Profile 2012 - Agriculture

Richland County Historical Society Wilkin County Historical Society

McLeod Museum Bagg Bonanza Farm

|B2 • DAILY NEWS • NEWS-MONITOR Profile FRIDAY, FEB. 25 & TUESDAY, FEB. 28, 2012

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Artifacts tell the story of the pastBY MILES TRUMP • DAILY [email protected]

Talk a walk through theRichland County Histori-cal Museum in Wah-peton, and you just mightbe overwhelmed with theamount of historypacked into the morethan 12,500 square feet ofdisplay space.

Native American arti-facts. Antique farm tools.Rosemeade Pottery.Rooms from early homes.Recreated shops that de-pict "yesteryear." That's

just a small sampling of amassive collection ofRichland County itemsthat have been donated tothe museum over theyears – items that alonetell stories about the richhistory of the county.

"It's a treasure," LoisBerndt said of the muse-um. Berndt has been pres-ident of the RichlandCounty Historical Society,which oversees the muse-um, going on five years,and has been involved inmuseum endeavors forabout 20 years.

The Richland CountyHistorical Museum wasbuilt in 1965. The histori-cal society was incorpo-rated in 1948 and had amuseum, first located in a

basement room at LeachPublic Library until 1959.It was later moved to theNational Bank Buildingon Dakota Avenue, nowthe Red Door Art Galleryand Museum.

Entrepreneur RobertHughes purchased theproperty where the cur-rent museum sits. Afterhis wife, Laura TaylorHughes, who has a vastcollection of potterythat's housed in the muse-um, passed away in 1959,Hughes built the buildingin memory of her. LauraTaylor Hughes was an ac-tive part of WahpetonPottery in town for yearsbefore her death.

The museum housesthousands of RichlandCounty items donated bypeople since its incep-tion. Some of those peo-ple include local icons,such as Esther Horne, agreat-great-granddaugh-ter of Sacajawea, and, ofcourse, Robert and LauraTaylor Hughes.

The museum's purposeis to "preserve and perpet-uate the history of Rich-land County with arti-facts the pioneers used inbuilding this area," statesa museum brochure.

Many of those artifactsrepresent the county'shistory in farming andagriculture. Down aflight of steps in the mu-seum lie hundreds –maybe thousands – of oldagricultural tools, fromhand tools to reapers andmany more.

"Of course, we wentfrom hand equipment tohorse-drawn equipmentand then to tractor-drawn equipment,"Berndt said. "And we'restill using tractors, butthey're a lot bigger then

‘Of course, we wentfrom handequipment to horse-drawn equipmentand then to tractor-drawn equipment.’

Lois BerndtPresident of the Richland CountyHistorical Society

PHOTOS BY MILES TRUMP • DAILY NEWS

The Richland County Historical Museum is filled to the brimwith early artifacts. Above: a buggy and cutter are on dis-

play at the museum. Below: an interior view of the museumshows a large display area.

SEE MUSEUM, PAGE B3

FRIDAY, FEB. 25 & TUESDAY, FEB. 28, 2012 Profile NEWS-MONITOR • DAILY NEWS • B3|

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Above: a display of an old general store shows many of theproducts early pioneers once purchased at such an estab-

lishment. Below: A family is shown in a historic sittingroom at the Richland County Museum.

MUSEUM: Paying tribute to thefirst pioneers who settled hereCONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

they once were."One of the recreated

shops located in the base-ment is a harness shop,an important businessfor early farmers. "Har-ness makers were impor-tant when they farmedwith horses," Berndtsaid. "Gotta keep youharnesses in goodshape."

Another importantbusiness was in land ac-quisition.

"The land business …was quite prolific herewhen Wahpeton firststarted," Berndt said. "Alot of big companieswould buy up this landand they would rent itout to different farmers."Old record books on thefirst floor of the museumshow how land transac-tions were managed.

In those times, thefarm wife was also an in-tegral part of the farm,Berndt said.

