Andrew Peterson Farmstead Blog

The Chaska brick industry flourished from 1857-1950. First called “Chaska Brick” in an 1894 Chaska Herald article, this distinctive brick is known for its unique “creamy” color, high clay content, and quality. Chaska brick remains closely tied to the history of the city it came from.

Three key factors led to the success and popularity of Chaska brick. First, the brick is made from clay found in deep, rich alluvial clay deposits, with a distinctive layer of yellow clay over blue. Both clays are rich in sand and finely ground silica, giving the bricks a slight sparkle. Early use of wood to fire the brick versus later gas oven firing also caused a sparkle. Early brick makers in the 1800s thought the deposit to be limitless, but it turned out to be about twenty to forty-five feet deep.

The existence of nearby rich wood sources to heat the brick making kilns was another reason for the Chaska brick industry’s success. Chaska and Carver County are located in what was once the Big Woods of western Wisconsin and south-central Minnesota. This large forest of oak, maple, basswood, elm, ash and white birch provided tons of wood to heat the kilns. Many farmers clearing land traded firewood for brick and off-season brick workers cut firewood for their employers.

Third, Chaska was settled by German and Scandinavian immigrants, who came from areas where brick was the favored building material. These immigrants were skilled brick masons, and provided experienced labor for the brickyards. Success for Chaska brick was also aided by the brick weighing less than other brick, making it cheaper to transport. Brick making and firing techniques improved over time as well.

By the 1860s, four main brickyards existed in Chaska, employing about 100 people, in a town of only 1,255 people. By the 1880s, the number of employees had risen to nearly 400. By 1900, daily production reached an incredible three and a half million bricks, which is about forty to sixty million bricks a year. Six brickyards employed around 600 men, twenty percent of the city population, making Chaska brick the leading source of jobs and money for Chaska. By the beginning of the twentieth century, thirty percent of all brick used in Minnesota was made in Chaska.

Chaska brick was used when constructing many important buildings in Minnesota. For example, in Minneapolis, it can be seen in the Orpheum Theatre, Renaissance Square, Market Square, Wesbrook Hall on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, and the Minneapolis Auditorium. In St. Paul, the prison at Fort Snelling and the State Capitol, where over two million bricks built the basement, are made with Chaska brick. It was used to line the sewers of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Chaska brick was used in many types of buildings: schools, city buildings, factories, mills, hotels, barns, farmhouses, row houses, houses, outhouses, stables, saloons restaurants, banks, churches and more.

Over the course of the early to mid twentieth century, the Chaska brick industry stalled. New building materials like clay tiles and concrete blocks were preferred. The new types of materials, and the financial crisis of the Great Depression, led to its decline. There was not enough demand for the supply. In the late 1960s, building fashion changed, and olive green or harvest gold bricks were preferred. Overtime, brickyard owner Charles Klein bought out the other brickyards, or they shut down from lack of sales. Trouble between labor and management in the 1960s lowered Chaska brick’s market price, interrupting the supply produced. Klein’s brickyard, the last to produce Chaska brick, finally shut its doors in 1971.

After production of Chaska brick ended, its historic significance was recognized. Many buildings made of Chaska brick were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Examples of these buildings in Carver County include the Frederick E. DuToit house, the Wendelin Grimm farmstead, the Herald block, the Simons Building and Livery Barn, and the Paul Mohrbacher house. In the twenty-first century, efforts to protect Chaska brick buildings continue through historic preservation.

Turning Point: The last brickyard in Chaska shut its doors in 1971, and in the years following, the significance of this brick industry gained recognition with many Chaska brick locations protected on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Chronology:

• 1857: First bricks of distinctive local clay, later named Chaska brick, are made and used.
• 1860s: There are four operating brickyards, employing up to 100 of Chaska’s 1,255 people.
• 1880s: Chaska brickyard employment reaches nearly 400 men.
• 1894: The locally-made bricks are first called “Chaska brick” in a Chaska Herald article.
• 1900: Daily production reaches an incredible three and a half million bricks, which is about forty to sixty million bricks a year.
• 1900: Six brickyards employed around 600 men, twenty percent of the city population. By this time, thirty-percent of all brick used in Minnesota was made in Chaska.
• 1960s: Cream colored brick loses popularity to other brick colors and building materials.
• 1971: Final Chaska brick factory closes its doors.

