Amundson Barn
This beautiful barn was
built in 1918, on the Amundson farm located 5 miles northeast of town. It was
built by a Swedish Immigrant named Mr. Kelly. It was donated to the Willing
Workers 4-H group in 2005. The 4-H’ers
started raising money in 2001 for this project and worked with the community
for it to come alive. After literally hundreds of volunteer hours by the 4-H’ers,
and friends of the 4-H’ers, the barn was finally moved on Nov. 9, 2005. The
massive size of the barn (36 x 80 and 40 ft. high) made it quite a spectacle as
it was moved across country to its present location. The summer of 2006 was
spent squaring up the walls, building stalls, and painting the entire barn with
red paint and white trim.
Amundson Building (classroom and tool shed)
The tool shed is a
“gift” from the Amundson family. It was moved on to the grounds July
2008. The tool shed is used for restoration projects and the
attached classroom is used by community organizations.
Bob Barrett
Building: named
after a past Heritage Foundation president and used for tractor storage.
Russ Beier and Cliff Hagen
Buildings
The Beier building
houses a kitchen, an eating area and exhibits. It was built by the
Northland Technical College carpentry classes. The Hagen building is
home to many antique tractors.
Blacksmith Shop
The Blacksmith Shop was
built by the Coon and Crockett Club of East Grand Forks. Make sure
you take time to read the “Village Blacksmith" poem on the door. It
explains how the shop was the center of activity for a village.
General Store
The general store is the
original Hanson-Maves building, which was part of the East Grand Forks
business district. The building was built in 1902. Rick
Bergley and Curtis Berg donated it to the Heritage Village in 1985.
Granville Church
The Granville Church was
built in Granville, a tiny community two miles South of Oslo, MN, in 1895.
It was moved to Heritage Village on July 14, 1984. The church and tall steeple
is one of the oldest churches in the area. It can be seen for miles
and has become a landmark for our community. The church was recently
resided, and the windows and front steps were replaced.
Landon Building
Jack
Dempsey Landon, longtime resident of East Grand Forks, lost his home in the
flood of 1997. After the flood he donated his garage to the Heritage Village
where it is used for equipment restoration.
Memorial Garden/Flagpole
In 2008 the memorial
garden was built in memory of our founding fathers. Large granite benches
surround the garden and a large brick planter is nested in the center of the
garden; a quiet place to spend time remembering those that are no longer with
us.
Nisbet Farmstead
The log cabin, barn, and
granary, located on the Heritage grounds were built by David Nisbet, and James
Lee with the help of other neighbors, on his land 1-1/2 miles East of Mallory,
MN, in 1871. David Nisbet, who never married,
homesteaded the land. David passed away in 1878. James Lee and
Christina Nesbit came from Lanark Ontario, Canada with their family of 10 in
1879, purchasing the land in 1885. It stayed in the Lee family until
1943, when Mrs. George Lee sold it to John and Grace Peterson in 1944. In 1977,
Mrs. Grace Peterson donated these buildings to the Chamber of Commerce in East
Grand Forks to be moved to Heritage Village. Construction was done by Harry
Tack Brothers, Agsco, Simplot, Nisbet Farms, EGF Lion’s Club, Valley Lumber,
and the EGF Area Vocational Technical Institute. A few of the logs were
replaced at Bob Pape’s farm with Mel Johnson cutting the lumber at his sawmill.
Heritage Village is proud to say
that the descendants of the Nisbet and Lee family spend a lot of time keeping
the cabin in top repair: Elaine Lee Olson, Betty McVeety Nisbet, Helen Nisbet
and Jean Nisbet Roberts.
Sawmill
The sawmill was
made by R. R. Howell & Co. and is a Model #5. The sawmill had been
owned by Ole Bang, a bonanza farmer 2 1/2 miles South of Oslo, MN, the biggest
farmer in the area (about 4400 acres). He used the sawmill to cut timber
on his farm. The lumber was used to build his farm buildings. The
sawmill uses a 48" diameter carbide tipped blade which spins around 550
rpm. The carriage which holds the timber utilizes 3 separate locks to hold
the log in place and can cut 20' long timber. This particular saw requires
a 4-person crew minimum. The sawyer who controls the speed of the log as
it is fed into the saw blade, a carriage operator/rider who ensures the log is
safely clamped into place for going through the blade, another person to remove
the cut timber from the sawmill after each pass through the saw blade, and a
"tractor" operator who watches the whole operation and can stop the
saw blade and carriage from moving if there is danger seen or instructed to do
so by the sawyer. Currently the sawmill is used by Heritage Village volunteers
to saw timber for new and restoration building projects.
