Alva N. Aldrich, born August 29, 1866, in Ionia, Michigan, became the mayor of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and the proprietor of the Wisconsin House hotel. After relocating to South Dakota in 1887 and facing hardships with his homestead in Brown County, Aldrich moved to Aberdeen, where he transitioned into the hotel business in 1896. His leadership in the city was marked by reforms, including stricter enforcement of alcohol and gambling laws. Elected mayor in 1904, he previously served on the city council. In 1895, Aldrich married Louise Wylie, and they had one son, Louis Wylie Aldrich.
Alva N. Aldrich, mayor of the city of Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he is also proprietor and manager of the Wisconsin House, one of the leading hotels of the city, was born at Ionia, Michigan, on August 29, 1866, the son of William E. Aldrich, who was born near Buffalo, New York, February 23, 1840, the son of Warren and Sarah Aldrich, both born near Buffalo, New York. William E. Aldrich went to Indiana in 1856, where he followed farming. He served ten months as a member of Company E, Thirtieth Regiment Indiana Infantry, as a private. He removed to Michigan in the fall of 1857, and his death occurred February 2, 1877. He married Amelia E. Stedman, who was born at Spencer, Medina County, Ohio, in 1848, the daughter of Nelson and Roxana (Parrent) Stedman, natives of New York State, the former born in 1809, the latter in 1810.
The subject was reared to manhood in and about his native place and attended the public schools. In 1887 he came to South Dakota and took up a homestead in Frederick, Brown County, which he at once proceeded to improve and upon which he resided for the following two years. Owing to the stringency of the times and the difficulty experienced in obtaining a livelihood from his land, he disposed of the same at the expiration of the above period, being obliged to sell at such a low figure as to cause the loss of nearly all of his labor and improvements. For some time after disposing of his homestead, Mr. Aldrich clerked in a clothing store in Aberdeen, and it was while thus engaged that he decided to go into the hotel business. In May 1896, with borrowed capital, he purchased the Wisconsin House, which he at once remodeled and refurnished throughout, making it one of the leading hotels of the city. The hotel contains forty commodious rooms, with accommodations for a hundred guests, is modern in its appointments, and is supplied with all the comforts and conveniences found in any first-class hotel. Mr. Aldrich has proven a model landlord; his companionable and congenial nature having won him a host of friends among the traveling public. Not only is he popular with his guests, but he stands high with his fellow citizens, who esteem him highly as a man and citizen and have honored him by electing him to important places in the city government. In April 1898, he was elected as a Republican to the board of aldermen at Aberdeen and was re-elected to that body in 1900 and 1902. In 1898 he was made chairman of the committee on the fire department and remained at the head of that important committee as long as he was alderman. During that period, the Gamewell fire alarm system was installed. In 1902 the board of aldermen honored him by electing him acting mayor. In March 1904, Mr. Aldrich was nominated by the Republicans for the office of mayor, and in April following, he was elected. His administration began with the inauguration of needed reforms, among which was the strict closing of all saloons on Sunday and causing the proprietors to comply with the law forbidding them to obstruct the public view of their bars by placing palms, signs, etc., in the front windows. He also closed all the gambling houses and began the vigorous enforcement of other ordinances, including the one forbidding spitting upon pavements and sidewalks. Those who know the mayor feel certain the public can rest assured that these reforms are not spasmodic but will continue as long as he remains at the head of the city’s government. Mr. Aldrich is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to the blue lodge, the chapter, and the commandery at Aberdeen. He is also a member of the Knights of Pythias order.
On June 5, 1895, Mayor Aldrich was married to Miss Louise Wylie, of Aberdeen, and to this union one son has been born: Louis Wylie, who is now in his sixth year.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.