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Bibliography:

Barac, Lavonne. Chaska:A Minnesota River City. 2 vols. St. Paul, MN: Carver County Public Library, 1989.

Chaska Historical Society. “Chaska Brick: 1857-1950”. Pamphlet. Information gathered from: City of Chaska- Historic Context Study, Prepared for the Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission by           Thomas R. Zahn and Associates. Bethany Gladhill, Project Associate, Spring 2006.

“Carver County, Minnesota”. National Register of Historic Places. Accessed February 23, 2013. www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MN/state.html

Petersen-Biorn, Wendy. ”Farmhouses in Carver County: Resources Worthy of Preservation”. Brochure, Minnesota Department of Transportation, April 2011.

“National Register of Historic Places: Carver County, Minnesota”. Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Minnesota Historical Society. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRSearch.cfm

Smith, Patrick. “Chaska Brick”. Student paper for Architecture 5512, March 1999. Minnesota Historical Society call # F612.C29 C476 1999.

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

“Architectural inventory of Chaska Brick farmhouses in Carver County, Minnesota”. St. Paul: Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, 2004.

Henning, Barbara J. Chaska Brick Farmhouses in Carver County, Minnesota. Phase III Mitigation Report. 2005. Copies on file with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota SHPO, Minnesota Historical Society.

[Secondary]

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., editor. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Chicago: Henry Taylor and Company, 1915.

Lofstrom, Ted and Lynne VanBrocklin Spaeth. Carver County: A Guide to Its Historic and Prehistoric Places. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1978.

Martens, Steve C. “Historic Chaska, Minnesota: “Minnesota’s Brick City”: Downtown Preservation Design

Manual. Prepared for the: Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission, 2003.

Martens, Steven C. “Ethnic Traditions and Innovations as Influences on a Rural Midwestern Building

Vernacular”. Master’s thesis, University of Minnesota, 1988.

Martens, Steve. “Brick Houses in Carver County”. Student paper, University of Minnesota-Foster Dunwiddie Papers, 1987-1988.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.

[Web]

“National Register of Historic Places-Carver County”. National Park Service. Accessed February 26, 2013. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do?searchtype=natreghome

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Images/Audio/Video

AV-99-11025
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia
Postcard “Brickyards, Chaska”
Cook-Montgomery Co. Post Cards, Minneapolis
Description: brickyard factory in Chaska, MN circa 1913.
Rights held by the CCHS.

VII  A  5
Photograph Collection, Chaska Historical Society, Chaska, MN Photographic print “Klein Brickyard workers circa 1910” Description: Top Row- Albert Buschkowsky, August Buschkowsky (Boldt?) Bottom- Wm. “Bill” Griep, Herman Tiedeman, Rudolph Schoen, _______ Neubert, unknown, unknown Rights held by Chaska Historical Society.

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

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Carver County, founded in 1855, is home to the Minnesota and Crow rivers, along with 125 lakes. Located southwest of the Twin Cities, it is part of the seven county metro area.

Early Residents

The area named Carver County has been home to American Indians, immigrants, and many others throughout its long history. Many thousands of years ago, Minnesota was covered by glaciers and the First People, early American Indians, who hunted mammoths and giant bison. As the ice melted, the people changed how they hunted and lived. They made their own tools from bone or rock. This process is called flintknapping. Most hunted with spears or bow and arrow. Trade with neighboring groups was important, but trade also stretched across the country. Archaeologists found a cowry shell, an object found in the Pacific Ocean, in a Carver County archaeology site in Camden Township.