But the museum is farmore than just agricul-ture. A vast collection ofRosemeade Pottery fromLaura Taylor Hughes sitsin glass displays on thefirst floor, next to booksthat capture the historyof cities and townshipsthroughout the county.

In fact, the museumhas an award-winning

book on Richland Coun-ty's history. Along thewest wall of the front en-trance sits another book,this one larger than anyother. According to themuseum, it's the world'slargest registrationbook, weighing a whop-ping 387 pounds and dat-ing back to 1938.

"And it isn't even halfused yet," said Berndt,adding that there are"very few that don't" signthe book when they visitthe museum.

Berndt and the rest ofthe Richland County His-torical Society, which iscurrently at about 25 ac-tive members, overseeand maintain the muse-um. The board holdsmonthly meetings andprograms April throughOctober, when the muse-um is open.

In the future, the muse-um plans to open an in-terpretive center thatwill provide more infor-mation on its RosemeadePottery collection, andwill place a new sign outfront for the display.

The museum is openfrom 1-4 p.m. Tuesday,Thursday, Saturday andSunday from Aprilthrough October. Formore information on themuseum or the RichlandCounty Historical Soci-ety, call 701-642-3075.

Agriculture has always driven Richland County and many ofthe artifacts are ag-related.


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A display of old shoes, including wooden clogs and highbutton boots.

The Richland County Historical Museum is a wonderfulplace to view the past. One of the displays inside, above,

depicts some antique tools used throughout the farmingindustry.

Barbers played an important role in thepast. A display of some of those tools show-

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A wooden go-cart is on display at the Richland County Historical Museum.


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Rural heirlooms showcased at museumBY CARRIE MCDERMOTT • DAILY NEWS

[email protected]

The history of WilkinCounty comes to life atthe Wilkin County His-torical Society Museumin Breckenridge, Minn.Displays of rural lifeduring the early 1900sfills the two-story build-ing.

The society was organ-ized in March 1965 andthe grand opening of themuseum was May 20,1979. All of the furnish-ings and antiques have

been donated. In March1980, the furnishingsand artifacts from a sev-en-room house nearRothsay, which had beenwilled to the historicalsociety by Netti Skaug,were received at herdeath and taken to themuseum.

The museum now haseight rooms furnishedwith antiques, includinga living room and a bed-room, 1920s kitchen, ahospital room, a small

chapel and items froman old bank that was lo-cated in Kent, Minn. onthe main level. The mu-seum's lower level con-tains larger items in-cluding early farm andblacksmith implements,hundreds of hand toolsand early kitchen appli-ances as well as severalroom displays.

Ruth Poppel, treasurerof the historical society,said the displays arechanged out from time totime, depending on newacquisitions and thetype of collection theboard of directors wantsto feature.

"We wanted the olderservice uniforms andput that together a fewyears ago, after request-ing donations," Poppelsaid. "The wedding dressdisplay is one of thenewer displays."

In fact, Wilkin CountyCommissioner Lyle Hov-land donated his U.S.Marine Corps uniformto the display.

Guests to the museumcan view a display fromthe Sheriff's Office fea-turing furniture andtools of the trade – boots,handcuffs and a largetwo-way radio. Photostudio artifacts fromGeorge Lindstrom, whoopened Lindy's PhotoStudio, include a cameraand framed portraits.

A large collection ofcolorful Eversharp pen-cils and keys is on dis-play, courtesy of Dun-can F. Barr, who was thepresident of Farmers &Merchants State Bankfrom 1959-1970. Coins re-covered from the Strat-ford Hotel fire of Jan.28, 1977 are also on dis-play.

‘We wanted the olderservice uniforms andput that together afew years ago, afterrequestingdonations. Thewedding dressdisplay is one of thenewer displays.’

