1850 Farm Site

Explore this authentic farm site, built in the 1850s, that will take you back to what life on the farm was like at the time in the state of Minnesota. After the signing of the Treaty of Traverse de Sioux in 1851, settlers from the Eastern United States and Europe came by boat, ox cart, covered wagons and on foot to this newly opened land seeking a new life for their families.

The early settlers built their homes out of what ever was available in their area. Wooden homes and animal shelters were constructed out of tress in wooded areas, and dug-outs and sod buildings on the prairie.

Pioneer farms were "people powered" with assistance from farm animals. Children were essential workers on the farm, where clothes were washed by hand, seeds hand sown, butter churned and water carried from the creek or well.

The main crop grown in this region were wheat, corn, barley, and various root crops. At this time in our state history, most of the settlers were farmers.