Over time, Minnesota became a forest, of oak, elm, maple and cottonwood trees. The “Big Woods” covered much of Minnesota and Wisconsin. This forest provided good hunting grounds for the American Indians in the area, who were mainly Dakota. The Indians traveled with the seasons. They followed deer and elk herds and gathered fruits, nuts and berries. The Dakota had a lasting impact on Carver County, and Dakota place names, such as Waconia (lake of the fountain or lake of the spring) and Chanhassen (tree of sweet sap) identify important areas.

The Fur Trade

Some of the first European explorers in the area that became Carver County were French. They created strong relationships with the American Indians, learning the knowledge and skills.Massachusetts-born Jonathan Carver lived with a local band over a period of months, learning Dakota culture and writing about what he learned.

The Indians saw value in items the French brought with them such as axes, guns, and glass beads. These items were not commonly available and gave advantages to the Dakota. The Indians brought early explorers and later French traders into their kinship system to create better on-going trade relations. The French traders married Indian women and learned their language and traditions, becoming part of a pre-existing trade network.

From the late 1600s through the 1840s, growing numbers of Europeans came into Minnesota to trade fur. In Carver County, there were two companies in the fur trade: the Northwest Fur Trading Company (British), and the American Fur Company. The Northwest Fur Company started in 1779, and there is archaeological evidence of a fur trading post associated with them located in Carver County. The post was south of where the city of Carver sits, along the Minnesota River, at a location called “Little Rapids”. It was operated from 1804-1808, and again in the 1830s, by Jean-Baptiste Faribault. It was run with help from his wife Pelagie, and sons Alexander and Oliver. In the twenty-first century, a historic marker is near the site, as no structures remain.

The British controlled the fur trade in the late 1700s and then the Americans took over in the early 1800s. The Indians tried to create the same family bonds with them as they had with the French. They referred to “Grandmother England” and “The Great Father in Washington.” However, the British and the Americans did not understand the importance of family to the Dakota. Indian-White relations declined. The fur trade period effectively ended in 1851 with the signing of two important treaties.

Treaty Period

The Treaty of Traverse de Sioux was signed July 23, 1851, and the Treaty of Mendota signed in August 1851, with the Sisseton/Wahpeton bands (Traverse de Sioux) and Wahpekute/Mdewakanton bands (Mendota) of Dakota. These treaties opened what is now Carver County to settlement by white settlers. Many whites had settled the land prior to the treaties, illegally. These illegal settlers are sometimes known as “Sooners”, and many of them were forced to give up their land. They either moved back east again or made their homes on different land, legally.

Settlement of Carver County

Carver County became an official county on March 3, 1855, named for early explorer, Jonathan Carver, as is the city of Carver. It is divided into ten townships: Hollywood, Watertown, Camden, Waconia, Laketown, Young America, Benton, Dahlgren, Hancock, and San Francisco. Government officials declared San Francisco the first county seat until it was moved to Chaska in 1856. It remains in Chaska even with many battles to move the county seat to other locations.

By 1857, five school districts were organized: Carver, Chaska, Benton, Chanhassen, and Groveland. The very first school was located in Chanhassen, where the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum sits. The teacher was Susan Hazeltine. Lake Susan and Hazeltine Golf course are named after her.

The earliest white settlers were from the eastern United States. By the 1860s, however, most new settlers were immigrants from Germany, Ireland, or Sweden. This immigrant population brought their home country traditions, including names for their new towns. The Germans brought names like Hamburg, Gotha, and Cologne, and the Swedes, Swede Lake and East Union.

Most settlers wanted to own land and became farmers, but Chaska also had a booming brick industry, known for its distinctive yellow brick. The thickness of the Big Woods made it difficult for early settlers to clear the land for farming, but they carried on, using cut trees for houses, firewood, and tools. The desire to clear the land led to a booming logging industry in the 1850s-1870s. In the early twenty-first century, much of the county’s land is still farmland. Most people, though, hold other types of work, with many making the drive to the Twin Cities and surrounding communities for work.

Carver County in the Twenty-First Century

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a Board of Commissioners, each taking one of five districts, governs Carver County. These Commissioners guide the directives, resolutions, ordinances, and policies for all of Carver County, implemented by the County Administrator’s office. The County Administrator’s department also guides and supports all other county divisions, such as Social Services and Public Health and Environment.

