1704 Knox Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55403, USA

Judge Horace D. Dickinson

Black & white photoprint of Judge Horace D. Dickinson who lived at 1704 Knox Avenue South.

HON. HORACE D. DICKINSON (Horace Danforth Dickinson), judge of the fourth judicial district, was widely recognized as one of the most prominent citizens of Minneapolis and was perhaps the best-known orator in the state. A native of New York, he was born near Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence county, and when a young lad accompanied his parents on their move to Minnesota, the family home was established in Minneapolis. Consequently, he received his early educational training in the public schools of the city and in due time was graduated from the Central high school. He then enrolled in the University of Minnesota for an academic course, before the completion of which he took up the study of law. The LL. B. degree was conferred upon him by the University of Minnesota Law School in 1890 and the same year he was admitted to the bar. Through the succeeding decade, he was actively engaged in practice as an attorney of the city and, in a profession where advancement depends entirely upon individual merit and ability, he achieved an enviable measure of success.

In 1900 he was elected to the bench and he remained thereon throughout the intervening period of twenty-three years, his repeated reelections standing as incontrovertible evidence of his ability and power in judicial office. He had been offered the republican nomination for congress and also other political honors, but always declined in order that he might devote his undivided attention to his duties on the bench. He was dean of the judges in Minneapolis and acted as chairman of the judicial body. Since 1890 Judge Dickinson was identified with the Masonic fraternity, in which he attained the honorary thirty-third degree. At the time that degree was conferred upon him, he was the youngest man in the United States thus honored. A man of marked oratorical power, he became well known on the lecture platform throughout Minnesota and delivered many addresses at the Masonic consistory. He was a pioneer member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and active in the affairs of the Knights of Pythias. While attending the University of Minnesota he became affiliated with Phi Kappa Psi, a national college fraternity of high standing. As a public-spirited citizen, he held membership in the Old Commercial Club, and socially he was identified with the Minneapolis Athletic and Minikahda clubs.

Judge Dickinson was one of the most popular citizens of the community - capable, learned, industrious, and studious, he gained a most enviable reputation for his work on the bench and enjoyed in an unusual degree the confidence and esteem not only of the representatives of the legal profession but of the general public as well.

Inspector of Buildings

Record of all work, permitted by the City of Minneapolis, performed on all houses, buildings, and other structures.