Early Times:

The first settlers arrived in the Beaver Creek valley sometime in the early 1850's. The area was first explored by the French much earlier, but once the beaver population declined and beaver became less then fashionable the French left the area. The next group of settlers were consisted of Norwegions and Irish looking to begin farming the area. They first lived in dug outs, simply holes dug into the sides of the areas rolling hills with a log construction front wall. The following spring after clearing fields a log cabin would be built from the resulting timber.

It was in 1866 when the town officially was recognized by the US Government and received its post office. The locals all had been calling this local watering hole Alibi Gulch. And it was known for miles around that this was the only town that would sell alcoholic beverages on Sunday morning. Those choosing to worship by other means congregated to Alibi Gulch Sunday mornings.

The Scandinavian Fire Insurance Company

The 3rd Sunday of each month one could attend the Scandinavian Fire Insurance meeting. Once a month everyone would pay the sum of 75 cents that would some how keep your bar from erupting in flames on a moonless summer night. The Scandinavian Fire Insurance Company also owned the towns fire engine, and was promptly dispatched to members homesteads when the call came.

Gulch Blue Label

It wasn't until 1876 ten years after the post office was built, and some 16 years after the first tavern that a church was constructed. Upon hearing the news, the Catholic church quickly acted and a priest was sent to save the residents.Elis Zabroski a polishman tended the needs of the souls of Alibi Gulch as well as in nearby Galesburgh. The towns folk took St. Bridget as the name of their church. During the unusually wet spring of 1884 the church became unfit for worship.

For a time Father Zabroski held services in the town hall, but because of the sparse turnout he demanded that the faithful towns people join his services in "an appropriate house of worship" which was in Galesburgh. It was well known that Father Zabroski disliked the much of the population. Frequently he was heard calling the Norwegion population barbaric heathens.

Father Zabroski met with an untimely and unexplained death in the fall of that year, and was replaced with a priest much more suitable to the needs of Alibi Gulch. Seamus McBride an Irishman replaced Elis and quickly found his place in the town. Father McBride could be found every weekday morning blessing the local barley.

Meanwhile the good God fearing folk of Norway that were coming to the area do to the great lutefisk famine of 1875 were industrious and quickly constructed their own church unfortunately on the wrong side of Beaver Creek. At the time there existed no bridge over the turbulent waters and rafts were required to cross the river in the summer.