The county sits among Wright County (north), Hennepin County (northeast), Scott County (southeast), Sibley County (southwest) and McLeod County (west). Carver County has a total area of approximately 376 square miles, of which around ninety-five percent (357 square miles) is land, and about five percent (nineteen square miles) is water. The land of Carver County consists of plains, gently rolling to steep hills, wetlands, streams, and lakes, with steep bluffs along the Minnesota River Valley. The county is home to many parks, protected wetlands, and nature preserves, among them: Seminary Fen, Baylor Regional Park, and Carver Park Reserve.

While small, Carver County has been one of the fastest growing counties in Minnesota since about 1980. Carver County has a large urban/rural, or city/country, divide. The eastern cities of Chaska and Chanhassen combine for over half of the county’s population. Waconia and Victoria follow these cities closely. The other eleven towns have populations less than half this size.

Though the county is ninety-four percent white in the early twenty-first century, numbers of minority residents are growing. Chaska in particular has seen major growth of its Hispanic population. This growing racial and ethnic diversity is very visible in the public schools. Throughout Carver County, a growing percentage of students speak a language other than English at home.

Overall, Carver County has a long and rich history. It is well positioned to continue to thrive.

Turning Point: Carver County is established by the state of Minnesota on March 3, 1855.

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Chronology:

• late 1600’s- Fur trade between American Indians and the French begins in what is later known as Carver County.
• 1804-1808- Jean-Baptiste Faribault runs Little Rapids Fur trade post. He and his family return to it in the 1830’s.
• 1851- Signing of treaties at Traverse de Sioux and Mendota in July and August. These treaties officially open up the land that becomes known as Carver County to white settlement.
• March 3, 1855- Carver County is officially established, with San Francisco named as the county seat.
• 1855: First official road created in Carver County, in Dahlgren.
• 1856: Chaska becomes the county seat.
• 1857: The brick industry in brick industry in Chaska begins, lasting for over one hundred years.
• 1870s: The logging industry starts to slow in Carver County
• 1912-1916: The Yellowstone Trail, the first “good road” connecting the east and west coasts of the United States, is designated and improved in Carver County. In 1926, it would become parts of Hwys. 5 and 212 through the county.
  

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  Maps:

Download a pdf of this image:Carverco_City_and_Township_boundaries

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Download a pdf of this image: Commissioner_Districts2

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Download a pdf of this image: Carverco_Parks

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carver County website. About. Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.co.carver.mn.us/county_government/aboutCC.asp

Carver County website. Board of Commissioners. Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.co.carver.mn.us/county_government/board.asp

Carver County website. Carver County 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/LWS/2030_plan.asp

DNR website. Lake Finder: Carver County. Accessed December 2, 2012. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html

Petersen-Biorn, Wendy. “Yellowstone Trail: Remembering the ‘Good Road’”. Chaska Herald, September 2, 2012.

Minnesota Indian Affairs Council website. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.indianaffairs.state.mn.us/

Minnesota Humanities Center website. Why Treaties Matter exhibit. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/treaties

Ridge, Alice A. and John William. Introducing the Yellowstone Trail: A Good Road from Plymouth Rock to              Puget Sound, 1912-1930. Altoona, WI: Yellowstone Trail Publishers, 2000.

Treaties Matter website. Explore Treaties. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.treatiesmatter.org/treaties

Warner, George E. and Charles M. Foote. History of the Minnesota Valley: Carver County. Reprint. Carver County Historical Society, 1986. Originally published in George E. Warner and Charles M. Foote,   History of the Minnesota Valley, Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Company, 1882.

 

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RELATED RESOURCES

Secondary:

Barac, Lavonne. Chaska:A Minnesota River City, Volume 1 and 2. St. Paul, MN: Carver County Public       Library, 1989.

“Book Reviews”. Minnesota History Magazine, Winter 1997-1998, Vol. 55 Issue 8: 374-380.

