1998 Historic ContextHISTORIC CONTEXTS
Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission
City of Otsego, Minnesota
1998
CONTENTS
Introduction to the Historic Context Documents
Historic Context I: Prehistoric American Indians
Historic Context II: Historic American Indians
Historic Context III: Initial Euro -American Settlement
Historic Context IV: Agriculture and the Family Farm
Historic Context V: Transportation
Historic Context VI: Postwar Urbanization
Historic Context VII: Territorial Townsites
Historic Context VIII: Churches and Cemeteries
Historic Context IX: Schools and Public Buildings
Historic Context X: Conservation and Recreation
Historic Context XI: Geographic Features of Historical Interest
Bibliography
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City of Otsego in 1996 (City of Otsego)
INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORIC
CONTEXT DOCUMENTS
To qualify for designation as a heritage preservation site, a property must be significant; that is, it
must represent a significant aspect of the history, architecture, archeology, or culture of the City of
Otsego, the State of Minnesota, or the United States, and it must be of outstanding value in
comparison with other, similar properties. Historic contexts provide the framework or system for
making decisions about what is historically significant, and what is not.
Although the term historic context may be unfamiliar to some, the concept is as old as history
writing itself. The core premise is that historical events do not occur in a vacuum, but are part of
larger trends or patterns of events; and it is only against the background of these trends and patterns
that we can judge the relative significance of a particular event, person, building, or place. An
historic context, then, is nothing more than an organizational format based on a theme, with well
defined conceptual, geographical, and chronological boundaries.
Historic contexts are the cornerstone of the preservation planning process in Otsego and provide the
basis for decisions about the identification, evaluation, and registration of buildings, sites, structures,
objects, and districts. For example, in planning local historic resource surveys, historic contexts are
used to develop survey goals and to ensure that research is inclusive and treats adequately the full
range of historic properties that reflect all of the diverse aspects of Otsego's heritage. Once an
inventory of historic properties has been compiled, the process of evaluation uses historic contexts
to determine each property's historical, architectural, or archeological significance, and thus its
eligibility for listing in the National Register or local heritage preservation site designation.
How the Otsego Historic Context Documents Were Developed
The amount of historical documentation relevant to Otsego area prehistory and history is not
particularly abundant and the information is widely scattered through books, articles, and
unpublished materials (see Bibliography). At the time the historic context study was made, very little
survey work, either architecture/history or archeology, had been done in Wright County and there
were no properties in the City of Otsego listed in or determined eligible for the National Register.
The first step in historic context development was to assemble the available historical data, assess
its reliability, identify potential historic properties, and produce a simple outline of research
questions and issues.
Because no systematic surveys of historic properties had been done in Otsego, the level of detail of
the research effort was oriented toward the identification and description of broad themes in Otsego's
physical development, rather than on specific types of historic resources. Historical and
archeological work already done was incorporated into the study, but the time and funding limits
imposed by the scope of work did not permit field survey beyond a cursory windshield
reconnaissance.
Archival research was carried out in both primary and secondary sources, including, but not limited
to: local narrative histories, atlases and platbooks, census reports, surveyor field notes, deed records,
Introduction - 1
aerial photographs, and the historic site inventories maintained by the State Historic Preservation
Office (SHPO) and the Office of the State Archeologist (OSA). In addition, a wide range of general
works on Minnesota history, geography, architecture, and archeology were also consulted. All of
these sources are listed in the bibliography section of the context document.
At the heart of the historic context study was the formulation of preservation planning goals and
priorities. Indeed, it could be argued that the development of program goals was probably the most
important outcome of the historic context development process. From the beginning, the historic
context study was viewed as part of a comprehensive planning process that recognized historic
preservation as a legitimate concern of local government and a basic city service. To this end,
context development was based upon the following assumptions:
1. Historic properties represent a set of scarce, non-renewable community resources and are
assets rather than impediments to Otsego's growth and development.
2. Every effort needs to be made to document and protect historic resources that meet defined
criteria for significance and which can be preserved as functional parts of the modern city.
3. Historic preservation is an integral part of community development planning.
4. Historic properties (buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts) provide tangible links
to important events and patterns of events in Otsego history.
5. The preservation timeline begins with the first appearance of the ancestors of the American
Indians during the last ice age and includes the recent past.
6. Not all historic properties are significant and therefore worthy of consideration in the
community development planning process.
7. The City of Otsego has adopted the Secretary of the Interior's standards and guidelines for
historic preservation planning, identification, evaluation, registration, and treatment.
8. Local registration of significant properties as heritage preservation sites (under the city's
preservation ordinance) is generally preferred over listing in the National Register of Historic
Places.
The Otsego historic context documents establish a framework for local government decision making
and provides guidance for preservation planning. Historic context names reflect the localization of
generalized cultural and historical themes. The year 1950 is often used as the closing date for
contexts that extend into the post -World War II era and reflects the National Register requirement
that, except in special circumstances, properties less than 50 years old cannot be evaluated as
historically significant. The exception is the Postwar Urbanization historic context, which has no
terminal date. Finally, while the historical narratives summarize the important broad themes in local
prehistory and history, they are no substitute for a complete, fully documented, comprehensive
synthesis of Otsego's heritage.
Introduction - 2
How to Use the Historic Context Documents
Eleven local historic context documents were developed, which together provide an approximately
ten thousand year overview of Otsego area history. Each historic context describes one or more of
the important broad patterns of settlement and development that may be represented by historic
properties. Some historic contexts are unique to Otsego, but most are reflected in, or related to, the
heritage shared by other Minnesota communities, and most are also linked to regional or statewide
themes. Several of the contexts overlap geographically and chronologically; all are framed in very
broad, general terms and are oriented toward general trends, groups, and events in Otsego's history.
No attempt was made to present detailed descriptions of historic events or individual historic
properties. Bibliographic references cited in each context are by no means exhaustive and researchers
are strongly advised to consult the wide array of unpublished archival material contained in local,
county, and state repositories before attempting to document a particular historic property or area.
Each historic context contains a brief summary introduction, followed by eight subsections. The
brief paragraph on Related Statewide Historic Contexts links each local study unit to the broad,
statewide contexts developed by the Minnesota SHPO. The Geographical Boundaries and
Chronological Limits subsections define the local context in time and space. The narrative
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends provides an overview of one or more aspects of Otsego
prehistory or history. It is anticipated that as properties are surveyed and evaluated, those which meet
the criteria for significance will be listed under Representative Properties. Information Sources is
a brief bibliographic essays (full title citations will be found in the Bibliography at the end of the
Historic Context Document). A list of Goals and Priorities has been developed for each historic
context to ensure that the full range of property types is identified and evaluated.
Recommendations for Implementing the Historic Contexts
The historic context study identified several critical historic preservation planning needs which
should be addressed in the short term, preferably within 6 to 12 months after the Historic Context
Documents are formally adopted by the Otsego City Council. It is recommended that the city:
1. Review and organize historic resource survey and inventory data on file with the Otsego
HPC and integrate it with the inventories maintained by the State Historic Preservation
Office and the Office of the State Archeologist.
2. Retain the services of a preservation planning consultant to staff the HPC, provide technical
assistance in organizing local surveys and inventories, provide training in historic
preservation to city officials, and prepare applications for outside grants-in-aid.
3. Apply for federal fiscal year 1999 Certified Local Grant funds to conduct an intensive survey
of historic properties associated with the Agriculture and Family Farm historic context, to
determine which are eligible for heritage preservation site registration.
4. Use the Otsego Cemetery historic site as a pilot heritage preservation site designation, to test
Introduction - 3
the city's preservation ordinance and acquaint city officials with the details of the designation
process.
The historic context study also raised a number of critical preservation planning issues which need
to be addressed within the next 1 to 3 years. It is recommended that the city:
5. Establish a comprehensive, systematic, ongoing survey to identify and gather information
on historic resources in Otsego. The Otsego Historic Resources Survey (OHRS) should
include planning and background research, as well as field survey to locate and document
historic resources on the ground. The outcome of the OHRS should be a comprehensive
historic resources inventory, to be permanently archived at the Otsego City Hall and the
SHPO.
6. Design the OHRS to be interdisciplinary in scope and focused on historical, archeological,
architectural, and landscape properties. The inventory should be comprehensive, integrating
data on buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts which the HPC has reason to believe
are potentially eligible for heritage preservation site designation. It is also recommended that
the City Hall inventory be maintained as a single data base, and not separated into sub -
inventories for buildings, archeological sites, etc.
7. Use the Historic Context Document and OHRS data to define areas where important historic
properties are concentrated and where substantial development is expected to occur in the
near future. These high sensitivity areas should be targeted for intensive survey and
preservation planning. At the same time, it may be appropriate to extend archeological
reconnaissance efforts into areas of unknown preservation potential, such as upland
agricultural parcels away from large watercourses.
8. Develop a policy that requires developers to consider the effects of residential, commercial,
and industrial projects on historic properties listed in or eligible for designation as heritage
preservation sites. Whenever possible, developers should be required to avoid disturbing
significant historic properties and preserve them in place. At a minimum, in archeologically
sensitive areas (e.g., near recorded archeological sites, cemeteries, mounds, undisturbed areas
within 1000 feet of rivers and 500 feet of all other water bodies) developers should be
required to complete an archeological assessment as a condition of site plan approval.
9. Consider the effects of public construction projects, including streets, parks, trailways, storm
water and sewer construction, and municipal buildings, on important historic resources.
Parks, recreation, and natural resources planning should also maximize the public benefits
of preserved historic properties for conservancy, interpretation, and outdoor leisure activities.
The following general, long-range goals are also recommended:
10. As soon as possible, the city should develop and implement a comprehensive city historic
preservation plan, preferably as a component of the city's comprehensive land use plan. Such
a plan would consist of a goals and policy element, an historic context element, and a long -
Introduction - 4
range vision of the future of preserving Otsego's past.
11. The city should continue to refine, modify, expand, and elaborate historic contexts as more
information on local historic resources becomes available. The Otsego Historic Context
Document itself should be a flexible, user-friendly reference work that defines contexts in
broad, general terms. More detailed information should be presented in separate thematic
studies and technical reports.
12. The HPC should consider substituting the terms "heritage preservation" and "heritage
resource" for historic preservation and historic properties.
13. The HPC should develop and implement a comprehensive public education/outreach
program that allows the general public to experience and appreciate Otsego's historical,
architectural, and archeological preservation sites. It may not be appropriate (and probably
will not be cost effective) for the Otsego HPC to shoulder all of the burden for public
education. Partnerships with other, more traditional heritage education and tourism providers
(historical societies, schools, civic organizations) should be a priority.
Acknowledgments
The historic context study of 1997-1998 produced eleven local historic context documents, a
bibliography, and historic preservation planning recommendations. These materials were prepared
by Robert C. Vogel, historic preservation planning consultant, under the supervision of Joy Swenson
of the Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission, who served as project director. Kathleen F. Taylor
of Vogel & Associates helped assemble and edit the historic context documents. The project was
financed in part by a Certified Local Government grant from the federal Historic Preservation Fund,
which was administered by Mandy Skypala of the Minnesota Historical Society. Matching funds
were provided by the Otsego City Council as part of the city's 1998 budget. Special thanks are due
to City Administrator Michael Robertson and his staff at Otsego City Hall for their assistance and
cooperation.
The historic context documents reflect the comments and suggestions of many individuals from the
Minnesota Historical Society, the City of Otsego and the Minnesota preservation community.
Special appreciation is extended to the members of the Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission,
chaired by Joy Swenson (1997) and Norman Schwanbeck (1998), for their thoughtful and
constructive comments on the draft historic contexts. Members of the State Historic Preservation
Office staff also provided valuable comments and assistance throughout the project and several
historic preservation specialists and cultural resource managers with experience in Wright and
Sherburne counties made a number of helpful suggestions that have been incorporated in the final
draft documents.
Introduction - 5
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HISTORIC CONTEXT I:
PREHISTORIC AMERICAN INDIANS
Prior to Euro -American settlement, American Indians had lived in central Minnesota for more than
ten thousand years and through several successive cultural traditions. The history of these ancient
native societies is known primarily through archeological excavation and analysis of physical
remains. Anthropologists who study of Indian cultures that existed before the advent of written
records refer to this as prehistoric or pre -contact archeology. Although only a small handful of
archeological sites have been recorded within the city limits, it is hypothesized that undeveloped
lands in Otsego contain undiscovered and potentially significant archeological resources.
Related Statewide Historic Contexts
The Otsego area lies within several overlapping archeological regions. For preservation planning
purposes, the Minnesota SHPO has established a series of broad statewide contexts based on concept
of pre -contact period cultural traditions, of which three are applicable to central Minnesota:
Paleoindian Tradition (ca. 9500-6000 B.C.), Archaic Tradition (ca. 6000 -ca. 500 B.C.), and
Woodland Tradition (ca. 500 B.C.-A.D. 1650).
Geographical Boundaries
In general, all undeveloped lands within the city limits have potential for prehistoric archeological
sites. Information on prehistoric settlement patterns suggests that important prehistoric sites may be
concentrated in riparian areas (i.e., along rivers, lakes, streams), on terraces bordering major
waterways, and along the divides between watersheds.
Chronological Limits
Anthropologists, archeologists, preservationists and others group together as prehistoric Indians all
the peoples who lived in what is now Minnesota before the first Europeans arrived. The prehistoric
period begins with the initial human migration into the region at the end of the last ice age, ca.