Ruth PoppelTreasurer of the Wilkin CountyMuseum

CARRIE MCDERMOTT • DAILY NEWS

Ruth Poppel, treasurer of the Wilkin County Historical Soci-ety Museum, stands beside one of the displays highlighting

early American artifacts. Treasures from Wilkin County aredisplayed throughout the museum.SEE WILKIN MUSEUM, PAGE B6


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PHOTOS BY CARRIE MCDERMOTT • DAILY NEWS

Above: A display of antique dolls shows the many different types of dollslittle girls played with in the past. Below: Music has always been an impor-

tant part of people’s lives as can be seen by an antique Victrola recordplayer with a wooden needle.

WILKINCOUNTY: Visitthe area’s pastCONTINUED FROM PAGE B5

One of the more unusu-al items displayed in acase are delicate hand-painted and gilded porce-lain mustache cups. Theyfeature a small ledge builtacross the inside of thecup's rim, to keep a man'smustache from gettingsoaked while he sipped.

Music fans can admirethe antique Victrolaphonographs, one featur-ing a wooden needle thatplays. Musical instru-ments on display includeviolins, accordions and atrumpet.

Breckenridge was abuilt around the railroad,and there is a display fea-turing rail yard uniformsand implements used inthe early years, includinglanterns and rail spikes.

The museum, at 704 Ne-braska Ave., Brecken-ridge, is open from May 1to the end of October.Hours are 1:30-4 p.m.,Tuesday, Wednesday,Thursday.

On display is a grouping of old fashioned laundry items.More pictures found on page B7.


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PHOTOS BY CARRIE MCDERMOTT • DAILY NEWS

A display of ancient Indian artifacts showcases the first set-tlers of Wilkin County.

The Wilkin County Historical Society Museum is filled withitems of the past. Above: The display depicts the early era

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Bagg Farm pays tribute to early agriculture

BY KATHLEEN LEINEN • DAILY [email protected]

Agriculture has been apart of North Dakota’spast and will remain apart of its future.

The rich soil of the RedRiver Valley has helpedfeed the world’s popula-tion.

About 100 years ago bo-nanza farms were spring-ing up all over the RedRiver Valley because ofthe area’s rich soil. Bo-nanza farms by theirvery definition are de-fined by the number ofacres owned and farmed.In the case of one bonan-za farm near Mooreton,N.D., the history of thefarm is directly related toa diverse farming econo-my that flourished morethan 100 years ago.

The Bagg BonanzaFarm near Mooreton cel-ebrated its 25th anniver-sary as a preservation so-ciety last year. It took al-most all of this time to re-store each of the build-ings located on the site.The Bagg Farm is a won-derful opportunity to seethe scope of an operationand what it took to manthousands of acres.There is a rich history ofagriculture associatedwith the farm. Tourguides display a broadknowledge, even inter-jecting anecdotes fromthe time the farm wasfounded by F.A. Bagg andhis wife, Sophia.

Pat Ward, member ofthe Bagg Bonanza FarmPreservation Society,said the official openingdate is Memorial Day.The farm will then beopen during the summerfor tours.

The farm was listed as a

National Register of His-torical Places in 1985 andas a State Historic Sites in1986. The 15-acre site ishome to one of the onlypreserved bonanza farmsin the country, Ward said.

The huge house at thefarm underwent someconstruction last yearwhen it was placed on anew foundation. The newbasement has allowedthe foundation to expandits display area andshowcase what original-ly was a place to storeharnesses. Ward said

people can now see a har-ness display in the base-ment of the main house.

The spring of 2012 willconsist of getting thegrounds back into shape.The foundation workfrom last year left deepruts in the grass and tookout a number of shrub-bery and flowers aroundthe house, Ward said.

“Our job this year is tobring that all back,” shesaid. “What is amazing tous is through moving thehouse off its foundation,letting it sit and wait for anew foundation and mov-ing it back, there was on-ly one crack in the wholehouse. That is reallyamazing.”

The Bagg BonanzaFarm has become somuch more than the foun-dation thought it wouldbe when restoration workfirst began. Instead ofsimply “getting the farmback into shape,” it hasalso become a place forconventions, weddings,anniversaries and othercelebrations. It can be aninteresting backdrop toalmost any occasion,Ward said.