Carver County Historical Society. ”Farmhouses in Carver County: Resources Worthy of Preservation”.

Brochure, Minnesota Department of Transportation, April 2011.

Chaska Historical Society. “Chaska Brick: 1857-1950”. Pamphlet. Information gathered from: City of Chaska- Historic Context Study, Prepared for the Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission by Thomas R. Zahn and Associates. Bethany Gladhill, Project Associate, Spring 2006.

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

Fuller, Wayne Edison. One-Room Schools of the Middle West: An Illustrated History. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1994.

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., editor. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties,   Minnesota. Henry Taylor and Company: Chicago, 1915.

“Life in Carver County.” Carver County Citizen. 7 no. 2 (December 2006): 1-4.

Lofstrom, Ted and Lynne VanBrocklin Spaeth. Carver County: A Guide to Its Historic and Prehistoric Places. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1978.

Martens, Steve C. “Historic Chaska, Minnesota: “Minnesota’s Brick City”: Downtown Preservation Design

Manual. Prepared for the: Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission, 2003.

Martens, Steven C. “Ethnic Traditions and Innovations as Influences on a Rural Midwestern Building

Vernacular”. Master’s thesis, University of Minnesota, 1988.

Martins, Steve. “Brick Houses in Carver County”. Student paper, University of Minnesota-Foster Dunwiddie Papers, 1987-1988.

Overcott, Nancy. At Home in the Big Woods. Lanesboro, MN: Taxon Media, 2002.

Theen, Olive Ireland. Country School Days: The Vanished One Room School. St. Cloud, MN: self-published through Sentinel Print, Co., 1992.

Theobald, Paul. Call School: Rural Education in the Midwest to 1918. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1995.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

Winchell, N.H. “Notes on the Big Woods”. Annual Report of the Minnesota State Historical Society, 1875.

Web:

Carver Co. City and Township Boundaries. Carver County Free maps, Carver County GIS, Chaska: http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/admin/IS/free_maps.asp Description: Map showing the division of Carver County into townships, cities and towns. Rights: Carver County GIS.

Carver County ParksCarver County Free maps, Carver County GIS, Chaska: http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/admin/IS/free_maps.asp Description: Map showing the division of Carver County into townships, cities and towns. Rights: Carver County GIS.

Carver County Commissioner Districts Carver County Free maps, Carver County GIS, Chaska: http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/admin/IS/free_maps.asp Description: Map showing the division of Carver County into townships, cities and towns. Rights: Carver County GIS.

 

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

Carver County’s long and rich history is well documented in the records of its various cities, city agencies, and government center. Schools, school districts, churches and civic groups have their own archives as well. Of special note are four historical societies that call Carver County home. These are the Chanhassen Historical Society, the Chaska Historical Society, the Watertown Area Historical Society, and the Willkommen Heritage and Preservation Society of Norwood Young America.

Local residents formed the Chanhassen Historical Society in 2007. Its original goal was to preserve the historic St. Hubert’s Church. The Society’s mission has broadened since then. Their goal is to enhance the lives of the larger Chanhassen community through the collection, preservation, interpretation and sharing of its history. The Society publishes a monthly article in the Chanhassen Villager. They also print a quarterly newsletter, The Chanhassen Historian. It frequently collaborates with other groups, such as the Carver County Library System and Carver County Historical Society, to present family programs and activities. It has no permanent offices.

The Chaska Historical Society was established in 1980. Its mission is to honor the heritage of the Chaska community by preserving, protecting, recording and sharing its history. The Society is housed at the Chaska History Center, 112 West Fourth Street, in the former Brinkhaus Livery Stable. This 1890 Chaska brick structure is on the National Register of Historic Places. It also has historical designation through the city of Chaska. The Chaska Historical Society designs River City Days displays and activities, provides research assistance, and offers books for sale relating to Chaska history. Run completely by volunteers, the History Center also houses local history displays.

