King-Piatt and King-Bruns

Mr. F.B. King owned and operated a general mercantile store in the early 1890's and an implement dealership in the later 1890's.  About 1900 he went into a bicycle repair and sales on the present location of the old city hall with Chester C. Platt as King-Piatt Company.  They added the Reo car to their line of Rambler bicycles.

In 1908, Mr. Piatt sold his interest to Otto Bruns and the company became King-Bruns Company.  At that time they added the agency for the Rambler auto and a repair department, also the Ford franchise.

In 1927, King and Bruns, together with George Hartman and several other investors, formed a corporation and built the Palace Motor Company.  The location for this business was where the old Palace Hotel was located.

From the beginning this new and modern auto agency was in trouble and in 1928, it went out of business.  A group which included Theodore Thompson received the Dodge, Chrysler franchise and resumed operation until the late 1930's at which time the Ford dealership was acquired.  The new owners, Abe Thime and Otto Rebhahn built up the business and in 1948 sold it to Carrol Torgerson and Gerald Davison who renamed it Main Motors.  Their partnership did a flourishing business and in eight years or so, they sold it to Reynold Retzlaff and Everet Aarestad.

Bill Lyche was the last owner of the Ford franchise.  Later the building was rented to Melroe plow division, and when they moved on, it became the property of the Cooperstown School district for use of the Sheyenne Vocational Center.  They in turn sold it to the Sheyenne Tooling and Machine Company.

In going back to the original location, after King-Bruns moved to the new Palace Motor building, the old building was occupied by several people.  Andy Dahlbom had an auto repair garage, Swen Olgaard, an auto agency and repair and Peterson Biddick, cream, eggs and poultry buyers.

Later the city bought the building and the auditor's office and fire hall were located there, until the new fire hall and city hall were built in 1969.

Source: Cooperstown, North Dakota 1882-1982 Centennial Page 191