Small towns still live the 1930s-1940s values of frugality, as evidenced by this WWII-era quonset hut that serves the citizens of Hillman MN as their city hall. With only 40 folks in town as of 2010, this quonset hut will certainly do for many more decades, at a minimum.
The hut is known as a Quonset Redesign, which started production in around 1942. Over 25,000 of this type of redesigned Quonset hut were evntually manufactured. Source: (
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"T-Rib Quonset Hut
16' x 36' and 16' x 20'
The original, or T-Rib, Quonset hut was modeled closely on the World War I Nissen hut. . . . T-Rib Quonsets instantly provided U.S. troops with a greater level of comfort than could be provided by tents with wooden platforms typically used at that time.
. . .
Quonset Redesign
16' x 36' and 24' x 60'
Since the arch of the Quonset hut extended to the floor, beds, sinks, and washing machines had to be moved inward until they abutted the curve at the top edge of the unit. Valuable floor space was being wasted. Reclaiming this space would necessitate changing the overall form of the building.
Brandenberger's team proposed a modified arch with four-foot vertical sidewalls. The new arch, assembled in two sections instead of three, reduced erection time and required fewer fasteners. Furthermore, the profile of this arch was changed to a lighter weight "I" section, produced by Stran-Steel--a system that was already being utilized for additions added to T-Rib Quonset huts.
The new hut system was thirty-five percent lighter to ship and sixty percent less expensive to produce. Approximately 25,000 Quonset Redesign huts were produced by George A. Fuller Company at West Davisville, Rhode Island.
Stran-Steel Quonset Hut
20' x 48' and 20' x 56'
Courtesy of the National Archives, Washington, D.C., RG 80-G-347017
The last major redesign of the Quonset hut came in about 1943 when the factory at Quonset Point was phased out and the contract to produce Quonset huts transferred to the Stran-Steel Division of the Great Lakes Steel Corporation. The new hut had an expanded footprint of 20' x 48' and reverted back to the full arch rib. . . ."
From Wikipedia: (
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"Hillman is a city in Morrison County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 38 at the 2010 census.
History
Hillman was platted in 1908, and named after nearby Hillman Creek. A post office called Hillman was established in 1913, and remained in operation until 1994.
. . .
As of the census of 2010, there were 38 people, 15 households, and 12 families residing in [Hillman]. . . ."
Regarding "LITTLE MINNESOTA":
Since 1973, all incorporated towns were declared officially to be ‘cities’ by an act of the Minnesota Legislature. Ever wonder about those ‘little cities’? This series of 100 waymarks will take you to all corners of the great state of Minnesota to visit the 100 smallest of the incorporated cities in the state. All have a great story to tell.
This is the 37th of 100 of the cities described in the book LITTLE MINNESOTA. Originally a logging village, Hillman was named for a nearby creek used to transport logs. The town was incorporated in 1938 and is currently home to 38 persons.
The Soo Line Railroad came to Hillman in 1906, but the first train did not arrive until 1909 due to the work necessary to lay tracks through the marsh lands located along the route. It was when the trains began arriving that the town began to grow and businesses created.
St. Rita’s Catholic Church is very prominent in Genola and has given the city some of its more interesting moments. On his first day of work at the church, Father Schoenberg stepped into the church and discovered the building was on fire. It was totally destroyed. Without a building, the congregation met in the elementary school basement for 24 years until the new church was opened in 1967.
This series waymarks is tuned to getting people to visit these wonderful small communities before they disappear completely. To validate your ‘find’, please post a photo of you with your GPS at the coordinates and please relate a little tidbit about what you learned about the town and its people that is not in this narrative or the book. You can learn more about ‘LITTLE MINNESOTA’ by logging on to (
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