Bison wandering in unusual ways near downtown Rochester – Post Bulletin

For anyone looking for a home where buffalo roam, Rochester has never been that place.

What is today Olmsted County is located on the far eastern edge of the vast prairie that was the historic home of the American bison. Apparently, the majestic beasts did not occupy local real estate in large numbers, even in frontier times.

Which brings us to the bison that once lived in downtown Rochester – in a petting zoo located in Mayo Park.

In June 1911, the Post & Record newspaper reported that “the park board has decided to have a menagerie at Mayo Park for the benefit of children.” At that time, the menagerie consisted of a few foxes and a raccoon. A year later, two owls and two monkeys were added to the collection.

Over the next few years, the menagerie grew into a small zoo housing a bear cage, a wolf den, a deer enclosure, elk and a small group of bison. The animals were originally located east of the Zumbro River, but the elk, deer, and bison were later moved north of Center Street to the land now occupied by the Mayo Field baseball stadium.

Of course, back when the city established its zoo in Mayo Park, bison were rare anywhere. From an estimated population of at least 30 million before the arrival of the white man, the number of wild bison in North America had fallen to 325 by 1884. The slaughter of these large animals, for their fur and for sport , and to eliminate a resource used by Native Americans, is one of the most heartbreaking stories of America’s westward expansion.

In the 1920s, Yellowstone National Park was one of the few places where at least semi-wild bison could be found. So in September 1926, the Rochester Park Board asked the National Park Service to purchase bison from Yellowstone.

“The application was approved on September 25 and $160 was sent to cover the cost of crating,” the Post-Bulletin reported. “A cow and bull arrived from Cody, Wyoming, on October 31 of the same year.”

Thus, Mayo Park welcomed its first bison, perhaps the first to have grazed and roamed this plot of land. It was a popular attraction for visitors who, understandably, had never seen one up close.

However, when it comes to the buffalo story, it seems that there is usually no happy ending. By the 1930s, the zoo’s facilities were in need of upgrading. Meanwhile, city officials said, the zoo was no longer attracting large numbers of visitors.

So, on July 26, 1939, the three bison left at the park were sold to a local meat merchant. They were shot, the Post-Bulletin reported, “following action by the (park) board, which has been seeking to get rid of them for a year.”

The expense of feeding the bison, estimated at around $1,000 per year, was considered too high.

The area where the bison were kept in the park was designated as the site for a winter skating rink, the newspaper reported. The baseball stadium’s grandstand was finally built there in 1951.

Too bad no local ball team has adopted the nickname “Bison” in honor of the former inhabitants of the field.

Thomas Weber is a former Post Bulletin reporter who enjoys writing about local history.

Thomas Weber is a former Post Bulletin reporter who enjoys writing about local history.