Scott County Memories: Change of Times in the Farming Line

These recollections were dictated by Henry L Latzke of Belle Plaine in 1980 and originally shared in the collection “As I Remember Scott County”

Boys with horse. Photo taken around 1910. From the SCHS Collections.

I was born and grew up on the farm Dad owned, a 200 acre farm. At the age of six, Dad had me do all of the hoeing and at seven years of age I did the plowing with a bulky plow outfit that was drawn by three horses. The seeding was done with a seeder that spread the seed on top of the ground and it had eight shovels to cultivate the soil. Then it was harrowed twice, one crosswise and then across the corner to work the seed in. Corn was planted by a hand planter. The field was marked with a homemade marker made of wood, marked two ways, and the corn was planted in the mark so it could be cultivated lengthwise and crosswise.

In 1905, Dad and my uncle bought a fourteen she drill for seeding the small grain, and the next spring, Dad bought a 16 disk drill as it got seed in the ground better. In 1907, Dad bought a cornplanter, and the field was marked crosswise and planted the long way. the planter required two men and was drawn by two horses. One man drove the team, and the two men sat in front and dropped the corn on the cross mark. A lever had to be pulled to drop the seed corn.

The next year the same company that made the planter came out with a wire attachment that saved the time of marking the field.

I farmed on my own in the year of 1924; I bought a John Deere two-row grain drill. I used this until 1938, then I bought a 20 disk drill and used it until 1944. Then bought a 22 disk Moline tractor power lift. The corn was still being planted with horses, and I had four good work horses. The corn on the farm was planted with a two row horse planter, and the biggest part of the hay mowing and raking was also done with horses.

The chick corn with tractor planters did not work out as well as it should have. In 1954, my son bought a tow row mounted to help out. The grain was cut with a six foot Deering binder. There were only three binders at that time: Deering, McMorick and Plano. They shucked as a rule, nine or eleven bundles in a round shuck with some bundles broken and capped to get barley. Eleven bundles as a rule; it required two bundles for the cap. The cap bundle was to keep the wheat from blackening after 7-12 days of being dry. It was stacked with four stacks for a setting. The average stack was six to ten loads. I remember in the beginning of 1900, the separator was run by horse power called a sweep threshing.

Threshing crew near Shakopee, around 1910. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Wood sawing and grinding were all horse powered and the separator had no blower to remover the straw as it was passed from man to man onto the stack. Bundles were cut and fed by man. The first steamer that threshed for us was moved from farm to farm by horses. Haas and Winterfeldt had the first completed steam power thresher in our neighborhood and they threshed our grain for quite a number of years. We were last at the very end of the run. John Haas was our neighbor, and our rig was shedded there. His first three boys and himself were with the outfit as the years went on. One year as we threshed, we had close to a foot of snow Dad raked it off the stacks to keep them from freezing.

In 1915 or 1916, Fred Blume ought a gas tractor. He owned a steamer also. In the winter or spring he sawed lumber. In 1917 he sawed lumber after Thanksgiving day for a barn on the farm that I farmed until I retired.

Frederick Bohnsack Sitting on a Tractor, 1952. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

I lived on his farm to take care of the livestock and hauled cord wood to Belle Plaine for three years. Before that, we had a family to take care of the stock. The first year we had 76 head of cattle and over a dozen horses. We farmed in partnership, and we farmed three farms in 1920. I married and still farmed. In 1923 I bought a tractor. I used the tractor for power to fill the silo and it was used for belt work and plowing too. I still did some plowing with horses. In 1924, I traded the Fordson in on an 10-20 International as it was ma more powerful tractor, and in 1936 traded int in for an Allis and that was a three plow outfit.

In 1936, when I bought the Allis tractor it was on all steel wheels. In 1938 I assembled it on rubber. Te beginning of 1936 I did custom silo filling and filled in forty silos each fall. For grain threshing we had seven farmers, mostly neighbors, and they all had shares in the threshing machine. I used my tractor for power, and took care of the machine. The elevator, machine, and tractor were shedded on my farm.

In 1948 we went to combining the grain.

Under Construction

The windows and walls at SCHS are currently rattling with the new Scott County building construction going on down the street!

We have quite a few photos in our collections of iconic structures around Scott County as they were being built. Check out these construction images! See if you can guess what is being built before you read the caption!

