information?  Who was James Curo and why did he move to Minnesota?  Does he or his family have any descendants living in NJ today?



Offline BLeafe

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Re: The Founder of Hackensack, Minn
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2016, 07:22:33 PM »
There are a bunch of posts about Hackensack, MN on this site (below), but little on Mr Curo. Feel free to use the site's search function if you come across something unfamiliar regarding Hackensack. If you can't find anything there, post about the item/story you found and put us to shame for not doing so sooner.

Besides the MN links, there's also one for Warrensburg, NY that's related and a mention of New Hackensack, NY. The Google link is just a James Curo MN search. I haven't gone through them, so check them out and please post in this thread whatever you compile, which adds to the site database. Thanks.


http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,984

http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,1062

http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,1081

http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,1156

http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,2227

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=%22hackensack+mn%22+%22james+curo%22

http://www.hackensacknow.org/index.php/topic,1184


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Offline johnny g

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Re: The Founder of Hackensack, Minn
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2016, 08:05:02 AM »
I can't contribute anything about Hackensack, Minn. but I can about GM breakfast cereals, as I am a long time collector of them, mainly the Monsters  ;)