School House
The log schoolhouse was
located on Mr. Harry Tack’s property just south of Oslo, MN. It was
built in the 1800’s as a settler’s cabin and used for a couple years as a
schoolhouse. There are many interesting books, maps, and school
equipment in this building. Make sure to check out the rules for the
teachers in 1915.
The main goal of schools
during the early settlement era was to teach children to read and write. Most
pioneer schools held classes from mid-November to April, after the fall harvest
and before the spring planting. Students ranged in age from 4 to 21, and
students were often all together in a single classroom with the younger
students sitting in the front desks and the older students in the back. The
boys often sat on one side of the room and the girls on the other side.
Students began their studies of reading, writing, and arithmetic at lower levels
and progressed through these levels at their own pace, depending on how
regularly they could attend school. American history and geography were also
taught, as it was important for the students to learn about the United States.
Often the older children helped teach the younger children. Many children quit
school after they had learned to read. Many early pioneer schools did not have
writing paper. Rather, the students wrote on slates which were erased by using
either a damp cloth or a block of wood covered in sheepskin. The older students
wrote with a pen dipped in ink. Learning for the students usually meant
memorizing and reciting. They memorized grammar rules and arithmetic tables,
recited history dates, practiced penmanship, read aloud, and competed in spelling bees.
The teacher worked with one or two students at a time or
in small groups while the others studied by themselves or were tutored by the
older students. Many teachers used songs and rhymes to teach grammar, spelling,
and arithmetic. In addition, games were played to make learning more fun.
Primers (textbooks) taught young children to learn their alphabet, spelling,
numbers, and to read through simple rhymes. As students advanced, stories and
famous speeches and poems were included. In the 1800s, teachers were expected
to teach good morals to their students. Through their studies, good morals of
promoting hard work, honesty, charity, and proper manners were taught. Teachers
were often strict, and they sometimes disciplined by hitting unruly students
with a ruler or a small tree branch called a switch or embarrassing them in
front of the class through a variety of means.
Adapted from: Early
Settlement of North Dakota J1 Copyright © 2007 by the North Dakota Center for
Distance Education.
Sherlock House
The Sherlock house is
one of the oldest houses in East Grand Forks, MN. It was built after the flood
of 1897, on the only dry spot, the corner of 4th St. and 3rd Ave. NW. It
was one of the first houses to have electricity. Jack Sherlock was a prominent
lawyer and judge. Mr. Sherlock was instrumental in bringing American Crystal
Sugar to East Grand Forks. Sherlock Park was named in his honor. The Sherlock house was moved to the Heritage
Village grounds after the flood of 1997. (Take note of the two
dates? 100 yr. flood?) The Sherlock House holds a special
place in our hearts as a monument to our heritage and the floods of 1897 and
1997.
The Sherlock House Garden is maintained as a living exhibit
of home gardening. It is an educational exhibit regarding the importance of
home gardening in our nation's history. The organic garden is fertilized
bi-annually and vegetables are rotated regularly for optimal production. A
diluted organic soap mixture is sprayed on the plants to discourage the
rabbits. The garden harvest is shared with the community.
To help the United States win World War I and World War II,
civilians made do with less so there would be enough supplies for the armed
forces. Planting a Victory Garden was encouraged by the federal government to
supplement civilian shortages and allow raw materials to be diverted to the
military. Gardening and canning became patriotic acts. Mr. Wendell Landon began
making a Victory Garden exhibit by the Sherlock House in 2009. An heirloom plant variety is one that has
been maintained by gardeners and farmers over the years. These plant varieties
were commonly grown during earlier periods in history but are not used in
modern large-scale agriculture. The Victory Garden has heirloom varieties that
are native Minnesota plants including raspberries, black currants and
strawberries. Swiss chard was popularized through Victory gardens.
Town Hall
The town hall was a
one-room schoolhouse in the Sullivan school district, just northeast of East Grand
Forks. When students started going to school in the surrounding towns it became
the Sullivan town hall. The shingles for the Town Hall were made
here at the Heritage Village by one of our members, Melvin Johnson with his own
invention we fondly call the shingle machine. Area
residents have donated historic materials to be archived in the town hall for
others that are interested in history.