11,500 B.C., and ends with the first encounter between Indians and Europeans in the mid -17th
century.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
The ancestors of the American Indians "discovered" North America during the last ice age, perhaps
as early as about 35,000 years ago, but probably did not appear in the Otsego area until about 11,500
years ago. The first inhabitants of the area followed a distinctive lifeway, which archeologists have
termed Paleoindian. This stage of cultural development was by no means primitive: Paleoindians
developed a highly sophisticated stone tool kit, which enabled them to hunt the large animals which
were abundant at the end of the Pleistocene epoch, including several species now long extinct
(mastodon, mammoth, ground sloth, giant bison). The archeological record of the Paleoindian
cultural tradition in central Minnesota consists of a small handful of sites characterized by
distinctively fluted and lanceolate projectile points, sometimes found in association with the bones
Prehistoric American Indians - 1
of extinct ice age fauna. It is highly probable that Paleoindian big game hunters roamed the valleys
and uplands between the Upper Mississippi and Crow rivers; unfortunately, much of the land surface
most likely to have been occupied before ca. 6000 B.C. has been either deeply buried under alluvium
or eroded by streams and runoff.
As time went on, there was a major shift in the basic pattern of subsistence away from hunting large
animals toward more intensive gathering, hunting, and fishing. The reason for this change is not
clear but was probably a combination of biological, climatic, and cultural factors. Archeologists refer
to this new hunting and gathering tradition as the Archaic, which is commonly subdivided into Early,
Middle, and Late phases. Within this chronological framework a number of regional cultural patterns
have been identified which characterize Archaic sites in central Minnesota and therefore appear most
applicable to Otsego. These include the Lake -Forest Archaic, the Prairie Archaic, and the Eastern
Archaic.
Archaic peoples followed a more settled lifeway than their nomadic predecessors with a stronger
focus on exploiting dependable local resources. Gathering wild foods became relatively more
important, though whitetail deer, bison, and other game continued to be an important source of food
and fiber. The Archaic archeological record consists almost entirely of small, seasonally occupied
hunting and gathering camps; villages and ceremonial sites are rare. Sites occur most frequently at
the natural breaks in the landscape, i.e., overlooking lakes, at the mouths of streams, on islands,
along the border between prairie and forest land. Late Archaic communities also domesticated some
varieties of wild plants.
The Archaic Tradition was pre -ceramic, i.e., these prehistoric Indians did not have any clay pottery
vessels. The earliest sites with pottery in the Midwest are located in the Ohio River Valley and date
from ca. 1500 B.C. Archeologists use the term Woodland to describe prehistoric hunting and
gathering societies which manufactured or used pottery. Another important Woodland Tradition
cultural trait was the construction of conical burial mounds, which represent the oldest structures
built by humans in Minnesota. The twin innovations of pottery making and mound building appear
to have diffused into Minnesota from the Middle Mississippi Valley about twenty-five hundred years
ago and by ca. 100 B.C. the basic Woodland pattern had been adopted by native peoples throughout
central Minnesota. The development of Minnesota Woodland societies with certain well defined
linkages to the Hopewellian Interaction Sphere, an association which is reflected by the regional
archeological record, was set between ca. 100 B.C. and A.D. 400.
As with the Archaic, Woodland economies were based on hunting and gathering, augmented by
small-scale horticulture and trade. However, agriculture gradually became more important, though
it was probably not until after A.D. 1000 that Indian farmers in Minnesota began to focus their
attention on maize, beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, and tobacco. The pattern of site
distribution also did not change very much, although floodplain agriculture did lead to seasonal
agglomerations of considerable numbers of people and prehistoric wild rice gathering gave a greater
importance to inland lakes. Some sites emerged as complexes of earthworks, mounds, and
enclosures which appear to have served both funerary and social functions. During the Middle
Woodland period several mound groups were constructed along the Mississippi. In addition, there
were many special use sites which were visited occasionally as sources of chert, medicinal plants,
Prehistoric American Indians - 2
pigments, etc.
The late prehistoric period is one of the gray areas in central Minnesota archeology. Around A.D.
1000 a new cultural tradition made its presence felt in southeastern Minnesota. Known as the Upper
Mississippian or Oneota, its basic pattern of subsistence was profoundly influenced by the cultures
of the Lower Mississippi Valley and emphasized intensive floodplain farming and prairie bison
hunting, with large centers of population concentrated in palisaded villages. A key diagnostic trait
of the Oneota pottery is the use of shell tempering, in contrast to the grit tempered Woodland
pottery. The Oneota culture displaced much of the Woodland tradition along the Mississippi in
southeastern Minnesota, but there were few Mississippian outposts north of the present-day Twin
Cities and their influence faded after ca. 1400. In the historic period, the Oneota emerged as the
Chiwere Sioux tribes, of which the Ioway, Oto, and Winnebago are the best known.
The distinctive Late Woodland Effigy Mound Tradition, which flourished in southeastern Minnesota
between ca. 900 and 1400, also does not appear to have spread as far as Wright County.
Nevertheless, the basic Woodland lifeway based on gathering, hunting, and horticulture persisted
in central Minnesota long after the close of the mound building era. Just why so few late Woodland
archeological sites have been found is not clear.
The prehistoric archeological sites recorded in Otsego document attenuated occupations dating from
between the Middle Archaic and the Middle Woodland. It seems highly probable, based on data from
sites within 50 miles of Otsego, that the area has been occupied and used by native people more or
less continuously since the end of the last ice age. In the 1880s, Theodore Hayes Lewis and other
antiquarians described a number of presumably Woodland conical earthworks along the Mississippi
and Crow rivers, including mound sites at Dayton. Small-scale surveys have recovered fragments
of pottery and chipped stone tools indicative of short-term occupancy which authenticate the
prehistoric Indian presence in Otsego.
Property Types
The kinds of prehistoric archeological sites expected to occur within the city limits include, but are
not limited to, the following: single and multiple occupation bivouacs (camps), resource procurement
and processing stations, multiple occupation and seasonal bivouacs (base camps), mounds and
ossuaries, villages, and lithic scatters.
Representative Properties
At present, no archeological sites in Otsego have been listed in or determined eligible for designation
as preservation sites.
Information Sources
The primary source of archival information relating to prehistoric cultures in central Minnesota is
the statewide inventory of archeological sites maintained by the Office of the State Archeologist and
the Minnesota SHPO. This inventory, which is organized by county and subdivision, also includes
Prehistoric American Indians - 3
unpublished reports of archeological surveys and excavations. Most of the known sites in Otsego,
for example, are documented in the annual reports of the Minnesota Trunk Highway Archeological
Reconnaissance Study, a program of research undertaken by the Minnesota Historical Society for
the Minnesota Department of Transportation. As part of its Minnesota History in Sites and
Structures preservation planning process, the Minnesota SHPO produced a number of statewide
prehistoric overviews which summarize the state of scientific knowledge.
General works on Minnesota archeology include various publications in the MHS Prehistoric
Archeology Series, including The Prehistoric Peoples of Minnesota, by Elden Johnson (St. Paul,
1969; rev. ed. 198 8) and Aspects of Upper Great Lakes Anthropology: Papers in Honor of Lloyd
A. Wilford, edited by Elden Johnson (St. Paul, 1974). A Handbook of Minnesota Prehistoric
Ceramics, compiled and edited by Scott F. Anfinson (St. Paul, 1979), provides the basic framework
for identifying Woodland and later sites. Several of the papers collected the University of Minnesota
Publications in Anthropology series are applicable to the Otsego area: see especially The Woodland
Tradition in the Western Great Lakes: Papers Presented to Elden Johnson, edited by Guy E. Gibbon
(Minneapolis, 1990). Newton H. Winchell's massive The Aborigines of Minnesota (St. Paul, 19 11)
remains the authoritative reference on prehistoric burial mounds and other antiquities recorded as
part of the Minnesota Geological and Natural History Survey during the late 19th century. Articles
and site reports relevant to central Minnesota have been published in The Minnesota Archaeologist,
The Wisconsin Archaeologist, Plains Anthropologist, American Antiquity, and other academic
journals. The prehistoric lore presented in county narrative histories, such as the History of the Upper
Mississippi Valley (Minneapolis, 1881) and Franklyn Curtiss -Wedge's History of Wright County,
Minnesota (Chicago, 1915), is badly outdated and tainted by the Mound Builder Myth.
Other useful sources of background information include local soil and geologic maps produced by
the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service (now the U.S. Natural Resource
Conservation Service) and the Minnesota Geological Survey, which provide the physical context for
archeological resources.
Goals and Priorities
Prehistoric American Indian archeological sites represent an extremely scarce category of
historic preservation resources. By their very nature, archeological sites are difficult to find
and expensive to investigate. Well preserved, excavated archeological sites are rare -- less
than one hundred Minnesota sites are listed in the National Register -- yet they are the
primary source of information we have about the first 10,000 years of regional history. For
this reason, high priority is given to identifying, evaluating, registering, and protecting
archeological sites.
2. Undertake a comprehensive archeological reconnaissance survey to characterize the range
of prehistoric properties within the city limits, followed by intensive survey to document
individual archeological sites and evaluate their significance. Survey and evaluation must be
performed by persons qualified by education, training, and experience in North American
archeology, geomorphology, and preservation planning.
Prehistoric American Indians - 4
3. Background knowledge of Otsego area prehistory suggests that potentially important
archeological sites are most likely to be preserved on undeveloped land in the Mississippi
and Crow river valleys, on islands, on uplands bordering the river valleys, and in riparian
zones bordering upland lakes and wetlands. The initial objective of broad -scale
reconnaissance surveys should be the development of accurate predictions of the general
location of archeological sites and the delineation of archeologically sensitive areas. A
predictive map of archeological sites and archeologically sensitive areas should be part of
the city's comprehensive plan and updated as necessary to accommodate new data and
analysis.
4. Because so little is known about Otsego's prehistoric heritage and so much of the city may
be subject to substantial development activity in the near future, the city should require
private developers to finance archeological reconnaissance surveys as a condition of project
approval.
5. Integrate archeological survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic
context document as necessary to accommodate new data and interpretations.
6. Register archeological sites that have yielded, or are likely to yield, information important
in the study of prehistoric American Indians.
Prehistoric American Indians - 5
HISTORIC CONTEXT II:
HISTORIC AMERICAN INDIANS
The first Europeans appeared in Minnesota in ca. 1650 but did not come to the Otsego area to live
as permanent settlers until two centuries later, after American Indian sovereignty was extinguished
by the Treaty of Mendota in 1851. During the pre -settlement period, Otsego formed part of the tribal
estate of the Santee Sioux or Mdewakanton Dakota; both the Ojibwe and the Winnebago also
utilized the natural resources from the area. Although the primary focus of this historic context is
on the ethnohistory of native groups, it also encompasses the heritage of the fur trade, exploration,
and military affairs.
Related Statewide Historic Contexts
Historic period resources in Otsego can be viewed as local representations of the following broad
statewide historic contexts for the Contact Period (1650-1837) developed by the Minnesota SHPO:
Eastern Dakota, Ojibwe, French, English, and Initial U.S. The statewide Post -Contact Period (1837-
1945) historic context Indian Communities and Reservations also applies.
Geographical Boundaries
In general, all undeveloped lands within the city limits have potential for historic archeological sites
and other properties associated with American Indians. However, information on historic site
distribution patterns suggests that important properties are most likely to be concentrated around the
junction of the Mississippi and Crow rivers.
Chronological Limits
The beginning of the historic or contact period in Minnesota is commonly placed at 1650, the date
of Pierre d'Esprit Radisson's purported encounter with the Eastern Dakota. The Dakota War of 1862
marks the terminal date of the American Indian presence in Wright County.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
When the first French fur traders began probing the Upper Mississippi Valley in the 17th century,
there appear to have been few Indians living in or utilizing the natural resources from what is now
Otsego. The most numerous and powerful Indian nation in the region were the Eastern Dakota or
Sioux and amongst them the most important tribe was the Mdewakanton, whose traditional
homeland was centered on Lake Mille Lacs and the Mississippi headwaters. Forest fringe dwellers
since prehistoric times, the Mdewakanton had been slowly shifting their tribal range to the west and
south for some time before European contact. After ca. 1750 the Mdewakanton bands established
permanent villages around confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, where they remained
until the reservation era. It is generally considered, though it may not be entirely correct, that the
Eastern Dakota were displaced from the central lakes region by the expansion of the Ojibwe or
Chippewa, an Algonquian -speaking people who entered what is now northeastern Minnesota at the
end of the 17th century. It is a matter of historical record, however, that intertribal conflict between
Historic American Indians - 1
the Dakota and the Ojibwe was systemic throughout the pre -settlement period. Zebulon Pike, during
his 1805-1806 reconnaissance of the Upper Mississippi River, described an Indian battlefield dating
from ca. 1800 in the vicinity of Monticello, as well as the ruins of "several old Sioux encampments,
all fortified" along the river above the mouth of the Crow.
Indian camps were widely scattered along the Upper Mississippi and the Crow, but there were no
large, permanent centers of native population in present-day Wright County, which was a borderland
zone where Dakota and Ojibwe tribal territories overlapped. While away from their main villages,
both tribes concentrated on hunting whitetail deer, elk, and black bear, as well as waterfowl and
upland birds. The first horses made their appearance among the Dakota in the 1690s, firearms in the
1730s, and the two quickly revolutionized bison hunting. This shift in subsistence contributed to the
Dakota migration south and west onto the prairies, but would have also led to extensive hunting
along the Mississippi. Both the Mdewakanton and the Ojibwe gathered wild rice, tapped maple trees
for sap, foraged for useful plants, and intensively hunted and trapped beaver, muskrat, and otter
throughout central Minnesota. They used fire for a number of purposes, including driving game,
which may have altered the distribution of forest and prairie communities. Though in general more
agriculturally oriented than the Ojibwe, the Mdewakanton probably did not practice slash -and -burn
farming anywhere within what is now Wright County; garden patches in the Otsego area would have
been too exposed to Ojibwe depredations.