The Willkommen Heritage and Preservation Society of Norwood Young America is Carver County’s newest historical society. Norwood Young America moved to new city offices in the fall of 2009. This move opened up space in the old library and city offices. A plan was presented to the city council on February 22, 2010 to open a history center in the library space. This plan was approved in March. The Society had its first meeting on April 8, 2010. By June 2010, they were formally incorporated. The mission of the Wilkommen Heritage and Preservation Society is to preserve the evidence of the past and tell the stories of Norwood Young America and its surrounding communities. This group provides displays at Stiftungsfest and within the history center. They also participate in preserving buildings of significance in the area.

The Watertown Area Historical Society, formed in 1998, is located in the Watertown Community Center. Its guiding mission is to collect, preserve and report the historical story of Watertown and its surrounding area. Its two most noteworthy activities are participation in the annual “Rails to Trails” celebration and a Christmas Open House in the downtown Watertown skyway. The Society also creates exhibits for year-round displays in the skyway and other locations around town.

These non-profit societies not only offer research resources and historical artifacts, but they are also leaders in preservation. They track the historical records of their cities, interpreting and presenting it for residents and visitors. Without organizations like these, much of the valuable resources and history of these areas would be lost.

Turning Point: Interest in history and preservation throughout Carver County sparked the creation of the Chaska Historical Society in 1980, followed by the creation of other local history groups.

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Chronology:

• 1855: Carver County is formed in the Minnesota Territory.
• 1940: The Carver County Historical Society is formed.
• 1980: The Chaska Historical Society is formed by Chaska area residents.
• 1998: The Watertown Area Historical Society is formed.
• 2007: Chanhassen residents form the Chanhassen Historical Society to preserve St. Hubert’s Church and general city records.
• 2010: The Willkommen Heritage and Preservation Society of Norwood Young America is founded.

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Bibliography:

Atkins, Paula. Chanhassen Historical Society Board of Directors President, email message to author, May 15, 2013.

Chaska Historical Society. Accessed May 15, 2013. http://www.chaskahistory.org/

Chaska Historical Society. Chaska: Chaska Historical Society.

Chaska Historical Society. Brinkhaus Livery Stable. Chaska: Chaska Historical Society.

Kroells, LaVonne. Willkommen Heritage and Preservation Society President, email message to author, May 20, 2013.

Watertown Area Historical Society. Founding of the WAHS. Accessed May 15, 2013. http://www.watertownmnhistoricalsociety.org/

 

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

Atkins, Paula. “Now a Brief History.” Chanhassen Villager, February 10, 2011.

“Chanhassen Volunteers Plan a Historical Society.” Chanhassen Villager, May 30, 1991.

Chaska Historical Society. An Invitation to Take a Tour of Historic Chaska, Minnesota’s Brick City. Chaska: 1997.

“Chaska Historical Society Spoke to Group.” Chanhassen Villager, April 5, 2007.

“Historical Society, Preserving Chaska.” Carver County Herald, March 18, 1981.

[Secondary]

Barac, Lavonne. Chaska:A Minnesota River City, Volume 1 and 2. St. Paul, MN: Carver County Public Library, 1989.

The Book Committee. 125th Anniversary of the City of Young America, Minn., 1856-1981. Norwood: Times Printing Co., 1981.

Hess, Jeffrey. Going To Town. St. Paul, MN : Minnesota Historical Society, 1982.

Hoisington, Daniel John. Chanhassen: A Centennial History. Chanhassen, MN: The Press, Banta Corporation, July 1996.

Johnson, Charlotte Mary Speikers Christensen. The History of the Watertown, Minnesota Area 1856 to 2006: 150 Years of Community Life. Watertown, MN: 2006.

Norwood Book Committee. Norwood Centennial, 1872-1972. Glencoe, MN: Kopy Kat Printing, 1972.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

[Web]

Chanhassen Historical Society. http://chanhistorical.org/

 

The longest continuously running festival in Minnesota history, Stiftungsfest, was founded in 1861. This German festival celebrates the music and culture of Carver County’s German immigrants.

