Saturday, July 27, 2013 – Wisconsin & Minnesota to South Dakota
Today we left our Walmart spot at around 8:00 AM and we were headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. To get there, we would have to drive through the rest of Wisconsin, through Minnesota and into South Dakota. We covered about 350 miles of farm and prairie. It went from flat to rolling hills. In Wisconsin we saw a lot of dairy farms. Each of these dairy farms had huge tracks of land on which they would grow corn and hay. The stockpile these crops so they have something to feed the cattle in the winter. When we got to Minnisota, the land of 10000 lakes, all we saw was farm land here in the southern stretch of the the state. As we approached the southwest part of the state, it gave way to flat expanses of prairie.
As we approached the small town of Worthington, MN we saw a sign that indicated there was a Prairie Village, so we pulled over to take a look. This small town of about 12,000 people was started in the 1870s. At that time, it was little more than a watering spot for the railroad that was slowly making its way across the northern part of the US. The town was named Okabena Station as there was a nearby lake that could be used to supply steam engines with water.
In 1872 a company was formed by 2 men – the National Colony – to raise capital to start a settlement along the railroad. They chose Okabena Station. Initially, 600 people moved there and they renamed the town Worthington, using the maiden name of the wife of one of the original organizers. The objective was to build a town of Temperance – free from the sins of alcohol. However, this was also the time of the homestead act. and many people were flocking there to take advantage of free 160 acre tracts of farm land. So soon the population of the town doubled and the new comers weren’t quite as eager to practice temperance and soon saloons popped up on the prairie.
Today, the historical society of Worthington has assembled a village of about 40 buildings, some from Worthington and others from neighboring communities. The objective is to create Worthington much as it was in the 1870s. They have assembled these buildings on the County Fair Grounds. When we arrived, we were the only visitors and we were greeted by a kind woman who must have been in her nineties. She told us she arrived in Worthington in the 1940s. But she was born all the way over in the next county. There was a sign indicating the admission prices – Adults were $6.00. Children – $5.00, Infants under (5 years old) free, Seniors (persons over 90) – Free. I’m not sure how many seniors they get, but when we signed the guest book we saw that we were only the 6th visitors to come through the place that week.
The buildings give a clear picture of just how tough it must have been to be a homesteader. Keep in mind that this was prairie land. There were no trees – that means there is no lumber. So they would build the houses out of what was available, and that was sod. They have an actual sod house in the village. The settlers would have to use their savings to buy equipment to work the farm and to buy seed and supplies to carry them over through the winter. By 1880, the census indicated that there were 4300 residents in the county served by the city of Worthington.
Today, just as in the past, the town largely relies on agriculture. In the beginning it was difficult as they were plagued by swarms of grasshoppers that devastated the crops in 1873 and 1875 through 1879. We spoke to the docent that was there at the end of our tour – it happened to be a different woman than when we started. The new person had to be in her 80s and she indicated that she had lived there since 1952 and she and her husband were farmers. Today the key crops are corn and soy beans. Much of the corn is used for making ethanol, it is also shipped to market, some for silage to feed livestock. In her day, the cash crop was flax but not so much today. We asked her if the farmers irrigate their crops and she indicated that some do but most rely on the rain. She also indicated that the town today is having trouble getting the young folks to stay and take over the farms. She said, “they all go to college and then leave Worthington.” She seemed a little sad.
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this recreated prairie town.
Tomorrow we are off to Mt. Rushmore.
Photo 1 – An ethanol plan we saw in western Wisconsin
Photo 2 – We cross the mighty Mississippi and enter MN
Photo 3 – Minnesota prairie
Photo 4 – The Prairie Village in Worthington, MN
Photo 5 – the original 1 room school house that remained in use in Worthington until 1947.
Photo 6 – the old service station – notice Im in jeans and tennis shoes – today it was in the mid 60’s.
Photo 7 – Another view down one of the streets looking at the railway station.
Photo 8 – A sod house
Photo 9 – the poem that hung in a house that had been moved to this site from a neighboring farm. It was build in 1877 and occupied by the same family for until the late 1950s.
Photo 10 – we arrive at our campground near Sioux Falls, SD. It is really in the middle of no where so we were surprised to see that the park is jammed full.
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