In 1820 the United States established an Indian agency at Fort Snelling, ostensibly to maintain
peaceful relations between the tribes but in fact to promote and safeguard the interests of the fur
traders. After the War of 1812, the government's policy toward Indians shifted to the dual objectives
of buying native lands and voluntary emigration to designated reservations. Eastern Dakota
sovereignty over Minnesota was extinguished by a series of treaties beginning in 1815. In 1837 the
Mdewakanton and other bands ceded their lands between the Mississippi and St. Croix in exchange
for permanent annuities. The remaining "Suland" west of the Mississippi was acquired by the terms
of the treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota, both signed in 1851. Under the terms of these
"traders' treaties," the Mdewakanton were compelled to resettle on reservations along the upper
Minnesota River. The calamitous Dakota War of 1862 resulted in the expulsion of the Dakota
peoples from Minnesota. (Although the fighting did not spread into Wright County, the panic caused
by the uprising made a mark upon the memory of local settlers.)
Strictly speaking, the Winnebago were not a Minnesota tribe. Although members of the Siouan
linguistic family, their tribal homeland was in what is now southern Wisconsin. In 1827, as a result
of indignities and assaults on tribal sovereignty, the Winnebago went to war unsuccessfully against
the United States. A succession of treaties and land cessions eventually pushed the tribe out of
Wisconsin altogether, and from 1838 until 1846 the Winnebago were placed on a reservation in
northeastern Iowa. In 1846 the tribe negotiated a treaty for a new reservation in Minnesota Territory,
between the Watab and Crow Wing rivers, at Long Prairie, Todd County. Unfortunately, the Long
Prairie reservation was located between the warring Dakota and Ojibwa, and the Winnebagos were
ruthlessly exploited by local traders. Most of the Indians did not live at the Long Prairie agency, but
were scattered along the Mississippi, with several bands lingering for a time in the Otsego area.
(Winneshiek Prairie, near Pelican Lake, bears the name of a leading Winnebago chief and may have
been a locus of Indian activity in the 1850s.) In 1855 the Long Prairie reservation was exchanged
Historic American Indians - 2
for a smaller but safer area near Blue Earth, Minnesota. The Winnebago did not participate in the
Dakota War of 1862; nevertheless, they were forced to leave Minnesota, forfeiting the Blue Earth
reservation for a tract on Crow Creek in Dakota Territory, and eventually relocated to Nebraska.
The Winnebago culture pattern was in many ways similar to that of both the Dakota and the Ojibwa.
They lived in houses made of upright poles covered by strips of heavy bark and made birchbark
canoes. Their household vessels were largely of wood and bark, but by the 1840s they had already
acquired a considerable amount of metal and glass wares. Basically hunters and gatherers, they found
the central Minnesota hunting grounds badly depleted by the time of their transfer to Long Prairie,
but were able to plant fairly extensive gardens in which they grew corn, squash, and beans using
digging stick and hoe. In Wright County, they exploited the maple -basswood and floodplain forest
microenvironments for edible plants, tapped maple trees for their spring sap (which was boiled down
to sugar), and collected wild rice (an important winter food).
It is of interest to note the presence of fur trading posts in the general vicinity. In 1805, Zebulon
Pike encountered a wintering post occupied by Robert Dickson on the Mississippi just below Sauk
Rapids. David Faribault established a post at the mouth of the Elk River in 1846, which was
occupied by Pierre Bottineau in 1848-1850; and in ca. 1850-1854 Samuel Carrick carried on trade
with the Winnebagos from his store opposite present-day Elk River. The fur trade was the primary
focus of interaction between Europeans and Indians until the reservation era and the influence of
European culture on the Indian way of life was profound. Originally dependent upon the natural
bounty of the country for family and tribal subsistence, the Indians were transformed into hunters
and trappers employed in an international commodities trading system who earned a livelihood by
bartering peltry for food, clothing, liquor, and provisions. By the 1830s, all of the tribes in the
region had become dependent upon the fur trade for subsistence and the process of acculturation
intensified. The destruction of the local buffalo, elk, deer, and beaver populations was an obvious
ecological consequence of the fur trade, but the epidemiological impact on native populations was
even more catastrophic. Coming to the area as exploiters rather than settlers, the fur traders left little
tangible evidence of their presence outside a handful of archeological sites.
Property Types
Archeological sites associated with the historic Indian presence in Otsego are most likely to occur
in the form of hunting and fishing camps, maple sugar and wild ricing camps, hunting and food
processing sites, fur trade posts, ceremonial areas, and burials.
Representative Properties
At present, there are no known historic resources in Otsego with well documented associations with
historic Indian groups or pre -settlement period trading posts.
Information Sources
The primary source of archival information relating to historic archeological sites in central
Minnesota is the statewide inventory maintained by the Office of the State Archeologist and the
Historic American Indians - 3
Minnesota SHPO. This inventory, which is organized by county and subdivision, also includes
unpublished reports of archeological surveys and excavations. The Minnesota SHPO historic
structure inventory files also contain information relating to ruins and below -ground historic
resources. As part of its Minnesota History in Sites and Structures preservation planning process,
the Minnesota SHPO produced a number of historic context overviews dealing with the state's
Contact Period heritage.
The best general histories dealing with the experiences of Indians in Minnesota are Mdewakanton
Band of Sioux Indians (New York, 1974) and Ethnohistory of the Chippewa in Central Minnesota
(New York, 1974), by Harold Hickerson; The Winnebago Tribe, by Paul Radin (Lincoln, 1970); and
History of the Santee Sioux: United States Indian Policy on Trial, by Roy W. Meyer (Lincoln, 1967).
Edward J. Pluth's master's thesis, "Account of Winnebago Indian Affairs at Long Prairie," provides
useful background information on the experiences of the Winnebago in central Minnesota.
Some useful background information on Indian -white relations in Wright County, including some
morsels of Otsego Indian lore, can be gleaned from History of Wright County, Minnesota, by
Franklyn Curtiss -Wedge (Chicago, 1915), and the county history in History of the Upper Mississippi
Valley (Minneapolis, 1881).
Goals and Priorities
1. Undertake a comprehensive archeological reconnaissance survey to characterize the range
of historic period archeological properties within the city limits, followed by intensive survey
to document individual sites and evaluate their significance. Survey and evaluation will be
performed by persons qualified in North American archeology, geomorphology, and
preservation planning.
2. Background knowledge of Otsego area history suggests that potentially important historic
archeological sites are most likely to be preserved on undeveloped lands in the Mississippi
and Crow river valleys, on islands, on uplands bordering the river valleys, in riparian zones
bordering upland lakes and wetlands, and on prairies and forest openings. The initial
objective of broad -scale archeological reconnaissance should be the development of accurate
predictions of the general location of historic archeological sites and the delineation of
archeologically sensitive areas. A predictive map of historic archeological sites and
archeologically sensitive areas should be part of the city's comprehensive plan and this map
should be updated as necessary to accommodate new data and analysis.
3. Because so little is known about Otsego's Indian heritage and so much of the city will be
subject to substantial development in the near future, on a case by case basis the city should
consider requiring private developers to finance archeological reconnaissance surveys as a
condition of project approval. Archeological survey should precede all public works and
utilities construction in archeologically sensitive areas.
4. Undertake an intensive archival research effort focused on reconstructing the history of the
Winnebago reservation at the Long Prairie agency (1846-1855), especially the movements
Historic American Indians - 4
of Winneshiek's and other bands in Wright County, to identify potential sites in Otsego.
Historic properties associated with the Winnebago may be represented by archeological sites,
locations of important events, cemeteries, shrines, rural historic landscape features, or
traditional cultural properties. To the extent possible, this research should involve
contemporary Winnebago tribal historians, ethnographers, and others with special knowledge
of Winnebago history and culture.
5. Integrate survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic context document
as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
6. Register historic sites that are associated with the Eastern Dakota, Ojibwe, and Winnebago
presence in the Otsego area, or the fur trade, or which have yielded, or are likely to yield,
information important in the study of historic American Indians.
Historic American Indians - 5
HISTORIC CONTEXT III:
INITIAL EURO -AMERICAN SETTLEMENT
The Treaty of Mendota in 1851 extinguished American Indian sovereignty in Minnesota west of the
Mississippi River and opened Wright County to Euro -American settlers. In 1852 the first permanent
settlement was made in Otsego, then called Pleasant (sometimes rendered "Pheasant") Grove. This
historic context focuses on the pioneer phase of local history and provides a framework for
identifying and evaluating historic properties associated with Otsego's formative years.
Related Statewide Historic Contexts
The Minnesota SHPO has identified two statewide themes relevant to early Otsego history: St. Croix
Triangle Lumbering (1830s-1900) and Early Agriculture and River Settlement (1840-1870).
Geographical Boundaries
The earliest nodes of Euro -American settlement were located around the junction of the Mississippi
and Crow rivers, at Pleasant Grove (Otsego), and at Carrick's Prairie, but settlement of the interior
was rapid and by the time Minnesota became a state (185 8) there were pioneer farmsteads scattered
across Otsego and Frankfort townships.
Chronological Limits
There were Euro -Americans living in Otsego before the Treaty of Mendota, but permanent
settlement started when John McDonald established himself in Section 17 in 1852 and filed a pre-
emption claim. The pioneer phase of local development may be said to have ended with the
construction of the first railroad through Wright County in 1866.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
Even before the treaty of 1851 opened up the country for settlers, there was an attenuated Euro -
American presence in Wright County in the form of traders, hunters, and missionaries, whose
activities doubtless brought them to what is now Otsego. There was, for example, a winter
encampment of Selkirk colony refugees at the mouth of the Crow in ca. 1836 as well as Indian
trading posts at Elk River and Carrick's Prairie prior to 1851. As soon as Indian sovereignty was
extinguished, pioneer farmers like John McDonald, Samuel E. Carrick, and John K. Aydt established
claims at convenient points along the Mississippi and Crow rivers and these initial settlements
formed the nuclei for later agricultural communities and townsites.
The basic pattern of pioneer settlement in Otsego was derived chiefly from the New England culture
area and reflected its eastern, woodland background. At the time of settlement, the land was covered
by "big woods," i.e., a mature maple -basswood forest interspersed with small prairies and prairie
wetlands. Unlike the settlements on the western prairies, the distribution of pioneer families in
Otsego took the form of closely knit rural neighborhoods rather than isolated farmsteads. The first
settlements were made in the forest openings and at the edge of the upland prairies, reflecting the
Initial Euro -American Settlement - 1
Yankees' traditional skepticism of the agricultural potential of lands that did not grow large trees.
For a generation, the largest open prairies in Wright County remained underdeveloped. Gradually,
settlement spread laterally from the Mississippi and Crow valleys across the rolling, forested uplands
between the rivers.
Otsego's natural bounty included fertile soil and once the forest was cleared the land could be made
to produce excellent returns. However, grubbing trees to open up farmland in a mature hardwood
forest required years of arduous labor. Fortunately, the pioneer era in Otsego coincided with several
important innovations in farming techniques and the development of new types of equipment, and
while pioneer agriculture was primarily subsistence farming, most farms produced at least some
surplus that could be bartered or sold for cash. On the debit side, the development of commercial
agriculture was hampered by lack of markets and transportation problems until after the Civil War.
In purely economic terms, Otsego was not settled because of its agricultural attractions; indeed, it
is safe to say that farming was not the chief interest of the typical pioneer. Cheap raw land and the
promise of windfall profits from real estate shaped the pattern of development in the 1850s. Pioneers
who staked claims before the completion of the government survey in 1855 exercised their right of
pre-emption by filing declarations to purchase as much as 320 acres at $1.25 an acre, payable in
cash, military bounty warrants, or scrip at the nearest United States land office. Settlers who arrived
after the public domain had been subdivided into townships and sections were able to acquire
unclaimed land in parcels of between 40 and 320 acres at public auction for as little as $1.25 an acre.
Some pioneers used military bounty warrants issued to veterans of the Mexican War to obtain free
land -- all of the public domain in Otsego was claimed before the Homestead Act of 1862. As is
clearly shown in the county courthouse deed records, land was a commodity and the chief article of
trade. Many of the original landowners do not appear to have actually intended to permanently settle
in Otsego and held onto their lands only long enough to sell their interests to land speculators and
immigrants at a profit. There was a frenzy of real estate transactions between 1852 and 1857, with
some lands changing hands two or three times (elsewhere in Minnesota, tracts purchased for $1.25
an acre were traded for as much as $10.00 an acre, without improvements of any kind, often heavily
mortgaged).
The Panic of 1857, one of the pivotal events in Minnesota history, ended the orgy of land speculation
and plunged the region into its first great depression. Land sales fell off dramatically, immigration
slowed (some newly settled areas experienced depopulation), prices of agricultural products
plummeted, and most businesses in the territory were bankrupted. The depression continued to be
severe for several years, holding back settlement and agricultural development. Eventually recovery
set in, and with the revival of commerce and industry rural townships like Otsego experienced a
period of remarkable growth.
The earliest settlers built their houses, barns, granaries, and other outbuildings from local oak, maple,
elm, and cottonwood timber. Fuel and fencing materials were obtained from the same source, as
were the raw materials for tools and household furnishings. The log cabin era was probably limited
to the 1850s, as sawn pine lumber was easy to obtain from mills in St. Anthony and Anoka and there
were several brickyards in the area. The high cost of board fencing (barbed wire was not invented
until the 1870s) kept farm improvements small, with most of the livestock left to run at large.
