Oliver Kelley and Minnesota's First Working Farm

By Lisa Kroulik © February 24, 2011

I became a card-carrying member of the Minnesota Historical Society about a year ago, when it dawned on me that I had voluntarily spent two Sundays in a row traipsing through museums of our great state in the name of entertainment. For an annual fee of $75, my family and I have access to any of the 26 historic sites and museums throughout Minnesota. They also throw in a quarterly magazine, called -- appropriately enough -- Minnesota History. Though we had intentions of going to every site in every corner of the state, we only made it to a handful of sites in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area where we live.

My membership renewal and warmer weather are both on the horizon, so we will make it a point to remedy in that in 2011. Any excuse to travel is a good one for me. In the meantime, I would like to introduce you to the four locations we did visit in 2010: the Oliver Kelley Farm in Elk River, followed by the James J. Hill Mansion in St. Paul, the Minnesota State Capital in St. Paul and the Mill City Museum in downtown Minneapolis. The latter three will be presented in future hubs.

Oliver Kelley Farm

The Namesake:

Back in 1849, seven years before Minnesota was even recognized as a state, Oliver H. Kelley and his family settled into farmland in the new town of Itasca, near the Mississippi River. Kelley knew little about farming at the outset, but became an expert by studying agriculture manuals and exchanging ideas with other farmers. By the time he quit farming and left Minnesota in the late 1860's, he was considered an expert on Minnesota farming. His most lasting legacy is that of founder of the National Grange, a fraternal organization of farmers and their families. They purchased the farm in 1935 and donated it to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1961. Today the Kelley Farm is included in the National Registry of Historic Places.

Visiting the Farm:

Located in the northwest suburb of Elk River (formerly Itasca), the Oliver Kelley Farm gives visitors an opportunity to experience life on a working farm in the mid to late 1800's. Every tour guide is costumed to look the part of a Minnesota pioneer as they guide you through farm and domestic chores that the Kelley family would have performed from 1850 to 1876, the years they owned the farm.

The Historical Society employees, er, I mean farm workers, are not shy about putting you to work. Out in the garden, you will have the opportunity to dig right in and plant vegetables. You will have to settle for watching the oxen-driven plows turn the soil to keep the garden growing, as I don't think the average person has oxen-driving abilities. Later in the season, they will probably ask you to pick the vegetables for dinner.

There are all the usual animals you would expect to see on a farm: horses, pigs, chickens, cats and lambs. All except for the chickens seem used to the visitors and allow themselves to be petted. The highlight of seeing the animals was watching a woolly sheep get shorn by hand. That is something you just don't see on a modern farm anymore.

Domestic Life

When you walk through the door of the Kelley homestead, you will be stepping back 135 years. The home is decorated as it would have been in 1876, the last year the Kelley's lived there. As you might expect, there are no modern conveniences to be found. Butter must be churned by hand, water drawn from the well, clothes washed with a bucket and scrub board and then hung out to dry, meals made on a wood-burning stove.

Entertainment for the Kelley's young daughters, after their chores were done, was playing with two rag dolls that sat waiting patiently on their beds. Though their work was labor-intensive, their play was simple. Today the opposite is true. We have machines to do the work for us and need more and more to keep us entertained.

Trails:

The Kelley farm is situated along the Mississippi River, with several miles of trails preserved along with the farmstead and house. Viewing them is one thing that is not done in the spirit of the times. Visitors are pulled on a wagon with a motorized tractor in order to view the abundant wildlife and plant growth.

Events for the Public:

The Kelley farm regularly hosts educational and social events for the general public. If there is a fee to participate, Minnesota Historical Society members are given discounts for such events. Classes are held at the Kelley Farm throughout the year, with the majority taking place between Memorial Day and Labor Day, when the farm is open for visitors.

Visiting Kelley Farm with my husband and two daughters was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. Learning together and enjoying the outdoors are two things that I cherish. It was a good lesson for my girls to see how far technology has come in 150 years and what a debt of gratitude we owe to the settlers who helped shape Minnesota.

Please join me for the next article as I review our trip to the James J. Hill Mansion in our capital city of St. Paul.