Stiftungsfest has a long and rich history, rooted in Pioneer Maennerchor, a German men’s singing group also founded in 1861. One night, founder Carl (also spelled “Karl”) Bachmann had a dream in which he was leading a group of men singing songs in German. Inspired by this dream, the next day, he gathered the best male singers who were willing to put in practice hours. That very evening, the first practice of Pioneer Maennerchor was held in Bachmann’s home in Benton. The group sang songs in both English and German, due to the groups’ strong German roots. Over the years, the group traveled and participated in many concerts, festivals, and contests. They have won many awards.

That same year, Stiftungsfest was born as a picnic for choir members and their families. Choir member’s chose the name for the gathering, which is German for “Founder’s Day Festival”. This yearly picnic was first held in Vogler Woods, then Young America’s City Park. Each year, the festival grew larger, until the whole community of Young America was involved. Baseball games became a main attractions along with the music and dancing. Other Minnesota towns with large German immigrant populations, like New Ulm and Gaylord, offered special train service for this festival, as did Minneapolis and St. Paul.

In 1867, the Pioneer Maennerchor built a permanent home, Singer’s Hall, in Young America. The hall was famous for its “Des Brosse Runde Tisch,” or big round table. Used for card games after practices, the table had a special shelf beneath the playing surface to hold beer mugs, preventing spills on the tabletop.

By 1911, interest in Pioneer maennerchor had waned. However, the group did not officially disband until July 7, 1938. The final six members voted to turn over control of Singer’s Hall and Stiftungsfest to the village of Young America. The village handed control to the fire department, which has maintained festival traditions ever since. When the cities of Norwood and Young America merged, so did the fire departments. Both departments have worked to run Stiftungsfest through Stiftungsfest Incorporated since that day.

Over time, there have been changes to Stiftungsfest. In 1956, barbeque sandwiches were first offered. That same year, the festival became a three-day event for the first time since 1866 with baseball tournaments, bingo, parades, dancing, as well as singing and music. Since 1981, Stiftungsfest has hosted the Diedesfeld band from Bonn, Germany, every five years. Other bands from Germany are invited every year. In 2011, Stiftungsfest celebrated its milestone one hundred fiftieth anniversary. In 1994, to better house Stiftungsfest, Willkommen Park was redesigned to look like an old German town.

Turning Point: The founding of Carver County’s Pioneer Maennerchor in 1861 was the start of a yearly gathering of choir members, called Stiftungsfest, which has grown into Minnesota’s longest running and largest celebration of German heritage and music.

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Chronology:

• 1861: Pioneer Maennerchor is founded. That same year, the choir meets for the first of many yearly gatherings of choir members and family, naming it “Stiftungsfest” of “Founder’s Day Festival”.
• 1867: Singer’s Hall is built in the village of Young America as the permanent home of Pioneer Maennerchor.
• 1911: Membership in Pioneer Maennerchor is dwindling as interest wanes.
• July 7, 1938: Pioneer Maennerchor disbands, turning control of Singer’s Hall and Stiftungsfest to the village of Young America. The village in turn gives control to the Fire Department.
• 1956: Stiftungsfest becomes a three day event with baseball tournaments, bingo, parades, dancing, music, and singing. Barbeque sandwiches are served for the first time.
• 1981: The Diedesfeld band from Bonn, Germany is invited to perform, the first of many German bands to play the festival.
• 1994: Willkommen Park, home of Stiftungsfest, is redesigned to look like an old German town.
• 1991: The cities of Norwood and Young America merge, including their fire departments. Both run Stiftungsfest through Stiftungsfest Incorporated.
• 2011: Stiftungsfest celebrates its milestone 150th anniversary, making it the longest continuously running festival in Minnesota history.

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Bibliography:

The Book Committee. 125th Anniversary of the City of Young America, Minn., 1856-1981. Norwood: Times Printing Co., 1981.

“Celebration a Grand Success.” Young America Eagle, September 2, 1910.

Lemke, Margaret. “Stiftungsfest History on Display.” Norwood Times, August 21, 1986.

“The Pioneer Maennerchor.” Young America Eagle, September 2, 1904.