Initial Euro -American Settlement - 2
Although Euro -American settlement of Otsego was destined to be primarily agricultural, there was
some pioneer industrial development. Given the abundance of hardwoods close to navigable streams,
the first non-agricultural commerce was probably in wood -- if not sawn boards from one of the
pioneer mills, then hewn timbers -- to supply local demands. The transition from cabin to house
required bricks and mortar, and the first scove kiln seems to have been in operation at Otsego
townsite sometime in the 1860s, along with at least one lime kiln. The trade in maple sugar and
ginseng root was also a valuable source of cash income for early settlers. Although settlers could get
along with comparatively little hardware or machinery, there were many items such as nails, tools,
firearms, and agricultural implements that required the services of a blacksmith, which quickly led
to the establishment of small smithies. Perhaps the most interesting local industry was the Excelsior
Metal Polish factory established at Northwood by Oliver H. Kelley in 1856, which drew on local
marl deposits for its source of raw material. But the most important industries involved agricultural
product processing: brewing beer and milling grain for local and regional consumption. Pioneer grist
and flour mills were erected in the 1850s, but were hardly more than household industries and their
expansion was hampered by a scarcity of equipment and labor, and by limited transportation
facilities and markets.
Property Types
Examples of historic resources associated with initial Euro -American settlement in Otsego include
intact houses, barns, and other outbuildings; archeology sites and the ruins of buildings or structures;
and historic landscape features such as trails, boundary markers, and natural landmarks.
Representative Properties
At present, no historic buildings or archeological sites in Otsego have been registered or determined
eligible for designation as heritage preservation sites. However, an undetermined number of pre -
1866 houses are believed to exist, along with the sites of several non -extant pioneer towns, mills,
breweries, and ferries.
Information Sources
Records of Otsego's early settlement and development are found in county narrative histories, early
travelers' accounts, census reports, family papers, and courthouse records. Historic maps and plats
also document the pioneer landscape. Of particular interest to preservationists are the government
surveyor field notes and plats of Otsego township from 1855, which are preserved in the archives
of the Secretary of State, and the county map, lithographs and other information contained in A. T.
Andreas' Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota (Chicago, 1874).
Valuable secondary sources include the township histories and biographic data presented in the
History of Wright County, Minnesota, by Franklin Curtiss -Wedge (Chicago, 1915); D. R. Farnham's
History of Wright County, Illustrated, 1880 (Buffalo, 1976); Condensed History of Wright County:
1851-1915, by C. A. French and Frank B. Lamson (Delano, 1935); and History of the Upper
Mississippi Valley (Minneapolis, 1881). The Otsego HPC has collected a considerable body of
pertinent information in its 1996 publication, Otsego In the Beginning.
Initial Euro -American Settlement - 3
Goals and Priorities
1. Undertake a comprehensive reconnaissance survey to characterize the range of historic
buildings and archeological sites within the city limits that are associated with initial Euro -
American settlement, followed by intensive survey to document individual properties and
evaluate their significance.
2. It is anticipated that most properties associated with this historic context will be identified
in the course of broad -scale archeological reconnaissance and intensive architecture/history
surveys of properties associated with agriculture. Predictions of the general location of early
Euro -American historic sites should be developed on the basis of plat maps and other
historical maps, original government survey field notes, old photographs, deeds and wills,
census schedules, and family papers. Locations predicted to contain historic properties based
on such information should be identified on maps and inspected in the field.
3. Architecture/history surveys documenting early Euro -American buildings must be alert to
the archeological value of deteriorated structures and ruins and to the historic landscape
value of non -architectural features such as vegetation.
4. Background knowledge of Otsego area history suggests that concentrations of important
properties associated with initial Euro -American settlement may be present around the mouth
of the Crow River, at the former Otsego townsite, and at Carrick's Prairie. Intensive archival
research will need to document the physical development of these localities in some detail
to provide site-specific contexts for evaluating significance.
5. Post -settlement environmental change is an historically significant pattern of events and
should be the subject of a thematic study involving archival research and field survey. This
investigation should document the ecology of the pre -settlement maple -basswood and
floodplain forest ecosystems, the distribution of important natural communities and specific
areas associated with important historical events, their influence on Euro -American
settlement and land use, and the presence or absence of historic landscape features worthy
of preservation.
6. Integrate survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic context document
as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
7. Register buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts that meet established criteria for
historical, architectural, archeological, or cultural significance.
Initial Euro -American Settlement - 4
HISTORIC CONTEXT IV:
AGRICULTURE AND THE FAMILY FARM
Farming was the leading enterprise in Otsego from the 1860s through the 1940s. Wheat was the chief
money producing crop until the late 19th century, when agricultural output shifted to specialty crops
and livestock raising. The accessibility of good markets favored the development of dairying, the
mainstay of most family farms since the 1890s.
Related Statewide Historic Context
The Minnesota SHPO has developed a broad statewide historic context, Railroads and Agricultural
Development (1870-1940), that is applicable to Otsego.
Geographical Boundaries
The city limits form the physical boundaries for this historic context.
Chronological Limits
The construction of the first railroad into Wright County in 1866 marks the end of the pioneer phase
of Otsego's development. Commercial agriculture was the dominant rural land use until the 1950s.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
The transition from subsistence to commercial agriculture in Otsego depended largely upon
development of markets and transportation facilities. By the end of the Civil War, the Industrial
Revolution had turned the northeastern United States into the nation's most densely populated region
and the same trends toward manufacturing and urbanization were beginning to make themselves felt
in the Middle West. This brought an increased demand for foodstuffs and as a consequence
Minnesota developed into one of the leading meat and cereal producing states, exporting agricultural
products by rail through Chicago and by rail and steamship across the Great Lakes.
Pioneer agriculture in Otsego was basically subsistence farming and what little exportation of farm
surplus there had been previous to 1866 had been in the form of wheat, tobacco, and maple sugar.
Livestock raising was also a leading pioneer occupation, but before the era of the railroads and the
development of the meat packing industry, local farmers were forced drive their beef, pork, and
mutton to market on the hoof. In Otsego, where livestock raising was destined to become a leading
farm enterprise, conditions were especially favorable for maintaining herds of cattle, swine, and
sheep on what amounted to an open range, supplementing the natural forage with wild hay and
Indian corn. The development of railroads and the growth of nearby urban markets made possible
the growth of dairying during the 1870s and 1880s, when butter and cheese factories sprang up in
many nearby towns.
The chief stimulation for grain farming in the mid -19th century came as a result of recent
improvements in labor-saving machinery. Steel plows, mechanical reapers and threshers, seed drills,
Agriculture and the Family Farm - 1
and corn planters were already in use during the 1850s; after the Civil War, the revolution in farm
machinery continued, with the application of steam (and eventually gasoline) power to planting,
cultivating, and harvesting. Simultaneously with the advancements in farm machinery came the
development of scientific farming, which focused on the improvement of livestock breeds and
methods of tillage. The knowledge of scientific agriculture was disseminated by county and state
agricultural societies, at agricultural fairs, and in farm periodicals. Farm production and efficiency
steadily increased, despite recurring episodes of hard times caused by economic depressions,
droughts, and epiphytotic diseases.
Shortly after central Minnesota was opened up to settlement, the region became part of the
Midwestern "wheat belt," which was then moving westward out of Ohio and Illinois into Iowa,
Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Otsego wheat was consigned either to local millers to be processed for
local consumption, or was shipped by steamboat and rail to Milwaukee or St. Louis. As the wheat
belt shifted into western Minnesota and the Dakotas, Minneapolis eventually emerged as the great
Midwestern flour milling center, but by that time Otsego farmers were turning away from wheat as
a cash crop.
The rapid development of commercial agriculture was accompanied by circumstances which brought
hardship and discontent to local farmers. Farm mechanization, for example, more often than not led
to over production, which drove down prices for farm commodities. Currency problems and railroad
abuses also contributed to agrarian discontent, and in Otsego the period from 1867 to 1897 was
characterized by a general decline in land values, an increase in the cost of living, widespread farm
foreclosures, a steady increase in the number of tenant farmers, and the first attempts by farmers at
cooperative buying and selling. This period also witnessed the first legislative efforts at farm relief,
spearheaded by the Patrons of Husbandry (better known as the Grange), an organization founded in
1867 by Oliver H. Kelley of Elk River. Some progress was made to control railroad abuses,
culminating in the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887, and agitation by farmer interest groups also
resulted in the creation of federal and state programs for supporting agricultural education and
research, and financial legislation that facilitated currency inflation and liberalized farm lending.
During the last decade of the 19th century changes occurred which brought about a veritable
"golden age" of agriculture in Otsego. By 1890, cheap transportation made it impossible for local
farmers to compete with western grain and beef; at the same time, the rapid growth of Minneapolis
and St. Paul also created a heavy demand for whole milk. As a consequence, although wheat and
beef cattle continued to be important, Otsego farmers diversified their operations, with most turning
their attention to dairying. At the same time, many farmers banded together to go into agribusiness
for themselves, founding cooperative creameries and insurance companies. Overall, the years
between 1896 and 1915 were marked by expansion and prosperity, as farm commodity prices and
land values rose steadily. The First World War brought even greater prosperity and a boom in farm
home and building construction, new equipment purchases, and improved roads and schools.
Markets for specialty crops also expanded and the early 20th century witnessed a spectacular
extension of horticulture, which, like dairy farming, brought ready money and a higher standard of
living.
The agricultural boom of 1897-1920, accompanied by inflated farm prices and land values, was
Agriculture and the Family Farm - 2
followed by a corresponding period of depression. Agricultural exports declined rapidly after 1920,
and at the same time domestic markets for farm products also began to shrink, with some commodity
prices falling well below the cost of production. Encouraged by high prices and the demand for
products, many local farmers had borrowed heavily to purchase land and machinery in order to
increase production, only to see their gains wiped out in the farm depression. Although prices of
most agricultural commodities recovered somewhat in the mid -1920s, agriculture in general failed
to respond to the renewed prosperity of the "roaring 'Twenties" and over production, brought on by
improved machinery and methods, continued to deflate commodity prices. The stock market crash
of October, 1929, plunged the national economy into a severe depression which lasted until 1935.
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the bankruptcy rate for farmers rose at an alarming rate and there
was a corresponding decline in farm land values. Farmer discontent led to the enactment of a body
of agricultural legislation aimed at propping up the prices of selected commodities, extending farm
credit and marketing programs, and providing direct relief to distressed farm families. These actions
signalled a major sea -change in farm policy, with a shift in emphasis from production to marketing.
Between the 1860s and 1940s, agriculture transformed the face of Otsego from a luxuriant Big
Woods to a patchwork quilt of farmsteads, open fields, and woodlots. The rural built environment
reflected the dominant trends and patterns of the Upper Midwest, where the family farm as the focus
of development activity. Upon their arrival in Otsego, pioneer farmers tended to construct houses
and outbuildings that were similar to those they had left behind before immigrating to Minnesota.
Contrary to popular mythology, the round log cabin was not the norm for those who settled Otsego:
what the Yankees called a "cabin" was in fact a one or two -room house built of hewn logs, often
sided with sawn boards and roofed with split wood shingles. Most of the original subsistence
dwellings and farm buildings were dismantled or put to the torch within a generation or two, as farm
families constructed framed buildings with dimension cut lumber, or built in pressed brick.
The typical 19th century farmstead in Otsego was an ensemble of farmhouse and specialized
outbuildings that made it look like a miniature village. Farm dwellings were wood frame or brick
buildings based on traditional Northeastern prototypes. Livestock, machinery, and tools were housed
in small, general purpose barns that were little more than one-story gabled sheds with hay storage
at one end and a small threshing floor at the other. As farmers prospered and agriculture diversified,
they raised two-level barns based on the New England three -bay form; these were substantial
buildings with heavy timber framing and stone foundations, with a central threshing floor, space for
sheltering livestock, and expansive haymows. After the house and barn, there was typically a smaller
barn or granary, and most farms would have had a complex of woodsheds, machine sheds, spring
houses, ice houses, milk houses, and privies. Because livestock were commonly kept at large until
the 1870s, cultivated fields were enclosed by board fences.
Successive waves of farm building swept over Otsego, the first peaking in ca. 1880, and a second,
and considerably larger, farmstead building boom that spanned the period from ca. 1896 to 1920.
As building construction costs decreased after the Civil War, the old style farmhouses began to be
replaced by new structures utilizing balloon framing, dimension cut pine lumber, and mass-produced
wire nails. The new farmhouses were generally roomier, airier, and more easily maintained, but the
basic I -house, gabled ell, and upright -and -wing vernacular forms were not abandoned until after the
turn of the century. Some of the more prosperous farmers erected houses embellished with
Agriculture and the Family Farm - 3
picturesque trim, siding, windows, porches, and other detailing borrowed from the Victorian and
Eclectic period styles currently in fashion.
The building boom of 1896-1920 is best exemplified in Otsego by two distinctly different types of
farm houses. The vernacular two-story four-square or "Corn Belt cube" house offered the prosperous
farmer a striking new way to call attention to his family's success and standing in the community.
With its rigid floor plan and balanced facade, the four-square represented a transitional stage
between the 19th century cottage movement and modern domestic architecture. The one-story
bungalow was a truly modern house that reflected the progressive era in home building. Most were
small dwellings built by local contractors using standardized plans.
It should be pointed out that farmhouse building in Otsego generally lacked professional architects:
traditionally, houses were collaborations between farmers and craftspeople, with the farm families
and neighbors providing much of the semi -skilled labor. When a farmer wanted a new house, he
simply called in one of the neighborhood carpenters or building contractors, selected a design from
a pattern book or builders' catalog, and set to work. Overtime, multi -generation farmhouses tended
to evolve from simple cottages into rambling assemblages of wings, additions, and porches built to
accommodate changing family needs.
The shift toward a modern farming system also caused Otsego farmers to modify some of their
notions about the arrangement and use of agricultural buildings. As feed crops and livestock became
more important than grain farming, barns had to be enlarged to shelter bigger herds and to store more
winter feed. Commercial dairy fanning necessitated an entire new kind of barn, one with stalls on
a concrete ground floor and very large haymows on the upper level. These were large wood and
masonry structures often built into the sides of hills, with milking stalls in the basement and a ramp
or embankment providing access to the main floor. The widespread use of silage after 1890 led to
the construction of wooden silos, which were gradually replaced by tile, concrete, concrete stave,
and metal structures. Farms that raised beef cattle or horses tended to build gable -roofed barns with
smaller haymows, placing lean-to sheds on one or both sides. After ca. 1900, many specialized
outbuildings, such as granaries and ice houses, became obsolete and these traditional structures were
often razed or replaced with prefabricated general purpose buildings. At the same time, detached
silos, milk houses, corncribs, and automobile garages became increasingly more common.
