Oliver H. Kelley Homestead | |
Location | 15788 Kelley Farm Road, Elk River, Minnesota |
---|---|
Coordinates | 45°15′27″N93°32′18″W / 45.25750°N 93.53833°W Coordinates: 45°15′27″N93°32′18″W / 45.25750°N 93.53833°W |
Area | 189 acres (76 ha) |
Built | 1850–1870, 1876 |
Architect | Unknown |
Architectural style | Italianate [1] |
NRHP reference No. | 66000406 [2] |
Significant dates | |
Designated NHL | July 19, 1964 [3] |
Designated NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
The Oliver Kelley Farm is a farm museum in Elk River, Minnesota, United States. From 1850 to 1870 it was owned by Oliver Hudson Kelley, one of the founders of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, the country's first national agrarian advocacy group. The Oliver Kelley Farm is operated as a historic site by the Minnesota Historical Society. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1964 under the name Oliver H. Kelley Homestead—which also places it on the National Register of Historic Places—for its national significance in the themes of agriculture and social history. [1] It was nominated as a representative of the beginnings of agrarian activism in the United States, setting the stage for the Farmers' Alliance and the People's Party of the late 19th century. [4]
Oliver Kelley (1826–1913) moved to Minnesota in 1849, the year that Minnesota Territory was formed. Although he knew little about farming, he taught himself using agricultural journals and correspondence with other "scientific-oriented" farmers. He became an expert on farming in Minnesota, and he learned how adverse events such as bad weather, debt, insect pests, and crop failures could devastate a farmer's fortunes. [5] In 1864, he became a clerk in the United States Department of Agriculture. After the end of the American Civil War, he toured the agricultural resources of the Southern states. When he returned to Washington, D.C., he was convinced that farmers' fortunes could be improved through cooperative associations with other farmers. Along with several other associates, he founded the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry in 1867. The following year Kelley returned to this farm, helping organize Minnesota's state-level Grange and 37 local Granges. [4] [6]
Kelley moved back to Washington, D.C., in 1870, suffering from ill health but still active in Grange leadership. [4] The extant farmhouse was built in 1876 on the foundations of the original Kelley family farmhouse. [7] The farm remained in the ownership of the family until 1901. The National Grange bought the farm in 1935 and donated it to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1961. Today, the farm offers tours by guides in period costume, who invite visitors to help out with farm chores such as picking vegetables, churning butter, and making soap. [5]
In 2003, state budget shortfalls threatened closure for the historical site. In response, the group Friends of the Kelley Farm was organized to help raise money to close the funding gap. The Friends group also supports the educational goals of the site and works for the site's preservation. [8]
In 2017, the Minnesota Historical Society opened a new visitor center and modern Farm Lab area with a barn, garden and cropland. These new facilities in combination with Kelley's historic 1860s farmstead allow the historic site to explore agricultural history from the 1860s through modern day. [9]
The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture. The Grange, founded after the Civil War in 1867, is the oldest American agricultural advocacy group with a national scope. The Grange actively lobbied state legislatures and Congress for political goals, such as the Granger Laws to lower rates charged by railroads, and rural free mail delivery by the Post Office.
Oliver Hudson Kelley is one of the key founders of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a fraternal organization in the United States.
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The Bear Valley Grange Hall is a historic meeting hall in Chester Township, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1874 for the exclusive use of a local chapter of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, an early farmers' advocacy group and fraternal organization. The chapter folded in the 1880s and the building has been used since as the Chester Town Hall. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 for having local significance in the theme of social history. It was nominated for being the only surviving Grange hall in Wabasha County—and one of only a few in Minnesota—and a rare example of a purpose-built Grange hall, as most chapters met in existing spaces like schools.
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Crescent Grange Hall #512 is a former meeting hall of the Grange agricultural society in Lindwood Township, Minnesota, United States. It was built from 1881 to 1882 by a chapter of the State Grange of Minnesota, the first state-level subdivision of the National Grange. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for its local significance in the themes of agriculture and social history. It was nominated for being a well preserved example of an early meeting hall built by a subordinate Grange.
The Bonde Farmhouse is a historic farmhouse located in Wheeling Township in Rice County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from Nerstrand. The private home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on April 6, 1982. The farmhouse is significant both for its association with a prominent Norwegian immigrant family as well as its local limestone construction and outstanding integrity.
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The David Hanaford Farmstead is a historic farm in Monticello Township, Minnesota, United States. It was first settled in 1855 and features a farmhouse built in 1870 and a barn from around the same time. The farmstead was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 for having local significance in the themes of agriculture and exploration/settlement. It was nominated for being "an excellent example of an early Wright County farmstead developed by a pioneer family from New England."
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