Manfred History & Preservation, Inc.
Sorenson Hardware
Location: Block 2, Lot 1
Proprietor: Ben Sorenson
Year Started: 1902
Year Ended: 1916 (destroyed by fire)
History of Business: In March of 1902 Ben Sorenson and Paul B. Rognlie purchased the land on what is known as the triangle. In April 1908 Paul Rognlie sold his share to Ben Sorenson. In April of 1911 Steiner S. Aasand, as executor for Ben Sorenson sold this land to Jacob Klev. Ben was an early go-getter hardware man in Manfred, and soon his wife Maggie also started a millinery shop housed in a building Ben had built next door to the hardware store. This was short-lived, however, when her illness began to set in. Rudolph Peterson rented this property after Ben's death in 1908 and used it for a shop, and during this time there was a fire that destroyed the building that had originally been the Rognlie-Sorenson Hardware Store.
Daisy – Sorenson Hardware
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Reference points:
Red rectangle - Manfred School
Blue rectangle - Vang Lutheran Church
Purple rectangle – Post Office/Bank
Green rectangle – Solheim Station