Although the single family farmstead was the basic unit of settlement, parts of the old congregative
pattern of rural neighborhoods was retained in the older -settled parts of Otsego well into the mid -
20th century. In the interior of the township, away from the rivers, the distribution pattern was more
dispersed, with between four and twelve family farms to the square mile. Although they may have
been dispersed over a fairly large area, farm families in Otsego were highly conscious of being part
of a larger community and there was a strong sense of community identity. Otsego may have started
out as an enclave of New Englanders, but by 1900 it was a melting pot of native born and foreign
immigrants. Over the years, consanguinity, shared customs, religion, and language bonded the farm
families together and produced the close-knit, viable rural community that flourished until the last
quarter of the 20th century.
Agriculture and the Family Farm - 4
Property Types
The generic property type for this historic context is the family farm or farmstead, the basic
functional unit in the rural environment. Typically, historic farmsteads consist of a single family
detached dwelling, one or more general purpose barns, and one or more detached sheds, along with
silos, grain bins, corncribs, and other accessory structures. Granaries, milkhouses, windmills, and
wells represent rare surviving examples of formerly important farm outbuildings and structures. An
historic farmstead may also contain the ruins of historic buildings and structures, archeological sites,
and rural historic landscape features such as woodlots, shelterbelts, boundary markers, and roads.
Cultivated fields, pasture, woodlots, and other acreage are not normally considered part of an historic
farmstead preservation site.
Buildings, structures, and sites associated with agricultural product storage, processing, and
transportation are also considered within the context of agricultural heritage. Nonfarm properties
directly related to farmstead building, such as brickyards and lime kilns, are also contextual property
types.
Representative Properties
At present, no buildings or sites in Otsego have been designated or determined eligible for
registration as preservation sites. Although property -specific information is lacking, it is estimated
that no fewer than 60 pre -1939 houses and a comparable number of traditional wooden barns exist
within the city limits.
Historic properties which have attracted the attention of preservationists include the McDonald and
Ingersoll houses on County Road 39, the LaPlant House on County Road 42, and the LeFebvre
Round Barn on County Road 37.
Information Sources
Records of Otsego's agricultural history are found in census reports, plat books, family papers and
farm records, back issues of local newspapers and periodicals, local histories, aerial photographs,
and reports of rural historic resource surveys. The manuscript census schedules for 1860, 1870, and
1880, and the printed data on Wright County farm production generated by the 1860, 1870, 1880,
1890, 1900, 1915, 1925, 1930, and 1940 federal censuses of agriculture are the basic sources for
reconstructing the broad patterns of local rural development. The 1940 census of housing provides
a basis for assessing changes in the local housing stock.
Useful secondary sources for regional agricultural history include The Earth Brought Forth: A
History of Minnesota Agriculture to 1885 by Merrill E. Jarchow (St. Paul, 1949); History of
Agriculture in the Northern United States 1620-1860 by Percy Wells Bidwell and John I. Falconer
(New York, 1941); The Development of the Dairy Products Industry in Minnesota, by Martin J.
Anderson (St. Paul, 1914); and Early Economic Conditions and the Development of Agriculture in
Minnesota, by Edward V. D. Robinson (Minneapolis, 1915). Relevant background information is
also available in Historical Geography of the United States, by Ralph H. Brown (New York, 1948);
Agriculture and the Family Farm - 5
A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota, by David Gebhard and Tom Martinson (Minneapolis,
1977); and The Land That Feeds Us, by John Fraser Hart (New York, 1991).
Franklyn Curtiss -Wedge's History of Wright County, Minnesota (Chicago, 1915) and the Wright
County chapter in the History of the Upper Mississippi Valley (Minneapolis, 1881) provide some
useful information on the Otsego area's agricultural heritage, but generally the published local
histories contain little in the way of detailed information about farms and farming. Cartographic
coverage of changing land use patterns in Otsego and Frankfort townships, on the other hand, is
excellent: of particular interest are the 1890 Map of Ramsey and Hennepin Counties, the 1894
Standard Township Map and Gazetteer of Wright County, the 1901 Plat Book of Wright County, and
the 1931 Atlas and Farmers' Directory of Wright County. Aerial photographs flown for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture in 1937, 1940, and 1953 are the best source for documenting farm
settlement patterns at a pivotal point in local history.
Goals and Priorities
1. Agriculture is the dominant theme in Otsego history from the mid -19th century to the present
and it is anticipated that the majority of the preservation sites in the city will be farm -related.
Background information suggests that there were more than 200 farmsteads and rural
dwellings in the township in 1940, including a substantial proportion built before the turn
of the century. The first step in the preservation planning process is to determine which of
these properties are still in existence. This can be readily accomplished by "ground
checking" the farmsteads shown on the 1940 aerial photographs flown by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. Historic township plats and county tax assessment records can
provide a baseline of information on ownership.
2. After establishing a basis for predicting the locations of potentially significant properties, a
comprehensive architecture/history survey will characterize the range of historic houses,
barns, and outbuildings within the city limits. Broad -scale reconnaissance may take the form
of a "windshield survey" and at a minimum should note the general distribution of pre -1950
buildings, structures, and farmsteads representing different architectural styles, periods, and
modes of construction. The product of the architecture/history reconnaissance will be a list
of potentially significant historic properties, i.e., buildings and sites that meet at least one of
the criteria for determining significance and which are therefore worthy of consideration in
preservation planning.
3. Architecture/history reconriaissance and intensive survey may be conducted in sequence,
with broad -scale reconnaissance used to plan intensive survey work; but they may also be
combined, with intensive survey aimed at locations where background research indicates the
likely presence of important farm -related historic properties. Intensive survey will need to
involve detailed archival research as well as thorough investigation and documentation of
all historic buildings, sites, and structures in the field. The product of the intensive survey
will be an inventory of significant historic properties related to agriculture and the family
farm.
Agriculture and the Family Farm - 6
4. Undertake intensive archival research to measure changes in local agricultural production
over time. Key data sets to be assembled include number of farms, acreage under cultivation,
changes in farm size, farm tenancy, crops, livestock, value of farm land and buildings, and
investment in machinery. The primary sources of information for this study will be the
returns of the state and federal censuses from 1860 to 1950.
5. Identify historic farm houses and outbuildings that exhibit distinctive design characteristics
or methods of construction. Some otherwise undistinguished properties may be significant
as representative examples of changing building technology or the use of particular kinds of
materials. Important research topics include the use of locally fired bricks in house and
outbuilding construction, the widespread application of stucco on farm houses, sources of
mass-produced structural elements, and the effects of agricultural education on farm building
design.
6. Develop a thematic architectural study of local barns and other agricultural outbuildings to
identify important forms and styles. Background knowledge suggests that some types of
historic farming operations were characterized by the construction of particular kinds of
specialized farm buildings, such as dairy and horse barns, granaries, and machine sheds.
Individual barns may be significant as the work of locally important barn builders or as
architectural curiosities.
7. With the architecture/history survey data in hand, undertake an in-depth thematic study of
rural historic landscapes, i.e., geographical areas that have been shaped by historical
processes of land use, responses to the natural environment, and cultural traditions.
Background knowledge suggests that rural historic landscapes related to agricultural history
may include groupings of buildings, clusters of archeological sites, and areas of vegetation
related to land use. The concept of the rural historic landscape also provides a useful
framework for studying the historical significance of political and land ownership
boundaries, field patterns, fences, roadways, windbreaks, and woodlots.
8. Surveys should address the archeological potential of agricultural properties. Farm buildings
and structures are complex artifacts that reflect changing social, cultural, and economic
conditions; as such, they may contain information that sheds light on an aspect of local
history that would otherwise be undocumented. Intensive survey and excavation of a
farmstead archeological site is usually not recommended unless there are important research
questions can be answered by the data contained in the property.
9. Integrate survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic context document
as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
10. Register historically and architecturally significant farmsteads, farm houses, and barns as
historic preservation sites or districts when they meet established criteria and retain historic
integrity.
Agriculture and the Family Farm - 7
HISTORIC CONTEXT V:
TRANSPORTATION
The history of transportation represents an important theme in the development of Otsego from a
rural farming settlement to a suburban bedroom community. The first Euro -American settlements
in Otsego were made along the Mississippi and Crow rivers, the most important avenues of
immigration and trade before the development of railroads. As the lands along the rivers were
developed, new settlements were made in the interior, where pioneers farmers were forced to keep
in touch with the rivers by crude roads. The earliest roads probably followed existing trails blazed
by Indians and fur traders. Townsites and rural neighborhoods coalesced at steamboat landings and
river crossings, and at inland crossroads. After the Civil War railroad building linked the settlements
to a regional transportation network. The automobile age began in the 1910s and ushered in a new
era of highway and farm -to -market road construction.
Related Statewide Historic Contexts
Transportation is an aspect of two broad statewide historic contexts developed by the Minnesota
SHPO: Early Agriculture and River Settlement (1840-1870) and Railroads and Agricultural
Development (1870-1940).
Geographical Boundaries
Historic transportation properties occur in all parts of the city.
Chronological Limits
Otsego's transportation system dates from 1854, when the Carrick and McDonald ferries opened; the
first wagon roads were laid out the following year. The terminal date for this historic context, 1950,
was arbitrarily selected.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
Since pre -settlement rimes, Otsego has been a nexus of overland and water routes. Log dugout and
birchbark canoes were in use during prehistoric times and continued to be seen on the Mississippi
in the 1850s. Although frontier communication was maintained chiefly by water, a complex network
of trails ran between the centers of Indian and Euro -American population, generally following the
watershed divides. A famous overland route, the Red River Trail, ran along the east side of the
Mississippi through Elk River as early as the 1820s. Shortly after Wright County was opened to
settlement, a wagon road was laid out between Otsego and Monticello. A local road system gradually
developed, including several which converged on Otsego townsite, but these were little more than
trails, choked with mud in spring, thick with dust in summer, and heavy with snow in the winter.
There were no bridges over the Mississippi or the Crow until after the Civil War and because of this
ferry landings were important nodes of early settlement.
In their natural state, both the Mississippi and the Crow were navigable by small, flat bottomed
Transportation - 1
steamboats and there were several steamboat landings within the modern city limits. The river
steamboats were a boon to river townsite development and helped materially in the development of
commercial farming in southeastern Wright County, but the natural obstacles to navigation were
considerable and traffic dwindled rapidly after the coming of the railroads, with the last boat running
on the Mississippi between St. Anthony and St. Cloud in 1874.
Railroads came to Otsego at a comparatively early date. Territorial legislators chartered several
grandiose railway projects, but the first steam railroad locomotive in Minnesota did not make its
inaugural run between St. Anthony and St. Paul until 1862. Construction work on the St. Paul &
Pacific line was speeded up after the Civil War and in 1866 the first trains ran through Elk River.
The last decades of the 19th century witnessed the construction of feeder lines of the great trunk
routes, such as the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba, which pushed a branch line across the Crow
through Wright County to Clearwater in ca. 1880. This line, the only railroad to actually traverse
Otsego Township, remained in operation as a Great Northern freight and passenger route until after
World War H. The railway village of Albertville, originally named St. Michael's Station, owned its
existence to the Great Northern; however, Elk River (on the main line of the Great Northern)
functioned as the primary shipping point and trade center for much of Otsego township.
From 1866 until ca. 1920, railroads were by far the most important factor in local development.
Local farmers and businessmen eagerly anticipated the coming of new railroads. Most significantly,
railroads made it possible for farmers to ship agricultural produce directly to major markets, such
as the Twin Cities and Chicago. The railroads also had a great effect on reshaping the rural
landscape. Along the right-of-way there were rural stations, depots, platforms, and section houses;
railroad interests also platted towns and the settlements bypassed by the railroads ceased to thrive
and became economically insignificant. Destructive fires caused by escaping sparks deforested wide
swaths of the countryside, while the demand for wood fuel and crossties stimulated small scale
logging.
The first practical motor cars appeared in the 1890s but the first great wave of automobile buying
began in 1914. Within less than a generation the car had revolutionized American society. One of
the most important effects of the automobile was the renaissance in road building. Building roads,
until the automobile age, was a difficult undertaking. The earliest wagon roads tended to wind their
way across naturally high ground, avoiding dense woods and stream crossings. An 1873 state law
mandated that local roads be aligned to the grid of the rectangular survey -- to this day, most of
Otsego's rural roads follow section or half -section lines -- and while county commissioners could
lay out roads between townships, road maintenance was wholly a township responsibility.
The bicycle craze and the introduction of Rural Free Delivery in the 1890s combined with the
automobile revolution to create a widespread movement for improved highways. Good Roads
associations were formed at the state and county level and lobbied for public funding of interstate
and local roads. The state began making small contributions for the improvement of county roads
and bridges in 1905 and gradually extended its appropriations and supervision until by the 1922
Minnesota was investing millions of dollars annually in the construction, improvement, and
maintenance of public roads. In 1916, the federal government began aiding the state to construct
primary interstate and secondary connecting roads and under this impetus the first trunk highways
Transportation - 2
were built. Wright County hired its first highway engineer in 1921 and local road management
passed out of the control of local road supervisors. Before ca. 1930, however, there were no hard
surface roads in Otsego outside of the state trunk highway (now Interstate 94), but by 1940 the
township was fully served by a network of state, county, and township roads designed by
professional engineers and maintained by well equipped public works crews.
