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Celebrating and preserving history…everyday!
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Events | Library | Gustaf's | Research Library | Moody Round Barn
Other Local Landmarks | Cemeteries | Donations and Artifacts | Membership
~ Events ~
A History of Chisago County, 1851-2001 book sale Franconia Sesquicentennial
The Franconia Township Sesquicentennial Committee is planning several events later this summer to celebrate Franconia’s 150 years in the heart of the St Croix River Valley. Franconia’s golden era lasted barely 30 years, from 1852-1881, but during those years it grew from an area covered with hardwood forests to a booming river town. Once part of the region claimed by both Ojibwa and Dakota tribes, its modern history begins in 1852 with the arrival of Ansell Smith who claimed land about two miles south of Taylors Falls. He setup the first store in the village and became its first postmaster in 1854. On February 24, 1858, Ansell Smith appeared at the Taylor’s Falls Land Office to record his plat, Franconia. Eight months following the recording, a formal organization of the township and first election was held on October 25, 1858. The public is encouraged to join in the year-long celebration. Bloom Family Concert Summer Garden Tour Community Picnic on August 2nd October Pleasant Valley Orchard Event. Sesquicentennial embossed pottery (2 quart jug & 16 oz mug) are available for purchase. For event details and pottery order information, email: Franconiatwpmn150years@yahoo.com |
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An extensive history of the county - A
History of Chisago County, 1851-2001.
The book contains pictures, facts, and personalized stories of
the county from the beginnings of settlement to recent times.
There are special sections on each of the villages and townships,
listings of county commissioners, Century farms, local legislators, and
historical sites. Authors
were Lloyd Hackl, Bob Porter, and Leilani Freeman.
Indexed, 291 pages, softcover 8 ½ X 11.
The book is available for purchase at the History Center ($21.30
including sales tax) or by sending a check for $26.00 (includes book,
sales tax, and shipping) to the Chisago County Historical Society, The History Center has other local history books available for sale as well as coloring books on logging and farming for children, post cards and miscellaneous history related gift items. |
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The Chisago County Historical Society has its Research Library and offices in a late 1880s Queen Anne house at 13100 Third Ave. No., northeast of downtown Lindström . The bookshelves are filled with publications relating to county history and its early pioneers, local events, cemetery burials, and family histories. There are also microfilm copies of many of the early newspapers. All materials are for reference use in the library and can not be checked out. The collection is continually expanding. There is a group meeting room and off-street parking available for school groups and other educational programs. Genealogy workshops are held on the third Sunday of each month at 2 p.m. The library is open by appointment and on the third Sunday of each month. To schedule an appointment, call 651-257-5310 or email the office. |
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Index to Microfilm Collection available at Chisago County History Center Newspapers
published in Center City Newspapers
published in Chisago City Newspapers
published in Lindstrom Newspapers
published in Rush City Newspaper
published in Stacy Newspapers
published in Taylors Falls Newspapers
published in Wyoming Miscellaneous
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One of the crown jewels of Lindström, this house was built in 1879 by Gustaf and Helena Anderson upon their return to Minnesota from the Montana gold fields. Several generations of the Anderson family lived in the house prior to its conversion to non-residential use in 1971. The home is distinctive among those in the Chisago Lakes area for its Italianate brick exterior and Victorian high style interior. Listed on the National Register of Historic Sites, it is located on main street (Hwy 8) within walking distance of downtown’s quaint and unique shops. Come spend the day in Lindström and visit our historic house museum! The home is a focal point in Minnesota’s “Little Sweden”. Filled with local historical artifacts and artwork, it stands as tribute to the “rags to riches” status achieved by the hard work of early immigrants and continues to tell their stories. Group tours and gatherings are available by appointment. All proceeds benefit Chisago County Historical Society education programs. Call 651-257-5310 or email for appointments or reservations. |
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Moody Barn - the last round barn in
Chisago County
On the National Register of Historic
Sites. The Moody farm was homesteaded in 1871 by Swedish
immigrants Elof and Eva Modig. They paid $1.25 an acre for the
site located about five miles south of Chisago City on Lofton
Avenue. There they grew wheat and raised five children.
The 1870's were difficult times for
farmers - it was a time of fierce winters, of summer
grasshopper/locust plagues, of a fever epidemic that incapacitated
the horses which were the primary means of transportation and crop
planting and harvesting and of related bank failures. In 1878,
almost 70% of the tilled areas in Minnesota were in wheat production
and the state's "patent flour" was being sold throughout
the East and Europe.
By the 1890's, farms began to diversify.