Shepel, Jan. “Stiftungsfest Has Roots in Maennerchor.” Norwood Times, August 21, 1986.

“Singers’ Hall is Deeded to Village.” Young America Eagle, May 13, 1938.

“Stiftungsfest.” Adult Educational Program. Carver County Historical Society, 2007.

Stiftungsfest. About Stiftungsfest. http://www.stiftungsfest.org/aboutus.html

“Stiftungsfest’s Rich History.” Norwood Times, August 23, 1979.

Stiftungsfest. Stiftungsfest History. http://www.stiftungsfest.org/history.html

“Stiftungsfest Through the Years.” Norwood Times, August 4, 1961.

“Young America- Festival.” Weekly Valley Herald, September 19, 1872.

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

P1211
Bachmann, Charles William. Charles W. Bachmann and Family Papers, 1854-1912. Minnesota

Historical Society Manuscripts Notebooks.  http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/P1211.xml
Description: a collection of manuscripts, diaries and letters relating to the Bachmann Family and Pioneer Maennerchor.

“Council Resolution Accepting Deed.” Young America Eagle, May 20, 1938.

Kratzke, Cony. “A Look Back at Stiftungsfest.” Norwood Young America Times, August 27, 1992.

__________. “Looking Back on 1896 Notes.” Norwood Young America Times, October 29, 1992.

__________. “Looking Back to the 35th Stiftungsfest.” Norwood Young America Times, August 22, 1991.

__________. “Stiftungsfest Changes Through Years.” Norwood Young America Times, July 30, 1992.

Mesenbring, Mary Lou. “Stiftungsfest Centennial.” Norwood Times, August 24, 1961.

“Obituary.” Weekly Valley Herald, September 12, 1889.

“Pauline Ackermann Recalls Early Days of Old Singer Hall.” Norwood Times, August 4, 1961.

Pioneer Maennerchor. “In Memoriam.” Weekly valley Herald, September 12, 1889.

“Photo of Pionier Maennerchor at Stiftungsfest in 1910.” Norwood Times, June 15, 1956.

“Singers Hall is Sold to Plato Man Tuesday Night.” Young America Eagle, February 21, 1947.

“Young America- In Our first Issue of This Paper.” Young America Eagle, August 12, 1904.

[Secondary]

Rothfuss, Hermann E. “Plays for Pioneers: German Drama in Rural Minnesota”. Minnesota History, 34 no. 6 (Summer 1955): 239-242. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/34/v34i06p239-242.pdf

“. . .On the Historical Horizon- Some Anniversaries.” Minnesota History, 35 no. 4 (December 1956): 193-204. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/35/v35i04p193-204.pdf

[Web]

City of Norwood Young America (NYA). http://www.cityofnya.com/

City of NYA. Willkommen Park. http://www.cityofnya.com/parks-trails/willkommen-park/

Images/Audio/Video

 

AV-81-4689.
Photographic print “Singer’s Hall”
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society (CCHS), Waconia
Description: Image shows three individuals standing in front of Singer’s Hall, Young America, Minnesota. Circa 1870s or 1880s.
Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-5108.
Photographic print “Stiftungsfest 1898”
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society (CCHS), Waconia
Description: Shows a crowd gathered at the 1898 Stiftungsfest celebration. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-5109.
Photographic print “Pioneer Maennerchor”
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society (CCHS), Waconia
Description: An image of the members of Pioneer Maennerchor. Circa 1870s or 1880s. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-6488.
Photographic print “Singer’s Hall”
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society (CCHS), Waconia
Description: A row of people wraps around the front of Singer’s Hall. Circa 1870s or 1880s. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-6498.
Photographic print “Pioneer Maennerchor”
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society (CCHS), Waconia
Description: An image of the members of Pioneer Maennerchor at the annual Stiftungsfest celebration. Circa 1910. Rights held by the CCHS.

Uncatalogued.
Photographic print “Carl Bachmann”
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society (CCHS), Waconia
Description: A portrait of Carl Bachmann. Circa 1880s. Rights held by the CCHS.

 

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