Automobiles changed the face of Otsego forever. In competition with the railroads,, cars, trucks, and
buses quickly took over passenger traffic and cut heavily into freight. Railroad mileage, which had
peaked during the first decade of the 20th century, declined rapidly after World War H. Personal
automobiles also changed patterns of settlement and communication. For example, the routes of the
state and county highways, designed for through traffic, had almost no reference to the local pattern
of rural development, with the result that rural hamlets with general stores and churches ceased to
be important because people could just as easily drive to Elk River, Monticello, or Minneapolis. The
new system of farm to market feeder roads further altered the rural landscape by encouraging farmers
to locate their facilities adjacent to surface roads. At the same time, non-farm development began
to spread out along the highways, gradually creating the familiar transition zone between town and
countryside that is today synonymous with "urban sprawl."
Property Types
This aspect of Otsego heritage is represented by transportation structures, including railroads, boat
landings, ferries, bridges, trails, highways, and log booms; by transportation -related buildings such
as railway buildings, gas stations, roadhouses, tavems, and post offices; and by transportation -related
sites and landscapes, such as relic trails and roads, ferry crossings, and railroad grades. Submerged
resources in the form of bridge piers and shipwrecks may also be present in the Mississippi and
Crow rivers.
Representative Properties
At present, no transportation -related historic resources have been designated or determined eligible
for designation as preservation sites. However, potential historic sites have been identified at the
McDonald (Otsego townsite) and Baker ferry landings. Historic transportation corridors include the
abandoned Great Northern branch line through Albertville (part of the Interstate Highway 94
corridor) and the 1854 wagon road from Otsego to Monticello, which corresponds to the route of
County Road 39. County roads 19 and 42 also follow 19th century routes, as do Kadler, Mason,
Parish, and the Great River Road. State Highway 101 and County Road 39 form part of the Great
River Road, a national route projected in 1936 but not designated (in Minnesota) until 1966.
Information Sources
Documents relating to local transportation history are found in the county narrative histories,
accounts of travelers, records of publicly financed road and bridge construction, and historic maps
and plats. At the county courthouse in Buffalo, the Wright County commissioners' minute books
document local road locations, plans, and financing from as early as 1854, with modern highway
plats dating from 1910. Otsego Township road records cover the period from 1858 to 1954 and
Transportation - 3
include petitions, plats of surveys, and other records. The official state highway maps published in
1920 and 1946 document the development of public highways in the Otsego area, as do the Rand
McNally road atlases of 1926 and 1946. The Minnesota Department of Highways 1969 report on the
Great River Road presents a review of pertinent legislation and planning at both the state and federal
levels.
General works on transportation history include The Development of the Minnesota Road System by
Arthur J. Larsen (St. Paul, 1966), Rails to the North Star, by Richard S. Prosser (Minneapolis, 1966),
and Creativity, Conflict & Controversy: A History of the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, by Raymond H. Merritt (Washington, 1979).
Goals and Priorities
1. Undertake a reconnaissance survey to characterize the range of transportation -related
properties within the city limits, followed by intensive survey to document individual sites
and evaluate their significance.
2. Develop a thematic study of Otsego's road system (ca. 1854 to 1950) to develop more
detailed historic context, conduct research on specific routes, and survey potentially
significant transportation -related properties. Useful sources for studying historic roads
include township road records, historic maps and plats, county highway maps, and aerial
photographs.
3. Integrate survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic context document
as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
4. Register transportation structures and routes that are significant for their association with
important patterns of historical events, embody the distinctive characteristics of historic
transportation corridors, and contain information that may shed light on local or regional
history.
Transportation - 4
HISTORIC CONTEXT VI:
POSTWAR URBANIZATION
This historic context focuses on the history of twentieth century migration patterns and the imprint
of suburbia upon the rural landscape of Otsego Township. Despite the lack of historical perspective
and negligible public appeal, there can be little doubt that postwar suburban development marks a
critical juncture in the history of Otsego.
Related Statewide Historic Context
The Minnesota SHPO has not developed a statewide historic context for post -World War II suburban
heritage resources.
Geographical Boundaries
Lands zoned for medium to high density residential, commercial, and industrial development define
the postwar urban environment in Otsego.
Chronological Limits
The Second World War ended in 1945 and the effects of "urban sprawl' were felt as early as the late
1950s.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
The initial phase of sustained urban growth in the Twin Cities began in the 1850s but the urbanized
landscape remained quite compact until the 1880s, when the railroads pushed the city limits outward
and the first ring of suburbs coalesced in roughly concentric rings around both St. Paul and
Minneapolis. At the same time, substantial numbers of people migrated outward from smaller
towns, such as Anoka and Monticello, creating a distinctive urban -fringe landscape of attenuated
rural neighborhoods, a pattern clearly illustrated by the Otsego township plats and census tables from
the early 1900s.
The development of the automobile expanded the area available for suburban development and
quickly changed the face of Otsego. Since the highway system, like the railroad network, radiated
outward from Minneapolis and St. Paul, 20th century suburbanization was oriented along the trunk
highway corridors. In Otsego, land values and population densities rose steadily after 1940, with
small nodes of commercial activity concentrated at river crossings and county road intersections.
Census data from 1950-1970 show a slow but steady decrease in farm size (suggestive of the break-
up of farm holdings), increasing rural -urban interaction, and a shift toward a rural but non-farm
lifeway for many families.
After World War II, increasing numbers of Twin Cities residents, particularly members of the
upwardly mobile middle class, began coming to Otsego in search of inexpensive, open land for new
homes. The first suburban ranch ramblers and split-levels were placed on small acreages subdivided
Postwar Urbanization - 1
from family farms. This general suburban infiltration picked up speed in the 1960s and became an
invasion in the 1980s, characterized by largescale conversion of farmland into residential and
commercial developments. Architecturally, this suburban landscape was filled with both custom
built and cookie -cutter single-family homes in a range of modern and neocolonial designs, as well
as speculative commercial buildings that are typically devoid of architectural style.
The late twentieth century emphasis on urbanization notwithstanding, at the end of the 20th century
agriculture remains an important land use within the city limits.
Property Types
Postwar urbanization in Otsego is represented by buildings and groups of buildings that reflect
suburban patterns of development and land use, including suburban tract houses, horse farms, real
estate offices, industrial parks, commercial strips, schools, and parks.
Representative Properties
At present, no significant historic properties less than fifty years old have been recorded within the
city limits.
Information Sources
Aerial photographs, subdivision plats, census data, and land use planning records document
modification of the rural landscape since 1945. The Atlas of Minnesota Resources & Settlement, by
John R. Borchert and Neil Gustafson (St. Paul, 1980) provides the statewide context for postwar
urban expansion.
Goals and Priorities
1. Begin to formulate preservation and reuse strategies for dealing with the late -20th century
built environment. Otsego preservationists need to face up to the fact that suburbanization
is the most pivotal event in local history after the development of commercial agriculture.
2. Assemble an inventory of photographs and written information about distinctive buildings
and sites dating from ca. 1950 to 1975 that are deemed to be of sufficient interest to be
studied and recorded, such as schools, buildings designed by notable architects, architectural
curiosities and one -of -a -kind buildings, parks and playground, and public works facilities.
3. Maintain a list of important buildings constructed since 1975 and arrange for photographing
newly constructed buildings of architectural distinction.
4. Assemble new information on urban development as it becomes available and adjust the
historic context document as necessary.
5. Register historic properties less than 50 years old when they meet established criteria and are
Postwar Urbanization - 2
evaluated to be of exceptional importance.
Postwar Urbanization - 3
HISTORIC CONTEXT VII:
TERRITORIAL TOWNSITES
Between 1854 and 1858, the traditional American hunger for land manifested itself in Otsego in a
burst of townsite platting. Otsego, Northwood ("Norwood"), Portland, Bedford, Waterville,
Aydstown, and Frankfort -on -the -Crow were both symbols of the frontier and foci for pioneer
economic development.
Related Statewide Historic Context
The Minnesota SHPO has developed a broad statewide study unit, Early Agriculture and River
Settlement (1840-1870), that encompasses this local theme.
Geographical Boundaries
The boundaries of the individual townsite plats define the physical extent of this historic context.
Chronological Limits
All of the pioneer townsites within the modern city limits were platted between 1854 and 1858.
Vestiges of the rural village of Otsego were evident after the turn of the century, but the townsite had
lost all of its central place functions by 1905.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
One historian has estimated that between 1849 and 1858, at least 700 townsites, comprising more
than 300,000 lots, were platted in Minnesota Territory. There was a wild scramble for townsites in
Wright County and by 1857 every eligible spot for a town on the Mississippi and the Crow had been
platted. The first townsites in the Otsego area were laid out by those who happened to be there when
the land boom started; men like John McDonald and John K. Aydt were quick to take advantage of
the opportunities offered by subdividing their unimproved claims into salable lots. In general, they
appear to have been motivated by the prospect of converting raw land into ready money, encouraged
no doubt by the news of dazzling successes enjoyed by townsite proprietors in other parts of the
territory.
All of the townsites in Otsego were founded principally as real estate developments, but they also
involved mills, stores, hotels, and steamboat landings, which suggest that the proprietors may have
viewed their economic prospects at least partly in terms of commerce and industry. In contrast to the
hated "speculator class," the local townsite proprietor was a single individual or partnership who sold
town lots in order to raise capital for some other kind of business venture. While their short-term
goal was to convert vacant land into cash receipts, a considerable portion of their time and energy
seems to have been devoted to promoting local economic development.
Otsego townsite, surveyed and platted in 1856 by J. G. Smith, Z. M. Brown, J. N. Barber, and John
McDonald, was a typical territorial townsite venture. Located on four hundred acres in a forest
Territorial Townsites - 1
opening overlooking the Mississippi River, the town was laid out in a gridiron plat of 118 blocks,
with lots reserved for a Methodist church and the homes of the original proprietors. By 1858 a steam
sawmill had been erected, along with a Methodist meeting house and parsonage, a public school, a
general store, and a blacksmith shop. There was also a hotel, which in the mid -19th century
functioned more as congregate housing for bachelors and poor families than as a hostel for travelers.
Later years saw the addition of a township hall, a lime kiln, a brickyard, and a creamery -- although
it is not clear whether all of the development "at Otsego" were actually located within the original
town plat.
At the peak of the townsite frenzy, in 1856-1857, the atmosphere throughout Minnesota was charged
with optimism based on the prospect of skyrocketing real estate values, a good harvest, railroads,
and impending statehood. Then, on August 24, 1857, the Ohio Life Insurance & Trust Company of
New York City went bankrupt, triggering the nation-wide financial crisis known to history as the
Panic of 1857. Like dominoes, banks and other businesses failed in every state and territory,
dragging their investors and creditors down with them. In Minnesota, the entire financial system
collapsed. What little hard currency was then in circulation was sucked eastward as banks called
their loans; real estate values based on promissory notes and "wildcat" currency (privately printed
banknotes) simply evaporated and several thousand Minnesotans suddenly found themselves "land
poor" and vulnerable to foreclosure and eviction. Town lots in places like Otsego and Northwood
became virtually worthless.
The Panic of 1857 left in its wake a rural landscape filled with the empty shells of towns. Townsite
proprietors who did not abandon their hopeless projects were left with a lot of debts and very few
neighbors. Otsego townsite was luckier than most: the village being fairly well established by 1857,
its mill, township hall, general store, and post office attracted several families to settle in the
neighborhood, forming an unincorporated rural village. Until the 1910s, Otsego remained a
functionally specialized rural center, although its gravitational pull was weak. The closure of the
Otsego post office in 1905 signalled the demise of its central place functions.
Representative Properties
At present, no historic resources associated with territorial townsites have been registered or
determined eligible for designation as preservation sites. The following townsite localities appear
to have potential for territorial period archeological sites and/or rural historic landscape features:
Otsego, Northwood, Waterville/Aydt's Town, Portland, Bedford (Lily Pond), and Frankfort -on -the -
Crow.
Information Sources
Records of local townsite development are found in the plats and deeds archived in the Wright
County courthouse. Local narrative histories contain detailed histories of Otsego, Northwood, and
other townsites: see History of Wright County, Minnesota, by Franklyn Curtiss -Wedge (Chicago,
1915) and History of the Zipper Mississippi Valley (Minneapolis, 1881). The Wright county historic
structures inventory maintained by the Minnesota SHPO contains reports and field notes on
townsites compiled by professional and amateur surveyors, but much of this data is incomplete or
Territorial Townsites - 2
outdated.
Goals and Priorities
1. Undertake a comprehensive reconnaissance survey to characterize the range of archeological
and above -ground historic properties likely to be present at 19th century platted townsites,
followed by intensive survey to document individual buildings and sites and evaluate their
significance. Archival research, windshield survey, and walk -over archeological inspection
are probably the most effective ways to gather data on abandoned townsites. Survey and
evaluation must be performed by persons qualified by education, training, and experience
in historical archeology and preservation planning.
2. Background knowledge suggests that the townsites of Otsego and Northwood are most likely
to contain intact archeological sites. Archeological excavation is not recommended unless
a case can be made for the potential of the site to yield data that answers important research
questions or hypotheses.
3. Archival research and field survey will seek to identify and describe buildings and structures
which show the history and development of the village of Otsego (1856-1905), as well as the
sites of 19th century mills, brickyards, lime kilns, and other industrial structures. Special
attention will need to be paid to identifying historic landscape features, such as areas
modified by specific land use practices, roadways and road traces, native and ornamental
trees, boundary markers, and building foundations.
4. Integrate townsite survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic context
document as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
5. Register townsites as historic sites or districts when they meet established criteria for
historical, architectural, archeological, or cultural significance.
Territorial Townsites - 3
HISTORIC CONTEXT VIII:
CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES
This historic context provides a framework for identifying and evaluating churches and cemeteries
which derive their preservation value from distinctive architectural features or important historical
associations.
Related Statewide Historic Context
The Minnesota SHP.O has not yet developed a broad statewide or thematic historic context focused
on churches or cemeteries.