Ward and NormaNosek, chairman of theboard, can be reached fortours, weddings and more.Nosek’s number is 701-642-5189, and Ward can bereached at 701-642-2411.

“We already have a num-ber of events scheduled tobe held this year at theBagg Farm,” Ward said.

‘We have 45volunteers whospend quite a bit oftime at the farm. Weare trying to getyounger peopleinterested in joiningour volunteers.’

Pat WardBagg Bonanza Farm

PHOTOS COURTESY BAGG BONANZA FARM

The large barn is shown under construction. The barn can be used for weddings and specialoccasion with an air conditioned interior on the main floor. More pictures found on B9.

Donovan Haertling shows how the originalblacksmith shop once operated. There are a

number of buildings which have beenrestored at the Bagg Bonanza Farm.

J.F. Downing F.A. Bagg Sophia Larson Bagg


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PHOTOS COURTESY BAGG BONANZA FARM

Visitors are fascinated at the restored buildings located at the Bagg Bonanza Farm, alongN.D. Highway 13 near Mooreton. Tour guides have a deep appreciation to the farm’s past and

pass along anecdotal details about the family that used to own this bonanza farm. Below: Anaerial shot of the farm when it was still being used by descendants of the Bagg family.

The machine shed has the rollers in the showcase thatwere used to move seven buildings from the DowningBonanza Farm to the Bagg Bonanza Farm located onemile away. They were moved in 1915 by a house moverfrom Lidgerwood.


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Ties to the past, looking to the futureBY LANDON KAFKA • NEWS-MONITOR

[email protected]

Not too many peopleknow where the “silverprairie” is in NorthDakota.

As the years progress,fewer and fewer of the pi-oneers and ancestors ofthose who originallymoved to the area whereMcLeod, N.D., now sitscan tell you about it.

Never a bustling city,McLeod made its name

when one-room schoolhouses and June grassproduction were all therage.

Since 1995, residents ofMcLeod and members ofthe McLeod PreservationHistorical Society are do-ing their best to passdown their knowledge,stories, and historical ar-tifacts that have madeMcLeod what it is, andwas.

“It started out with thechurch. It sat abandonedfor many years and wassomething very precious

to my wife, and I guess Iwanted to preserve thatfor her,” said KenKensinger, president ofthe McLeod PreservationHistorical Society.

Kensinger has not onlyspent many of the lateryears of his life buildingup the museum complex,but in the process, has ac-quired most if not all ofthe stories that comealong with nearly all theartifacts displayed on themuseum grounds.

The PresbyterianChurch stands in the ex-act place it has been sinceit was built in 1909, nowdisplaying historical ob-jects from as far back asthe 1800s. Trinkets, beltbuckles, model ships, oldbaseball jerseys and awide selection of periodwedding dresses now fillthe space where congre-gations met for decades.There are even two wallsof poster-sized displayswith the detailed histo-ries on many of the fami-lies and events that makeup the history of McLeodand the silver prairie.

“We thought one build-ing would be enough, butas donations have comein over the years, andbuildings have becomemisused or abandoned,we’ve taken them overand preserved them,”Kensinger said.

One such building, Sa-land School No. 10, mightbe the most famous build-ing in the whole town,ever, a national fame thatreached its peak morethan 30 years ago. Theschool house, now refur-bished with a newkitchen and meeting areafor town gatherings, wasone of the last one-roomschool houses in the en-tire country, running in-to the mid-80s.

The long-time teacherin that one-room schoolhouse, Janice Herbran-son, became famous dur-ing the 80s, noted in mag-azines like People andNational Geographic forher continued dedicationto the school in McLeod

COURTESY MCLEOD MUSEUM

The McLeod Museum is a tribute to the pioneers who settled this region.On the site is a one-room school house, church and the museum itself. The

McLeod Preservation Historical Society is passing down knowledge ofhow early pioneers once lived.

‘We thought onebuilding would beenough, but asdonations have comein over the years andbuildings havebecome misused orabandoned, we’vetaken them over andpreserved them.’

