4/20/2006
Marilyn Dodgen (Editor's note: I was recently asked if I knew how the "Rat Hole" got its name, and if I didn't know, would I do some research and find an answer. This is what I found). Prior to the 1950s, the area below "college hill" was a wetland bog area that extended west to Hwy. 169 and east, including where the Humboldt County Fairgrounds has been located (since 1914), and running north and south along the foot of the hill that borders Dakota City on the west, just beyond the railroad tracks. Those M & St. L Railroad tracks were removed in the late 1980s and early 1990s and the Three Rivers Trail was built on the roadbed. For newcomers, who do not know where this interesting phenomenon is located, the "Rat Hole" connects 6th Avenue North in Humboldt through the railroad underpass on to the top of the hill and turns right (or south) onto 2nd Street North in Dakota City. Historical happenings Local historian Pat Baker located an 1896 plat map that showed the property on the Humboldt side as the location of the Humboldt Brick & Tile, and the street in question was at that time named Sheridan Street, which did not extend to the railroad right-of-way. A second map, from 1915, shows the street running up and under the railroad tracks and on into Dakota City. It is logical to assume that at some time after 1896 and before 1915, an opening was excavated beneath the railroad tracks, supported by a trestle, and that opening is today known as the "Rat Hole." Locals refer to that area of Humboldt, below the railroad tracks, as "river bottom" and suffered through many incidents of heavy rains, over the years, that created floods, surrounding their homes and filling their basements. One of the more memorable floods in that area occurred when the Humboldt Centennial was being celebrated at the fairgrounds in 1963. The problem was finally alleviated by extensive tile work in the 1980s. Shirley Zenor has lived in that neighborhood through most of the floods, and said she remembers coming home the night of the '63 flood, and that she and her husband, Frank, had to take off their shoes and wade through knee deep water to get to their house, leaving their car a block away on higher ground. She said they had water so often that they burned up a sump pump during one of the incidents. Mystery solved After several weeks of pursuing the question of how the Rat Hole got its name, it soon became apparent that anyone still alive would not be old enough to know from being there at the time (probably the turn of the century from 1899 to 1900) to answer the question. Everyone who was asked said, "It's always been called the Rat Hole," and proceeded to speculate as to why, including such guesses as, "maybe there was a city dump near by that attracted rats, maybe it just looks like a rat hole and so on." The mystery was finally solved by simply asking the right person. R.J. Myers said that Earl Pollock told him that it was originally known as the "Muskrat Hole," due to the abundance of muskrat lodges surrounding the opening, and was soon shortened to "Rat Hole." R.J. had interviewed Pollock on his 100th birthday in 1995, and the Rat Hole was discussed at that time. Earl lived to be 104 years of age, and died Sept. 8, 2004. The lowly Muskrat The average person most likely has never met a muskrat, face to face. Back before the area was populated, this boggy land was host to all kinds of wetland wildlife, with the largest population being muskrats. Although not a pretty animal, except to another muskrat, it is a hard working, family oriented rodent, closely related to the beaver and yes, to the rat. Muskrats are named for their musky odor, produced in musk glands located near the underside of their tail. These secretions are used to warn other muskrats to leave this muskrat's territory alone. The American Indian called this animal musquash or ondatra. It is also referred to as a "mud cat" or a "mud beaver" by some people. Muskrats build their homes, called lodges, out of branches, mud, cattails and other aquatic plants. They also build a feeding hut near the main lodge. The lodge serves as a bedroom, a warm place to stay in the winter and a place to hide from predators. The lodge appears as a three-foot mound of sticks and plants. The mud serves as insulation. Muskrats feed on cattails roots, clams, crayfish, rough fish, and dead animals. They attract predators, such as foxes, mink, great-horned owls, herons, and hawks. They can swim under water for as long as 15 minutes. They can do this because of their number-seven shaped nostrils, which allow them to inhale remaining oxygen from recently exhaled breath. The abundance of these muskrat lodges in the area brought about the naming of the opening under the M & St. L trestle, "The Muskrat Hole." Earl Pollock's daughter, Earlene Davis, former Mayor of Dakota City, said she and her dad passed through the Rat Hole many times on their way to her Uncle Harry and Aunt Ruth Pollock's house down in north Humboldt, often going there to do the chores anytime Harry and Ruth went out of town. R.J. said that, as a kid growing up in Dakota City, he rode his bicycle, often more than once a day, through the Rat Hole coming and going from Dakota City after spending the day swimming or fishing down in Humboldt at the river. Alice Warner said she remembers having to drive half-way up that hill through the Rat Hole, when she got her first driver's license. The officer made her stop the car and then re-start it and proceed on up the hill. She said she was sure she was going to roll back down that hill and hit the side of the railroad overpass. Back in the days before the road was hard surfaced, many a teenager got stuck in the Rat Hole and had to be pulled free from the spring thaw muck. Dave Dodgen can tell a good story about the night he got his dad's car stuck there. Inquiries also brought out stories of the northbound road (now 1st St. North) halfway to the top of the hill on the Dakota City side. Marvin Andersen said the kids used to head north at high speed and go up and over the hill that went over the railroad tracks. It seems that the hill was so steep, a person couldn't see if another vehicle was coming from the north until they crested the top of the hill. It was pretty scary! Today, there is another place gaining fame, by Oak Hill Baptist Church, north of Humboldt, running parallel to Hwy 169, known to the teenagers as the "Baptist Bump." This has caused considerable damage to many automobile undersides and cost quite a lot in repairs, all in the name of a "fun" thing to do. Years from now it will probably be the subject to come up when this generation becomes the "older" generation. The Rat Hole question has provided a lot of good conversation at various coffee drinking sessions and now they can move on to other important subjects.
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The Humboldt
Independent • Official paper of Humboldt County
Telephone: (515)
332-2514 |