Geographical Boundaries
The city limits define the spatial boundaries for this historic context.
Chronological Limits
The platting of the cemetery and the building of the first church in Otsego both occurred in 1854.
The terminal date of this historic context, 1950, is arbitrary.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
It is probably a safe assertion that until some date in the 20th century, religion remained a greater
concern with the majority of Otsego residents than any secular interest. Very nearly the entire
population counted themselves members of churches. Historically, the churches with the largest
memberships were the Methodist Episcopal and the Roman Catholic. In terms of material culture
(including architecture), the 19th century churches reflected the westward movement of Americans
from New England and the older Middle West into Minnesota, while 20th century churches show
the social effect of an increasingly urbanized region. As social institutions, country churches tended
to diversify their activities into many areas apart from religion, influencing education, medicine, art,
politics, and business and in the process they brought diversity, individualism, and liberalizing
influences to the community.
The first church in Otsego, served by circuit riding Methodist preachers from St. Anthony, was
established at Pleasant Grove in 1854 and was the site of camp meetings until the 20th century. The
first church building was constructed for the use of the Methodists at Otsego townsite in 1857 and
the Lily Pond M.E. church was a focal point of community activity from 1906 to the 1930s.
Architecturally, rural churches were modeled on standardized forms, influenced primarily by the
Romantic period Greek and Gothic revival styles. Most were quite austere, demurely painted white
buildings; if there were distinguishing design details, they were concentrated in the nave, sanctuary,
painted or stained glass windows, belfry or steeple.
Before the 19th century, it was most common to bury the dead in graveyards located in close
proximity to churches, but by the time Otsego was settled the so-called Rural Cemetery Movement
Churches and Cemeteries - 1
was already in full swing. Inspired by romantic perceptions of nature, art, and the melancholy theme
of death (and profoundly influenced by Puritan objections to churchyard burial as a "papist"
practice), rural communities formed cemetery associations to plat and maintain community burial
grounds. In Otsego, the community graveyard took the form of a rustic garden park laid out in a grid
of alleys and plots, enclosed from surrounding farm fields, with luxuriant vegetation provided by
native and ornamental trees and shrubs. Burials were made in compact, east -facing rows, and marked
with inscribed stone tablets, obelisks, and other monuments.
In addition to the community cemetery, there were an unknown number of individual burials and
family cemeteries in Otsego, but only one unplatted burial ground has been recorded as of 1998.
Property Types
This historic context is based on two types of historic resources: religious buildings and burial
grounds. In addition to churches and platted cemeteries, contextual property types include residences
that were used for religious services or meetings, unplatted burial grounds and individual graves,
religious schools, parsonages, and rectories.
Ordinarily, properties owned by religious institutions, churches, cemeteries, and graves are not
considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. However, churches and
cemeteries may be worthy of preservation if they meet the eligibility criteria specified in the city's
preservation code.
Representative Properties
At present, the Otsego Cemetery is the only recorded cemetery site within the city limits. No church -
related sites have been registered or determined eligible for designation as preservation sites.
Information Sources
The Otsego Cemetery 1854 to 1996, published by the Otsego HPC (1996), is the authoritative source
of documentation on that property. Information on local churches is contained in the History of
Wright County, Minnesota, by Franklyn Curtiss -Wedge (Chicago, 1915), History of the Upper
Mississippi Valley (Minneapolis, 1881), and D. R. Farnham's History of Wright County, Illustrated
(Buffalo, 1976). Chauncey Hobart included some details on the Pleasant Grove church in his
History of Methodism in Minnesota (Red Wing, 1887); there is also useful background data in The
Catholic Church in the Diocese of St. Paul from Earliest Origin to Centennial Achievement by
James M. Reardon (St. Paul, 1952). Rural church locations are noted on a number of historic maps
and plats, including: A. T. Andreas' Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota (Chicago,
1874), the 1894 Standard Township Map and Gazetteer of Wright County, the 1901 Plat Book of
Wright County, and the 1931 Atlas and Farmers'Directory of Wright County.
Goals and Priorities
1. Undertake an intensive survey of the Otsego Cemetery, including systematic investigation
Churches and Cemeteries - 2
and recordation of individual grave markers. The survey should document site topography
and natural features, and plat and layout of cemetery plots, the circulation system of
driveways and pathways, views and vistas within the cemetery, fences and other features
used for spatial definition, and the range and variety of gravestone art.
2. In conjunction with the farmstead survey, undertake an intensive architecture/history survey
of the locations of historically documented churches and related buildings, including private
residences the housed religious services between the 1850s and 1950s.
3. Develop a thematic study of mid -19th century Methodist camp meetings at Pleasant
Grove/Otsego using historic accounts, church records, and church histories.
4. Integrate survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic context document
as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
5. Register historic church and cemetery properties that meet established criteria for
significance on the basis of historical, architectural, or artistic distinction.
Churches and Cemeteries - 3
HISTORIC CONTEXT IX:
SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Schools and other public buildings provide evidence of the cultural history of Otsego and document
the development of government, education, communications, and community planning.
Related Statewide Historic Contexts
The Minnesota SHPO has developed a thematic context for Education in Minnesota: The Territorial
Period through Early Statehood (ca. 1848-1880).
Geographical Boundaries
The city limits define the boundaries for this historic context.
Chronological Limits
The first rural school was constructed in 1855. The terminal date for the historic context is 1990,
when Otsego Township was incorporated as a city.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
The district school was the central unit in the American education system and the culmination of
generations of experimentation and evolution. The Land Ordinance of 1875 established the principle
of public funding for education in newly settled areas by dedicating the land receipts from at least
two sections in each township to public schools. However, in Minnesota most of the school sections
were sold early, for as little as $1.25 an acre, and generated only a fraction of the revenue necessary
to establish and operate township schools. Nevertheless, by the time Otsego was settled,
opportunities for local children to learn the three R's was theoretically good, and settlers quickly
implemented a system of rural common schools based on the New England model and financed by
ad valorem taxes on real estate.
The first schools were held in private homes, but a public school opened at Pleasant Grove in 1855
and no fewer than five rural school districts had been organized in the township by 1900. Each
district covered between three and five square miles and was governed by an elected three-member
board of education who hired the teachers, subject to the general supervision of a county school
superintendent. Schoolhouses were constructed of locally available materials and ranged from log
structures to frame buildings. School furnishings were meager and often homemade. In addition to
their educational function, rural schoolhouses also served as community centers, providing space for
school programs open to the public, lyceums, singing schools, and Sunday schools. The earliest
country schools were not tuition -free and there was no approved curriculum before 1881. Pioneer
schools tended to be closely allied with churches and even public schools provided some religious
instruction until an 1877 amendment to the state constitution forbade the practice. A state law
making education compulsory for children did not appear until 1885 and local schools were
ungraded until the turn of the century. Although there was growing popular support for the concept
Schools and Public Buildings - 1
of state -funded elementary schools, as late as 1890 there were many who opposed the establishment
of a public high school or "people's college" combining academic and vocational training. Improved
transportation eventually made the rural districts impractical and the depression of the 1930s
hastened the decline of rural schools in favor of fewer and larger school districts. By 1950 the one
teacher rural school had entirely disappeared.
The Land Ordinance of 1785 established the basic framework for the form of local government
which existed in Otsego from 1858 to 1990. The rectangular survey provided the basic geographic
and political structure for the township, while state law prescribed a governing body consisting of
an annually elected board of supervisors, a town clerk, justices of the peace, and other functionaries,
whose duties and responsibilities changed slightly over time. The seat of local government was the
township hall. Town board meetings were held in private homes until a proper township hall could
be raised, paid for by a special tax on property. The township hall functioned as the chambers of the
town board and justices of the peace and as a polling place, but its principal purpose was to shelter
the participants at the annual town meeting, held every March. As the years passed, the Otsego
township hall was used for a wide range of civic purposes and as the scope of township government
services expanded the building and grounds became increasingly important as equipment and records
storage space.
Property Types
This historic context is represented by buildings whose architectural forms are a reflection of their
civic functions: schoolhouses, public halls, and other publicly financed construction.
Representative Properties
As present, no schools or public buildings have been registered or determined eligible for
designation as preservation sites. The Otsego Township Hall and at least one rural school house (the
District 112 School) survive.
Information Sources
County narrative histories provide the best source of general information on Otsego schools and
township government. A small amount of archival material relating to rural schools is held by the
county and state historical societies, and the state archives contain some of the records of the county
superintendent of schools dating from between 1896 and 1971. Some Otsego Township records
have also been preserved which document the construction and maintenance of various facilities,
including the town hall; those records not kept at City Hall are preserved in the holdings of the
Minnesota Historical Society. Rural school and town hall locations are noted on historic maps and
plats, for example: Andreas' Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota (Chicago, 1874),
the 1901 Plat Book of Wright County, Hixon's 1916 plat book, and the 1931 Atlas and Farmers'
Directory of Wright County.
Schools and Public Buildings - 2
Goals and Priorities
In conjunction with the farmstead architecture/history survey, identify historic properties
associated with education and government and evaluate their significance.
2. Conduct an intensive survey of the Otsego Town Hall property to document its physical
history (including relocation from its original site), describe its architectural features, and
evaluate its historical integrity. Before it can be fully evaluated, more intensive archival
research is required to document historical events and patterns of events associated with the
building itself and with township government activities. It may be necessary to assemble a
building reuse feasibility study team to develop long range plans for rehabilitating the
historic structure and restoring it to active use.
3. Integrate architecture/history survey results into the planning process by adjusting the
historic context document as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
4. Register historic schools and public buildings that meet established criteria for significance
and which retain historical integrity.
Schools and Public Buildings - 3
HISTORIC CONTEXT X:
CONSERVATION AND RECREATION
This historic context is concerned with properties that reflect the preservation, maintenance, and
management of natural resources and the development of outdoor leisure activities in Otsego.
Related Statewide Historic Context
There is no statewide historic context for recreation or conservation resources. However, the
Minnesota SHPO has developed a thematic context, Federal Relief Construction (1933-1941), which
may be applicable to local resources.
Geographical Boundaries
The geographic scope is city wide, including both rural and urbanized areas.
Chronological Limits
The time frame for this historic context begins in 1935, with the passage of the Soil Conservation
Act, and ends arbitrarily in 1975.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
The consideration of soil and water as natural resources worthy of conservation is a fairly recent
concept. Federal and state government programs to protect natural resources began to make their
presence felt in Otsego immediately after the Great Depression. The Social Conservation Act of
1935 created the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service, or SCS (predecessor
to today's Natural Resources Conservation Service), to deliver technical assistance to private
landowners and early SCS sponsored projects included planting shelterbelts and windbreaks, contour
plowing, and construction of small scale soil stabilization and sediment control structures. The Farm
Forestry Act of 1947 created the Tree Fane Program, aimed at promoting intensive tree planting and
the protection of small farm forests and woodlots.
With respect to the Mississippi and Crow rivers, Federal government involvement in controlling
floods dates from the late 19th century but little actual work was done until after the National Flood
Control Act of 1936. At present, the extent of Army Corps of Engineers involvement in local water
resource projects within the city limits is not well documented.
Otsego's forests, prairies, lakes and rivers supported an abundant and diverse wildlife, which made
the area attractive to sportsmen. The Mississippi River was especially inviting to fishing and duck
hunting enthusiasts. Otsego contains a State Wildlife Management Area along the Crow River and
is included in the Mississippi Wild and Scenic River.
Since the late 19th century, the leisure time of the average Otsego resident has rapidly increased. One
of the important aspects of leisure was the growth of participation sports: school athletics are
Conservation and Recreation - 1
essentially a 20th century phenomenon and based on anecdotal evidence, by 1940 a substantial
number of Otsego residents were participating in widely varied competitions, ranging from
horseshoe pitching to baseball. The impact of cars and highways vastly improved the accessibility
of Otsego's recreation areas (both public and private) and launched a wave of small scale recreation -
oriented development (ball fields, skating rinks, hiking and riding paths, boat launches, picnic areas,
etc.). The automobile also led directly to the rise of community recreation, i.e., leisure services
provided for the benefit of all the people in a given area, an important aspect of postwar suburban
culture.
Property Types
Buildings 'and structures that show the history and development of outdoor recreation areas,
including parks, playgrounds, picnic areas, hiking trails, horse farms, dance halls, campgrounds, and
other sites historically used for sports and other leisure activities. Historic resources associated with
conservation include engineered natural resource structures, scenic vistas, preserved and protected
natural areas, wildlife refuges, and ecological habitat.
Representative Properties
At present, no historic conservation or recreation properties have been registered or determined
eligible for designation as preservation sites.
Information Sources
Information on conservation and recreation is found in records of publicly financed construction,
back issues of local newspapers and periodicals, and in interviews with long-time residents. Aerial
photographs and county highway maps also provide evidence of the development of parks and
conservancy areas. Information on the conservation and recreation resources of the Mississippi and
Crow rivers is found in The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota by Thomas F. Waters (Minneapolis,
1977).
Goals and Priorities
1. Undertake a comprehensive reconnaissance survey to characterize the range of historic
properties associated with conservation and recreation, followed by intensive survey to
document individual buildings, sites, and structures and evaluate their significance. Initially,
the focus of the survey should be on properties constructed prior to ca. 1950.
2. Develop a thematic study on soil and water conservation efforts in Otsego from ca. 1933 to
1950, focusing on the activities of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, the Minnesota
Department of Conservation, and the Wright County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The activities of the Works Progress Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and
the U.S. Department of Wildlife and Fisheries also warrant study to determine whether any
of their projects produced or impacted historic properties in Otsego.
Conservation and Recreation - 2
3. Develop a thematic study on parks and recreation in Otsego from ca. 1933 to 1975.
4. Integrate survey and thematic study results into the planning process by adjusting the historic
context document as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
5. Register historic properties associated with conservation and recreation that meet established
criteria for significance.
