In 1897, Dassel had a race-track called the Dassel Driving Park, three laps to the mile, which was in use for bicycle and horse races for several years. The coming of the automobile seemed to lessen the interest in those sports so, in the course of time, it was discontinued. The track was then used as the fairgrounds and for baseball and football games. In 1898, Ray F. Case sold his drug business to Dr. John H. Kauffman, who combined it with his Ada McCoy & Co. store. Dassel's first commercial telephone line was built in 1898 from the Dassel Post Office to the Murphy Brothers store in Kingston. You could talk as long as you wanted to for only a dime. Later on, it was connected with the local telephone exchange. The Northwestern Bell Telephone Co. reached Dassel in 1900, the long-distance booth was located in the Dassel Anchor Printing Office. Then the Tri-State Telephone & Telegraph Co. line came in and consolidated with the Northwestern Bell. The Dassel and Collinwood Telephone Co. started a business with an exchange covering the village and adjoining country.