Farmers experimented with cheese and butter factories and
cooperative creameries were the rage. One of the sons, Charles
Moody, saw the wave of the future and in 1915, he built a modern
"round" dairy barn on the edge of the lake we know today
as Moody Lake. He painted the new barn a blue-gary color and
it has been a landmark ever since.
The barn measures 56 feet in diameter
and is about the same distance high. The barn is built on two
levels - the main floor for milk cows and their calves and the loft
area for storing hay. There is a 42 foot high silo located
inside.
The Moody farmhouse, which was orginally
located across the road where the new house are today, was moved
onto the 25 acre farmstead park in 2004. The 1920 Arts and
Craft house is undergoing restoration so that it can also
be open to the public. Both the house and the barn are second
generation buildings replacing the initial house and barn on the
property.
The Round Bard is open by appointment for tours during warm weather months. To schedule a tour, call 651-257-5310 or email the office. |
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This log lodge was originally built in 1902 by young men camping on the shores of Green Lake south of Chisago City. Two years later, the site was formally designated Camp Icaghown and became the first YMCA camp in Minnesota. “Icaghown” comes from the Ojibway/Chippewa word meaning “growing in every way”. This log lodge served as the Camp Store where one could buy toothpaste, shoe laces and candy bars. It was also a gathering point for many activities and the main shelter in times of severe rainstorms. Most campers were young boys, ages 10 to 15, from economically disadvantaged homes in the downtown Minneapolis area. For many it was their first overnight out-of-doors experience. The camp fee of $10.00 for a two week stay was often paid by businesses in the Twin Cities. The young boys would board a train at the old Milwaukee depot near in downtown Minneapolis; ride north to the Wyoming station where they changed trains; and then ride east on a different train to the Chisago City station. There they were met by a camp leader who walked with them to the camp. In 1953, the YMCA sold the camp to the St. Paul Council of Camp Fire and the area was renamed Camp Cheewin. The camp was taken over by young Camp Fire and Blue Bird girls, who were dropped off and picked up by their parents. This building continued to serve as the main lodge for their camp activities. In 1995, Camp Cheewin was sold for housing development and the camp buildings auctioned off. This log lodge was purchased by Marlene & Frank Messin of Lindstrom and donated to the Chisago County Historical Society. The lodge was taken apart and moved the County Fairgrounds in Rush City. It was reassembled using all of the original salvageable tamarack logs in the current walls. The building measures 20 feet by 50 feet. Its original wood shingle roof had deteriorated so badly it could not be saved. The wood fireplace was replaced by a gas one for safety reasons. The log lodge is ipen to the public during the Chisago County Fair in July each year. |
~ Cemeteries ~
Calvary Lutheran Cemetery: located at Rush Point in Nessel township on County Road 7 one-half mile east of the intersection of County Roads 4 and 7. It is the burial place of Rev. Andrew Jackson who organized the Swedish Lutheran churches in Kandiyohi and Carver counties in the 1860's. Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church, 320-358-4829. Cedar Hill Cemetery: located on Heath Avenue on the west edge of Forest Lake near North Shore Drive. Just inside the Chisago County line. Chisago Lake Lutheran Cemetery: located on the east edge of Center City below and to the east church on the south side of Chisago County Rd. 37. It contains the remains of many of the earliest Swedish pioneers in Chisago County. It is the largest and one of the oldest Swedish Cemeteries in the county. Most burials from the church now take place in Hillside Cemetery, across the highway. Chisago Lake Lutheran Church, 651-257-6300. Chisago Memorial Park: located on Old Towne Rd. across from Zion Lutheran Church in Chisago City. There are no monuments, only 12x14 inch plaques. This cemetery was not officially organized until the mid-1940's so it is actually one of the newer cemeteries in the county. Early burials were largely Swedes and mostly members of Zion Lutheran Church. Now, people from all faiths and nationalities are buried in the cemetery. Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, 651-257-2713 Crescent Beach Cemetery: located on the south side of Highway 8 along Crescent Beach Rd. on the west edge of Center City. Land donated by Anders F. Swenson to the Methodist Episcopal Church of Center City which later relocated to Lindstrom. Most of the early burials were of non-Lutheran Swedes who lived in the Chisago Lake Colony. First United Methodist Church, 651-257-4306 Dalstorp Mission Covenant Cemetery: located on County Road 63 about six miles northwest of Stark in Fish Lake township. Fish Lake township, 651-674-7709 Danewood Cemetery: located on County Road 2 about one-half mile from Isanti county line in Nessel township. Fairview Cemetery or Lindstrom Community Cemetery: located south of US Highway 8 at Akerson St. on the east end of the city of Lindstrom. It also contains remains of persons buried in an earlier cemetery located near Newell Ave. and Vine St. overlooking the lake. It is one of the larger cemetery in the county. In modern times it is one of the least Swedish of all the county cemeteries, serving all faiths and nationalities. Lindstrom city hall 651-257-0620 First Lutheran Cemetery: located on County Road 55 just northeast of Rush City. First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 320-358-4076 Fish Lake Baptist Cemetery: located near the intersection of County Roads 4 and 63 about four miles northwest of Stark in Fish Lake township. Fish Lake township, 651-674-7709 Fish Lake Lutheran Cemetery: located in Section 26 in Fish Lake township next to the church in Stark. There are a sizeable number of unmarked sites on the edge of the cemetery where non-church members are buried. Fish Lake Lutheran Church, 651-674-4252 Franconia Cemetery: located off Lawerence Creek Rd. east of Minnesota 95 near its intersection with US 8, in Sec. 3 of Franconia township. Burials are primarily of Swedes, but there are also a number of "Yankees" and their descendants who were prominent in the lumbering and milling businesses in Franconia when it was a thriving community. Taylors Falls city hall 651-465-5133 Free Mission Covenant Cemetery: located in Section 8 of Rushseba township northwest of Rush City along County Road 54. Evangelical Covenant Church, 320-358-0726 Glader Cemetery: located off Cty Rd. 25 (Olinda Trail) two miles east on Glader Blvd. on a knoll overlooking the south end of South Center Lake. It is the oldest Lutheran cemetery in the county, started to accommodate the members of Chisago Lake Lutheran Church who lived in the area south of the big lakes around Center City and Lindstrom. It is no longer actively in use. There has been only one burial since 1921. It is likely that there are a number of unmarked graves in the cemetery. It is the cemetery chosen by Wilhelm Moberg as the final resting place for the fictional Karl Oskar and Kiristina. Chisago Lake Lutheran Church, 651-257-6300. Green Acres Poor Farm Cemetery: located north of County Road 14 two miles southeast of North Branch on the site of the former Green Acres Nursing Home and previous County Poor Farm. Numerous unmarked sites and only a few headstones erected for deaths from 1904 to 1911. Harris Evangelical Covenant Cemetery: located west of the city of Harris on County Road 10 between Highway 35 and County Road 30. Harris Covenant Church, 651-674-7565 Hillside Cemetery: located on the north side of Cty. Rd. 37 across the parking lot from the Chisago Lake Lutheran Church. It could be considered and extension of the older cemetery. Many more people are buries here than in the Chisago Lake Lutheran cemetery across the highway There are many more Swedes buries here than of any other nationality. Chisago Lake Lutheran Church 651-257-6300 Immanuel Lutheran Cemetery: located near the church, off State Highway 95 in the village of Almelund, Sec. 25 of Amador Township. Most of the persons buries in the cemetery were Swedish born or descended from Swedish immigrants. Immanuel Lutheran Church 651-583-2340 Kahbakong Cemetery: located on State Highway 95 at the junction of Cty. Rd. 71 about a mile north of Taylors Falls, it is the largest and one of the oldest cemeteries in the county. It was never affiliated with any church denomination. From the beginning it was a private enterprise. There are over 2,100 burials in the cemetery. Taylors Falls city hall 651-465-2340 Kost Evangelical Free Church Cemetery: located in Sunrise township near the intersection of County Roads 15 and 72. Kost Evangelical Free Church, 651-583-3281 Oak Grove Cemetery: located on County Road 30 two miles south of Harris.
Oak Hill Cemetery:
located on the west side of North Branch north of Highway 95 and east
of Highway 35. Adjacent to St. Gregory/St. Joseph Catholic
cemetery.
Old First Lutheran:
located in Section 29 west of Harris. There have been no burials
in the cemetery since 1918. First Lutheran Church, 651-674-4971.
Panola German Methodist Cemetery: located about six miles south of Lindstrom, just west of Ice Lake and north of Panola Drive (Cty. Rd. 86). The Panola Methodist Church, which owned the cemetery, eventually merged with the United Methodist Church in Lindstrom. First Methodist Church 651-257-4306
Poor Farm (Potter's Field)
Cemetery: located in Section 16 of Sunrise township on the
east side of County Road 9 and about one-half mile north of Highway
95. Now privately owned. Contains remains of residents who
died at the County Poor Farm which was located there in 1800's.
Reportedly the burial site of the only man ever hung in Chisago County
- George Kelly, who was convicted in 1896 for the murder of
two men in Wyoming, MN.
Rush Point Baptist
Cemetery: located just west of the intersection
of County Roads 7 and 14 in Nessel township at Rush Point. The
adjoining church is no longer used on a regular basis. A
homecoming service nd community picnic is held each year on the
second Sunday in June. Baptist Cemetery Association, 763-689-5692
Sacred Heart/Calvary
Catholic Cemetery: located on County Road 54 just
north of Rush City. Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 320-358-4370
St. Francis Xavier Catholic Cemetery: located near the intersection of Panola Dr. and Redwing Ave. about a quarter of a mile west of State Highway 95. The majority of persons buried are of Irish Catholic background. Saint Joseph Catholic Church, 651-465-6683
St. Gregory Catholic
Cemetery: located on the west end of North Branch
north of Highway 95 and east of Highway 35, adjacent to Oak Hill
Cemetery. Saint Gregory Catholic Church, 651-674-4056
St. John's German Lutheran
Cemetery: located on County Road 1 in Section 11 of Nessel
township on the northeast shore of Rush Lake. Saint
John's Lutheran Church 320-358-3623
St. Joseph's Catholic
Cemetery: located on County Road 30 in Section 17 just
north of the city of Wyoming. Just north and east of the
Methodist cemetery. No longer in use. Saint Peter's
Catholic Church, 651-982-2200
St. Paul's German Lutheran
Cemetery: located on 267th Street and Finley Avenue in the
city of Wyoming. Saint Paul's Lutheran Church, 651-462-5212
South Green Lake Cemetery: located on Cty. Rd. 23 (Green Lake Trail) about four miles southwest of Chisago City in Wyoming Township, Sec. 24, on the shores of Big Green Lake. It is owned by Zion Lutheran Church of Chisago City. People are mainly of Swedish descent. Zion Evengelical Lutheran Church, 651-257-2713
Stacy Cemetery: located about
a mile north of Stacy on County Road 30.
Sunrise Cemetery:
located in Section 4 of Sunrise township on Ferry Road. Contains
a large number of Civil War veterans. Sunrise township,
651-674-6046
Taylor Cemetery:
located near the intersection of Old Government Road and the Ferry
Road southeast of Rush City. Rushseba township, 320-358-4843
Trinity Lutheran Cemetery:
located on the west side of North Branch north of Highway 95 and east
of Highway 35 and the Oak Hill and Saint Gregory cemeteries.
Trinity Lutheran Church, 651-674-7047.
West Green Lake Cemetery: located on Ct. Rd. 22 (Wyoming Trail) a half mile west of US Highway 8, about two miles west from Chisago City in Wyoming Township, Sec. 13. Burials are very rare at the present time. Most of the space has been used up. Persons buried there are almost exclusively Swedish. Zion Evangical Lutheran Church, 651-257-2713
Wyoming Methodist Cemetery:
located on County Road 30 just north of downtown. Wyoming
United Methodist Church, 651-462-5276
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~ Donations and Artifacts~ The Chisago County Historical Society is a non-profit IRS recognized 501c3 educational corporation and registered with the Minnesota Attorney General’s office as a charitable organization. We depend upon charitable donations, membership dues, and grants to fulfill our mission of preserving and celebrating local history and heritage. Financial contributions are always welcome and help to keep our services available to local school children, seniors, and other residents and visitors to Chisago County. The Chisago County Historical Society collects cultural materials representing the scope of human activities, thoughts, and endeavors within the geographic confines of Chisago County, and outside of the region if the materials are significant to Chisago County history. We continue to build our collections within the practical constraints of storage and exhibit space, staff time, and funds for conservation of the items. Artifacts in the permanent collections must possess exhibit, education, or research potential while not resulting in substantial conservation or storage liabilities. We are governed by the Statement of Professional Standards and Ethics of the American Association for State and Local History. The Historical Society staff, officers, or board members can not give legal opinions on matters such as tax benefits for contributions to the society or formally appraise gifts to the society. Donors seeking a tax deduction for items valued over $250.00 are advised to arrange for an appraisal by outside agency. For further information or to arrange a document or artifact donation to the Society, please call the office at 651-257-5310 or email. |
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The Chisago County Historical Society provides a variety of educational programs year around. These range from monthly genealogy workshops to folk art demonstrations at local community festivals to special events featuring food, fellowship and guest speakers. Information about our upcoming programs is published in the CCHS Connection (one of our newsletters) and in various local newspapers. The Society also publishes the Heritage newsletter which is filled with articles about the history and heritage of the local area. Newsletters are distributed every other month free of charge to our members. Membership is open to anyone interested in furthering the mission and goals of the Society and does not require participation in activities, except as your interest, time and talents permit. |
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Events | Library | Gustaf's | Moody Round Barn
Local Landmarks | Cemeteries | Donations and Artifacts | Membership
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Last revised: April 22, 2008