Conservation and Recreation - 3
HISTORIC CONTEXT XI:
GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES OF HISTORICAL INTEREST
This historic context deals with the geography behind the history of Otsego and the imprints of Euro -
Americans on the landscape. Geology, topography, soils, and vegetation provide the physical context
for historic properties and contribute to their significance. Some natural features may have also
acquired historical significance in their own right.
Related Statewide Historic Context
The Minnesota SHPO has developed a statewide thematic context for Geographic Features of
Cultural Significance.
Geographical Boundaries
The geographic scope of this historic context is city wide.
Chronological Limits
In an important sense, the time scale for this historic context is geological or biological, rather than
cultural. However, for the sake of convenience, the historic context has been limited to the period
from ca. 1650 to 1950.
Historical Patterns, Themes, Trends
Otsego lies within the Alexandria Moraine Area physiographic area, on the western edge of the
Anoka Sand Plain, and forms part of the Eastern Broadleaf Forest ecological province. The area is
drained by the Mississippi River, which is joined by the Crow River; together, these rivers form the
northern, western, and part of the southern boundaries of the city. The upper Mississippi between
St. Anthony Falls and Little Falls consists of a series of relatively deep pools separated by shoals and
rapids, with numerous islands; during the white pine logging era (which lasted from 1837 until
1919), sawlogs were driven down the Mississippi to the mills at St. Anthony, and boom companies
acquired many of the islands between Wright and Sherburne counties. The Crow River empties into
the Mississippi at Dayton and drains one of central Minnesota's principal watersheds; in its natural
condition, it was a comparatively fast moving, clear stream, but since the late 19th century it has
been dammed, dredged, ditched, and channelized. A small unnamed creek which flows through the
historic Otsego townsite is the only tributary of the Mississippi between the Clearwater and the Crow
rivers.
Away from the rivers, the land surface includes both undulating plains and some rough, dissected
uplands, but local relief nowhere exceeds 100 feet. The best farmland is on the rolling uplands,
where fertile loamy soils have formed in thick glacial till overlying Paleozoic bedrock strata. Low
morainic hills, swells and swales are scattered across the face of the city, and these are interspersed
with shallow ice block depressions and lake basins. Agriculture has resulted in the silting up of most
of Otsego's upland lakes, a trend first observed in the late 19th century. Most of the smaller wetlands
Geographic Features of Historical Interest - 1
and sloughs shown on old plats have also been drained for conversion to cropland. Bench -like
glacial outwash terraces flank both the Mississippi and the Crow and these landforms display
abundant evidence of erosion, with numerous ravines and gullies and numerous large boulders
(erratics transported by glacial ice and meltwater) scattered across the surface. 19th century
industrialists in the neighborhood of Otsego village burned the limestone boulders to produce
quicklime and exploited local clay deposits for manufacturing both buff -colored and red bricks.
The natural or pre -settlement vegetation of Otsego, which can be reconstructed from the 1855
government land survey records and from pollen data, reflects changing environmental conditions.
For the last several thousand years, the dominant plant community was maple -basswood forest, or
Big Woods, dominated by fire -sensitive hardwoods species such as elm, basswood, sugar maple, and
red oak. Both the Mississippi and the Crow were flanked by floodplain forests with a riparian plant
community dominated by elm, maple, ash, willow, and cottonwoods. The paper birch was also
formerly abundant and was an important resource for Indians. Both the upland maple -basswood
forest and the lowland floodplain forest were interspersed with small prairie openings and shrub
thickets. Thus, the Otsego landscape stood in stark contrast to the expansive oak savanna, upland
prairie, and bur oak openings on the eastern side of the Mississippi.
Human activities have changed the forest environment to a great extent. Nearly all of the native plant
communities in Otsego have been substantially altered by agriculture and other development. The
Big Woods have been reduced to a few scattered groves of old-growth oak, maple, and basswood,
creating the appearance of a prairie land. Fires, land clearing, and grazing have also transformed the
floodplain ecosystem into a second -growth forest and there is probably no intact native prairie
anywhere within the city limits. New plant species abound, including many non-native ornamental
and shade trees, tame grasses and noxious weeds, and nursery and orchard plantings. Some specimen
trees, mostly oaks and maples, and groves of pine and spruce planted as windbreaks or tree farms
have acquired historical significance in their own right as rural landscape features.
Property Types
Natural features of historical or cultural interest include hills, lakes, rivers, forests, prairies, wetlands,
soil, and rocks, as well as quarries and clay pits, woodlots and groves, specimen trees, and viewsheds
or vistas.
Representative Properties
At present, no historic landscape properties have been registered or determined eligible for
designation as preservation sites.
Information Sources
Primary sources on Otsego's natural history are the government land surveyor field notes and plats
preserved in the archives of the Minnesota Secretary of State; the reports of the Minnesota
Geological and Natural History Survey, particularly Warren Upham's "Geology of Wright County"
in Volume H of the Final Report; old aerial photographs flown by the Soil Conservation Service;
Geographic Features of Historical Interest - 2
and historic township plats.
This historic context is based in part on general works on the geology, ecology, environment, and
land use history of central Minnesota, including: Soil Survey of Wright County, Minnesota (St. Paul,
1968); Atlas of Minnesota Resources and Settlement by John R. Borchert and Neil Gustafson (St.
Paul, 1980); and Minnesota's Natural Heritage: An Ecological Perspective, by John R. Tester
(Minneapolis, 1995).
Goals and Priorities
1. Undertake a thematic study of geographic features of historical interest, focusing on the
distribution of natural vegetation and soil types and other environmental factors that may
have contributed to the location and development of historic properties. The impact of human
activities on the environment should also be considered.
2. In corijunction with architecture/history and archeological surveys, compile data on geology,
topography, soils, vegetation, wildlife, and other natural resources that provide the physical
context for prehistoric and historic properties in Otsego.
3. Develop a thematic study on the destruction of the Big Woods (maple -basswood forest),
using original government survey field notes, plats, and other primary sources. If feasible,
identify remnants of pre -settlement forest and develop strategies for their preservation,
protection, and use.
4. Integrate thematic study and survey results into the planning process by adjusting the historic
context document as necessary to reflect new information and interpretations.
5. Register geographic features as rural historic landscapes when they meet established criteria
for historical significance.
Geographic Features of Historical Interest - 3
OTSEGO HISTORIC CONTEXTS
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Manuscript Material
Buffalo. Wright County Auditor, Recorder, and Clerk of Court. Maps and plats, road records, deeds,
and county commissioner minutes. 1855-.
Minneapolis. Borchert Map Library, University of Minnesota. Air Photos of Wright County. 1937,
1940, 1953, 1957, 1963, 1970, 1975. [U.S. Department of Agriculture]
St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Society. Otsego Township Records, 1858-1990.
St. Paul. Secretary of State. Field Notes of Township Exterior and Subdivision Survey Lines and
Township Survey Plat of T121N R23 -24W, 1855 [records of the Surveyor General of Iowa
and Wisconsin].
St. Paul. State Historic Preservation Office, Minnesota Historical Society. "Tier 1: Precontact Period
Contexts," "Tier 1: Contact Period Contexts," "Tier 1: Postcontact Period Contexts," and
"Tier 2: Thematic Contexts." Typescripts.
Washington, D.C. National Archives. Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Censuses of the United States, 1860,
1870, 1880. Microfilmed population census schedules for Wright County, Minnesota.
Unpublished Duplicated Material
Hackett, John J. "Inventory of Rural and Community Places in Wright County." Unpublished
manuscript. St. Paul: State Historic Preservation Office, June, 1978. Photocopy on file at the
State Historic Preservation Office, St. Paul.
Myers, Mouraine Baker. "Ghost Towns and Vacated Townsites in Wright County." Unpublished
manuscript. St. Paul: State Historic Preservation Office, [1975?]. Photocopy on file at the
State Historic Preservation office, St. Paul.
Pluth, Edward John. "Account of Winnebago Indian Affairs ar Long Prairie, Minnesota Territory,
1848-1855." Unpublished master's thesis, St. Cloud State College, 1963. Photocopy at the
Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.
Published Sources
Anderson, Martin J. The Development of the Dairy Products Industry in Minnesota. Minnesota
Dairy and Food Dept. Bull. 52. St. Paul, 1914.
Andreas, A. T. Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Minnesota. Chicago: Andreas, 1874.
Bibliography - 1
Anfinson, Scott F. A Handbook of Minnesota Prehistoric Ceramics. St. Paul: Minnesota
Archaeological Society, 1979.
Atlas and Farmers'Directory of Wright County, Minnesota. [St. Paul]: Webb Publishing Company,
1931.
Atlas of Wright County, Minnesota. Fergus Falls: Thomas O. Nelson Co., 1964.
Bidwell, Percy Wells, and John I. Falconer. History of Agriculture in the Northern United States,
1620-1860. New York: John Wiley, 1941.
Borchert, John R., and Neil Gustafson. Atlas of Minnesota Resources & Settlement. 3rd ed. St. Paul:
State Planning Agency, 1980.
Brown, Ralph H. Historical Geography of the United States. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World,
1948.
Curtiss -Wedge, Franklyn, ed. History of Wright County, Minnesota. 2 vols. Chicago: H. C. Cooper,
Jr., & Co., 1915.
Edwards, Russell J. Soil Survey Wright County, Minnesota. U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil
Conservation Service in cooperation with the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1968.
Farnham, Daniel R. D. R. Farnham's History of Wright County, Illustrated, 1880. Buffalo: Wright
County Historical Society, 1976. Originally published as newspaper articles, 1880-1883.
French, C. A., and Frank B. Lamson. Condensed History of Wright County: 1851-1915. Delano:
Eagle Printing Co., 1935.
Gebhard, David and Tom Martinson. A Guide to the Architecture of Minnesota. Minneapolis:
University of Minnesota Press, 1977.
Gibbon, Guy E., ed. The Woodland Tradition in the Western Great Lakes: Papers Presented to
Elden Johnson. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1990.
Hickerson, Harold. Ethnohistory of the Chippewa in Central Minnesota. New York: Garland, 1974.
. Mdewakanton Band of Sioux Indians. New York: Garland, 1974.
History of the Upper Mississippi Valley, containing the Geology of the Upper Mississippi River and
Saint Louis Valleys ... Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Co., 1881.
Inventory of the County Archives of Minnesota: Wright County. Minnesota Historical Records
Survey Project, Works Projects Administration. St. Paul, 1940.
Bibliography - 2
Jarchow, Merrill E. The Earth Brought Forth: A History of Minnesota Agriculture to 1885. St. Paul:
Minnesota Historical Society, 1949.
Johnson, Elden. Prehistoric Peoples of Minnesota. Rev. ed. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society,
1988.
ed. Aspects of Upper Great Lakes Anthropology: Papers in Honor of Lloyd A. Wilford.
St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1974.
Larsen, Arthur J. The Development of the Minnesota Road System. St. Paul: Minnesota Department
of Highways, 1966.
Map of Ramsey and Hennepin Counties. With Adjacent Portions of Anoka, Wright, Carver, Scott,
Dakota and Washington Counties. 1890. Printed map on file, Minnesota Geological Survey.
Marshner, F. J. The Original Vegetation of Minnesota. St. Paul: North Central Forest Experiment
Station, 1974. Re -draft of 1930 map.
Merritt, Raymond H. Creativity, Conflict & Controversy: A History of the St. Paul District, U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1979.
Meyer, Roy W. History of the Santee Sioux: United States Indian Policy on Trial. Lincoln:
University of Nebraska Press, 1967.
Minnesota Department of Highways. Great River Road in Minnesota: A Review. St. Paul, 1969.
Myers, Mouraine Baker. 101 Best Stories of Wright County. Buffalo: Wright County Historical
Society, 1976.
Norin, Elaine, comp. The Otsego Cemetery 1854 to 1996. Otsego Heritage Preservation
Commission, 1996.
. Otsego In the Beginning 1852 to 1880. Otsego Heritage Preservation Commission, 1996.
Official County Plat Book and Farmers' Directory of Wright County, Minnesota. Mankato: Farm
Plat Book Publishing Co., 1956.
Plat Book of Wright County, Minnesota. Minneapolis: Northwest Publishing Co., 1901.
Plat Book of Wright County, Minnesota. Minneapolis: Hudson Map Co., 1928.
Prosser, Richard S. Rails to the North Star. Minneapolis: Dillon Press, 1966.
Radan, Paul. The Winnebago Tribe. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1970.
Bibliography - 3
Robinson, Edward V. D. Early Economic Conditions and the Development of Agriculture in
Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1915.
The Standard Township Map and Gazetteer of Wright County, Minnesota. Minneapolis: The Central
Publishing Company, 1894.
State Highway Department. Road Map of Minnesota. St. Paul: McGill -Warner Co., 1920.
. Official Road Map of Minnesota. St. Paul, 1946.
Tester, John R. Minnesota's Natural Heritage: An Ecological Perspective. Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press, 1995.
U.S. Bureau of the Census. Agriculture of the United States in 1860; Compiled from the Original
Returns of the Eighth Census. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1864.
_. United States Census of Agriculture 1925: The Northern States. Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1927.
. Sixteenth Census of the United States: Agriculture. Volume 1. Washington: Government
Printing Office, 1942.
. Sixteenth Census of the United States: Housing. Volume 1. Washington: Government
_Printing Office, 1943.
Upham, Warren. "The Geology of Wright County," in Minnesota Geological and Natural History
Survey, The Geology of Minnesota, Vol. 17 of the Final Report, pp. 242-263. St. Paul, 1882.
_. Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. Reprint edition.
St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1969. Wright County, pp. 586-592.
Waters, Thomas F. The Streams and Rivers of Minnesota. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 1977.
Winchell, N. H. The Aborigines of Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society, 1911.
Bibliography - 4