Other Britt Communities
Britt, Ontario
Britt is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the unincorporated township of Wallbridge in the Parry Sound District. The community is located on the north shore of the Magnetawan River at Byng Inlet, approximately 5 kilometres west of Highway 69, at the end of Secondary Highway 526. Like its neighbouring community of Byng Inlet on the south shore, Britt was originally a sawmill village, known as Byng Inlet North when the Burton Mill located there in 1880. As the lumber industry in this area had reached its peak, prior to the building of the CPR between 1903 and 1908, the community on the north shore was established as a port for receiving coal, required for the railway's steam locomotives. It was after this, that Byng Inlet North was renamed Britt, for the CPR Superintendent of Fuels.
Coordinates: 45°47'N, 80°32'W
Britt, Iowa
Britt is a city in Hancock County. The community is believed named for a railroad engineer or brakeman
The latitude of Britt is 43.097N. The longitude is -93.801W. Elevation is 1,227 feet.
The estimated population, in 2003, was 2,019. Hobos and Town Answer the Call
Movin' on, movin' on, movin' on...the stream engines beckoned as they built up momentum heading towards a new horizon, towards an adventure.
Many a man heard that call, when the rules become too hard to take. This man, born to dream not conform, that man without a job and out of luck - they heard the call, movin' on...movin' on. The solders drawn from home and done with war were often lured to travel by the train's call.
Movin' on made some men famous, caused others to lose their lives. Movin' on set some men free while binding them to a brotherhood stronger than roots, the brotherhood of the hobos.
Hobos they're called, a word with as many possible origins as there are reasons to join the fraternity. The Latin words homo bonus mean "good man" and could have been coined to make the term hobo. Some say that soldiers returning from the Civil War would be asked where they were headed and they replied "homeward bound". Migratory agricultural workers of the eighteenth century were referred to as "hoe boys", and since hobos worked as they traveled, it was concluded they were the original 'boes.
Ask a veteran hobo at a convention jungle what a hobo is and you'll receive a definite answer. The hobo is a migratory worker, some with a special skill or trade, others ready to work at any task, but always willing to work to make his way.
The tramp, they'll tell you, is a traveling non-worker, moving from town to town, but never willing to work for the handouts that he begs for. A bum is the lowest class, too lazy to roam around and never works.
Misunderstood and mistreated, the wandering hobos have come to find understanding and friendship in the town of Britt, Iowa
1900 - Britt and the Hobos This friendship began with the aspirations of three Britt men, Thomas A. Way, T.A. Potter, and W.E. Bradford, in 1900. Their desire was to gain some attention for the small Iowa town to "do something different to show the world that Britt was a lively little town capable of doing anything that larger cities could do."
Way and Potter read a report in the Chicago paper that Tourists Union No. 63 had elected as officers Onion Cotton, of Danville, Illinois and Grand Head Pipe Charles F. Noe, of Sycamore, Illinois. They wrote to Noe and invited him to bring the Hobo Convention to Britt in 1900. Noe wrote them that he would come out to Britt and look the ground over, providing Way and Potter would defray his carfare and expenses. They agreed.
It was an autumn day in 1899 that Noe arrived at the Milwaukee depot and was met by Way and Potter. They wined and dined the Grand Head Pipe, then called in an attorney, W.E. Bradford, to guide the proceedings and see that they were legal. They also invited Phil Reed, a newspaper man connected with the Britt News. The four men must have guaranteed that the Hobo Convention would go over big in Britt, for Noe agreed to bring the convention to Britt in 1900 and the 22nd day of August was set as the date.
Bailey of Britt, a nationally known humorist and an ardent conventioneer, assumed the publicity end of the promotion, and various other men took responsible positions on the committees. The novelty of the convention appealed to newspaper reporters everywhere, and everyone talked it up, taking the matter as a joke - except the promoters.
Britt is a community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the unincorporated township of Wallbridge in the Parry Sound District. The community is located on the north shore of the Magnetawan River at Byng Inlet, approximately 5 kilometres west of Highway 69, at the end of Secondary Highway 526. Like its neighbouring community of Byng Inlet on the south shore, Britt was originally a sawmill village, known as Byng Inlet North when the Burton Mill located there in 1880. As the lumber industry in this area had reached its peak, prior to the building of the CPR between 1903 and 1908, the community on the north shore was established as a port for receiving coal, required for the railway's steam locomotives. It was after this, that Byng Inlet North was renamed Britt, for the CPR Superintendent of Fuels.
Coordinates: 45°47'N, 80°32'W
Britt, Iowa
Britt is a city in Hancock County. The community is believed named for a railroad engineer or brakeman
The latitude of Britt is 43.097N. The longitude is -93.801W. Elevation is 1,227 feet.
The estimated population, in 2003, was 2,019. Hobos and Town Answer the Call
Movin' on, movin' on, movin' on...the stream engines beckoned as they built up momentum heading towards a new horizon, towards an adventure.
Many a man heard that call, when the rules become too hard to take. This man, born to dream not conform, that man without a job and out of luck - they heard the call, movin' on...movin' on. The solders drawn from home and done with war were often lured to travel by the train's call.
Movin' on made some men famous, caused others to lose their lives. Movin' on set some men free while binding them to a brotherhood stronger than roots, the brotherhood of the hobos.
Hobos they're called, a word with as many possible origins as there are reasons to join the fraternity. The Latin words homo bonus mean "good man" and could have been coined to make the term hobo. Some say that soldiers returning from the Civil War would be asked where they were headed and they replied "homeward bound". Migratory agricultural workers of the eighteenth century were referred to as "hoe boys", and since hobos worked as they traveled, it was concluded they were the original 'boes.
Ask a veteran hobo at a convention jungle what a hobo is and you'll receive a definite answer. The hobo is a migratory worker, some with a special skill or trade, others ready to work at any task, but always willing to work to make his way.
The tramp, they'll tell you, is a traveling non-worker, moving from town to town, but never willing to work for the handouts that he begs for. A bum is the lowest class, too lazy to roam around and never works.
Misunderstood and mistreated, the wandering hobos have come to find understanding and friendship in the town of Britt, Iowa
1900 - Britt and the Hobos This friendship began with the aspirations of three Britt men, Thomas A. Way, T.A. Potter, and W.E. Bradford, in 1900. Their desire was to gain some attention for the small Iowa town to "do something different to show the world that Britt was a lively little town capable of doing anything that larger cities could do."
Way and Potter read a report in the Chicago paper that Tourists Union No. 63 had elected as officers Onion Cotton, of Danville, Illinois and Grand Head Pipe Charles F. Noe, of Sycamore, Illinois. They wrote to Noe and invited him to bring the Hobo Convention to Britt in 1900. Noe wrote them that he would come out to Britt and look the ground over, providing Way and Potter would defray his carfare and expenses. They agreed.
It was an autumn day in 1899 that Noe arrived at the Milwaukee depot and was met by Way and Potter. They wined and dined the Grand Head Pipe, then called in an attorney, W.E. Bradford, to guide the proceedings and see that they were legal. They also invited Phil Reed, a newspaper man connected with the Britt News. The four men must have guaranteed that the Hobo Convention would go over big in Britt, for Noe agreed to bring the convention to Britt in 1900 and the 22nd day of August was set as the date.
Bailey of Britt, a nationally known humorist and an ardent conventioneer, assumed the publicity end of the promotion, and various other men took responsible positions on the committees. The novelty of the convention appealed to newspaper reporters everywhere, and everyone talked it up, taking the matter as a joke - except the promoters.
Britt Community Historical Society--BCHS, P.O. Box 154, Virginia, MN 55792 ---Email: info@britthistory.org