Shakopee Ferry Crossing, 1879. In the background, you can see the supports for the Lewis Street Swing Bridge under construction. Photo from the SCHS Collections

Addition to Mudbaden Health Spa in Jordan, around 1915. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Building a barn in St Joe, around 1920. Photo from the SCHS collections.

Construction of the Holmes Street Bridge in Shakopee, 1928. From the SCHS Collections.

New addition to Mudbaden ouside of Jordan, around 1930. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

St Francis Hospital Shakopee, 1952. Photo from the SCHS Collections

First National Bank in Shakopee, 1972. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Historic Breweries of Scott County

Shakopee Brewery

The first brewery in the Minnesota River Valley, Shakopee Brewery opened in 1855. The facility was founded by H.H. Strunk (also the proprietor of Strunk Drug). Strunk owned Shakopee Brewery until, interested in other pursuits, he sold the business to Andrew Winkler in 1863, who retained ownership until his death in 1870.

After 1870, Winkler’s widow, Mary, continued to manage brewery operations. Five years later, she married a German Master Brewer named Hubert Nyssen and the two continued to run Shakopee Brewery together.

Unfortunately, the building was destroyed by fire in 1885. Fire was a huge concern in early brewing due to the dangerous combination of wood or coal heating and the dry, airborne dust produced when grain was industrially ground. Luckily, the family had enough capital to invest in rebuilding the facility. Shakopee brewery remained a fixture of the community until prohibition forced it to close in 1920.

You can still see the ruins of the brewery today, along the Minnesota River bike path, on the northwest edge of the city.

Shakopee Brewery, 1907. Photograph from the SCHS Collections

Hubert Nyssen, around 1920. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Schutz and Hilgers Jordan Brewery

The Jordan Brewery was founded in 1866. Like the Shakopee Brewery, it was started by a prominent local businessman – in this case Frank Nicolin. The structure of Jordan brewery was built to last with limestone and brick walls more then 3 feet thick. Nicolin sold the building soon after it’s opening, and in 1867 it took on the name Sand Creek Brewing, run by partners Sebastian Gehring and Frank Paier, who ran the business for almost 20 years. In 1885 they decided to sell to Peter Schutz and William Kaiser. Kaiser left the partnership, and by 1902 the facility was owned jointly by Peter Schultz and Peter Hilgers, whose names have remained with the brewery building ever since.

Like breweries around the country. Schutz and Hilgers closed in 1920, but reopened immediately upon prohibition’s repeal in 1933. At its height, Schutz and Hilgers brewed 40,000 barrels of beer annually and distributed to seven states.

In 1946 the brewery facilities were bought by Mankato Brewing Company, but they were soon forced to shut down due to financial difficulties. Finally, in 1954, the building caught fire during construction work, and nearly burned to the ground. The ruins were left vacant for many years until the city considered demolishing the property. Today, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has been refurbished into retail property.

Schutz and Hilgers Brewery, around 1940. Photograph from the SCHS Collections.

Lable from Schutz and Hilgers, around 1940. From the SCHS Collections.

Kokes Brewery, New Prague

Kokes Brewry was started by brothers-in-law Thomas Kokes and Albert Minars in 1884. Kokes, like many other early brewery owners, was a prominent local businessman who also owned a general store. Located at the corner of Second Avenue NW and Fifth Street N, the brewery advertised itself as “using clear hops and malts” and having a modern “steam operated” plant. Minars left the partnership in 1887, but Kokes remained an active owner for many years. The brewery was a prominent local employer, and delivered barrels to many small communities nearby New Prague.

When prohibition hit in 1920, the facility switched to selling soft drinks and malted non-alcoholic cereal beverages. Unfortunately, this new business model was not as profitable, and the business closed in 1931. Today, the historic building houses apartments.

1891 plat map of New Prague. Kokes Brewery is marked with a black square, in the upper right-hand corner.

Schmitt Brewery, Belle Plaine

Schmitt Brewery was opened by Albert Swinger in 1860. It cost $500.00 to build, and was located Northeast of town along what came to be known (aptly) as brewery creek. In 1866, Schmitt Brewery fell victim, like many other early breweries, to a fire, and Swinger was forced to rebuild.

Ownership of the brewery fluctuated after the fire. City records list B. Osterfeldt as proprietor in 1870, but Christian Schmitt purchased the brewery in 1871.

