Bemidji Heritage Committee Marks Lincoln Ave. Properties as 100 Years Old

With the city of Bemidji being more than 100 years old, the Bemidji Heritage Preservation Committee has been marking buildings in the area that have also reached the 100-year mark. On Tuesday, they added two buildings to the list today.

The first building recognized the former Lincoln Elementary School, or what is now Mt Zion Church today. The second building, a house that’s also along Lincoln Avenue, is the first residential property the committee has recognized as reaching 100 years.

“When we got the [Lincoln Elementary] building, it was going to be torn down at one point, except the Housing Commission decided it was too expensive to tear it down,” said Mt Zion Pastor Steve Thompson. “They reopened this again, and we ended up with it, and we’re very happy to keep this building in the community.”

Lois Jenkins, the owner of the 100-year-old residential property, said, “I found it in [a 1920] newspaper, this address, and originally had been called ‘D’ street, because they were having a rummage sale. And my husband bought this from Mike Page on a rummage sale, so this is ‘The Rummage House.'”

The Bemidji Heritage Preservation Committee has previously marked three buildings in downtown Bemidji as 100-year-old buildings.