Ken KensingerPresident of the McLeodPreservation Historical Society

SEE MCLEOD MUSEUM, PAGE B11


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PHOTOS BY LANDON KAFKA • NEWS-MONITOR

A small house is located on the grounds of the McLeodMuseum. At only 14-feet by 18-feet, it is smaller than manyone-room apartments, but many years ago it was bigenough for a family to live in.

MCLEODMUSEUM:Society is educating onearly pioneersCONTINUED FROM PAGE B10

and legendarily lowsalary, which was $6,800a year when the schoolclosed in 1986.

Many of the originalobjects in the school stillremain chalkboards,desks, and old paintingsof presidents.

The museum alsoadded displays contain-ing the contracts tobuild the school, andother documents relatedto its long time opera-tion.

In recent years, themuseum complex hasadded the Frisk house,complete with some ofthe original furnitureand other period piecesthat have been moved in.They also brought theoriginal train depotback to town, a historyof rural communitiesunto itself, and an oldhomestead house.

The 14-foot by 18-foothouse, which is proba-bly smaller than mostone-room apartments,gives a visitor a goodidea of what it was likefor the families that set-tled Richland County be-fore it was so named.

The McLeod Preserva-tion Historical Societyalso recently wentthrough the trouble offinding the location ofeach and every home-stead in the area, mark-ing it, and taking a pic-ture of the area, a pain-staking task done out oflove for the area theygrew up in.

Much of this informa-tion was then preservedin a publication thegroup created, “Storiesfrom the Grasslands –Homesteads and His-toric sites in McLeodand the Sheyenne Na-tional Grasslands,”which is available at themuseum for a donationof $25. It contains al-most all the stories thatmake up the rich agri-cultural history ofMcLeod. Many of theother stories can beheard by spending a fewhours with Kensinger,although you mightneed days, or months, tohear them all.

The train no longerstops in McLeod, but thebook, buildings, histori-cal research, and peoplestill living there havedone an amazing job ofpreserving the memoryof those that settled thearea.

This tireless effort ofpreservation has at-tracted visitors from allover the world, and iscertainly worth a tripfor any family that hascalled Richland Countytheir home.

The McLeod Historical Preservation Society has done anoutstanding job preserving the town’s past. Each buildingon the grounds is filled with pain-staking attention todetail. The history of the railroad, above, is on display.Below: McLeod is a rural community and as such, agricultur-al equipment is also on display at the museum.


Team Wahpeton

Cargill Corn Milling, headquartered in Wayzata, MN, is a manufacturer of value-addedcorn and sugar based products serving the Food, Feed and Fermentation markets, bothdomestic and export. Cargill operates the Wahpeton facility under a lease agreement withProGold LLC., that began in 1997.

The facility, located northwest of Wahpeton on County Road 8E, is a corn wet millingfacility, which separates corn into four parts: oil, fiber, protein and starch. The oil isextracted from the germ of the corn kernel (at a different Cargill facility) and is consumedprimarily as cooking oil around the world. The fiber and the protein provide high qualityfeed ingredients to the livestock industry. The starch is converted into corn sugar and isdelivered to food and beverage companies in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Mon-tana and the west coast. The plant processes 85,000 bushels of corn per day (30 millionannually).

Cargill has 130 on-site employees and contracts services with Allied Reliability,Eurofins, G4S and UGL Services , which combined, employ an additional 50 people on-site. The plant operates 24 hours per day, 7 days per week with four rotating technicalteams on 12-hour shifts.

The Cargill team has been recognized for various quality, performance and energyexcellence awards over its 14 years. “Those are nice recognitions to receive,” said facili-ty manager Jason Stevens. “The reality of our day to day focus is food safety, environ-mental safety and employee safety. If we take great care of our customers, take great careof our community and take great care of each other, each and every day, we have met ourpromise to Cargill and ourselves.”

To learn more about Cargill, visit us at www.cargill.com

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Profile 2012 - Agriculture

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