In 1877 the building burned down yet again and was rebuilt by Schmitt. For many years, Schmitt brewery was a local business, with a capacity of 10 barrels per day. Schmitt began to expand, increasing the capacity to 500 barrels per year and starting a bottling line, but his health was failing. In 1905, Schmitt passed away, leaving the brewery to his sons. It finally closed in 1916 after being outsold by competition from larger, regional brewing facilities.

Schmitt Brewery around 1900. Photograph from the SCHS Collections.

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager

History of Mudbaden: Part 3

Looking for parts one and two? Check them out the last two blog posts!

The Mud Harvest  

Mud harvest at Mudbaden, 1915. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Despite Mudbaden’s fancy new offerings, the base of the spa still rested in the mud. The sulfur-laden mud around the property was harvested each day and taken into the spa for use in treatments.  

The process was labor-intensive. First, the mud was dug out of the ground with a hand operated crane and loaded into a cart on a small rail track that was built for the sole purpose of moving mud. The cart was drawn, again by hand, into a space known as the mud room. This space featured a large mixer connected to a gas engine. The mixer broke up the mud and staff removed any vegetation or rocks that had become mixed into the muck. The mud was then heated, creating the proper temperature and consistency for curative processes.  

Mudbaden’s “Cures”  

Mens’ mudroom at Mudbaden, around 1910. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

The health treatments at Mudbaden took place in “mud rooms” that were divided by gender. When patients went in for their treatment, they would be directed to mud tables. These were massive steel tables with a shallow basin on top where hot mud was placed 3-6 inched deep. As patients laid in the muck, additional mud was placed over them, covering their bodies except for their faces.  

The goal of the treatment was to sweat in the sulfur-rich air. After the mud treatment, patients were rinsed in a large tub in the center of the room, and then wrapped in blankets and given sulfur-infused water to rink to increase their sweat. Finally, they were taken to a “cooling room”, and given a massage.  

These treatments all took place in the morning, leaving the afternoons free for entertainment and relaxation.  

Did it work? 
Though Mudbaden advertised its sulfur services for many different ailments, the most common patient complaint was rheumatism, or arthritis. While the treatment would not have “cured” arthritis, heat and humidity are still used today to help control pain. There is some scattered evidence that also points to sulfur also helping with arthritis pain, but no large, well-controlled studies have ever been conducted.  

If nothing else, spending a period of time relaxing, getting daily massages, and being catered to by room service likely made many patients who suffered from chronic pain feel temporarily better.  

Still Growing 

Staff at Mudbaden, around 1910. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Mudbaden continued to grow in size and popularity throughout the 1920s. By 1924 the facility had a medical staff of four doctors, four nurses and one lab technician, as well as three massage specialists. The medical offerings of the resort expanded, adding an x-ray machine and two operating rooms. Forty-two other employees also lived on site, harvesting mud and providing hospitality services.  

Mudbaden experienced a bit of a lag during the depression and years of World War 2. In 1948 that facility was sold again to David E Braum of Chicago. By 1950, advances in modern medicine had, to many people’s minds, rendered the services offered at Mudbaden obsolete.  

New Tenants 

On July 1st, 1952, Mudbaden closed its doors. The facility was purchased by The Sacred Heart Novitiate, and affiliate of the University of  in South Bend, Indiana. The building was occupied by postulates and used in the training of prospective Catholic priests. Trainees stayed for one year at the facility, living mostly in silence. Religious vows were taken at the end of the years, after which the novices returned to Notre Dame to continue their academic religious studies.  

In 1969 the facility changed hands again and became known as Lynnville, a rehabilitation center for alcohol addiction. In the late 1970s services expanded, offering drug treatment services as well.  

In 1985, Mudbaden was purchased by Scott County, which still owns the property today. Initially it was used as a minimum-security jail annex. Today, the former Mudbaden is known as the SCALE Regional Public Safety Training Facility. The buildings are used for training and education opportunities for Law Enforcement, Firefighters, Public Works, and other county services.  

If you have the opportunity to attend a class or visit the facility, you can still see its former glory in graceful woodwork and large airy windows. Even if you are unable to go inside, it it still worth it to drive by and see this building that was once the medical pride of Scott County! 

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager