Transportation | MNopedia

MN90: The Road to Greyhound

You can go practically anywhere on a Greyhound bus nowadays, but when two men from Hibbing started the company in 1914, the only route was from Hibbing to Alice and back again. That is, until a new fleet of sleek, gray buses changed everything

Northland / Mesaba Transportation Company

In 1914, miners often walked two miles from their homes in Alice, Minnesota, to their jobs in the iron mines of Hibbing, even during dangerous winters. Former driller and failing car salesman C. Eric Wickman changed that when he decided to use a Hupmobile to transport miners for a small fee: 15 cents for a one-way trip and 25 cents for a round trip. Wickman’s service became one of the earliest examples of intercity busing in the US and, fifteen years later, led to the establishment of the multimillion-dollar Greyhound Bus Corporation.

Miniature Northland Transportation Company bus

A miniature version of a Northland Transportation Company bus. Date of manufacture unknown but ca. 1930.

Northland Transportation Company headquarters

The Minneapolis headquarters of the Northland Transportation Company (North Fifth Avenue at Sixth Avenue), June 6, 1927.

Map of Northland Transportation bus routes

Map of Northland Transportation bus routes, 1928.

Northland Greyhound bus in a ditch

A Northland Greyhound bus in a ditch, ca. 1925.

Fageol safety coach (bus)

Fageol safety coach operated by White Bus Lines on a road in St. Louis County, Minnesota,1923.

Mesaba Transportation Company buses

Panoramic view of Mesaba Transportation Company buses and drivers parked on McKinley Street in North Hibbing. In the background are a water tower (far left), the Lincoln School, the St. Louis County Courthouse (center), and a residential area (far right). Aubin Photograph Studio Collection, Hibbing Historical Society.