HomeMy WebLinkAboutCultural Resources Report Cultural Resources Report
Open Cisterns, Big Island Property
Bill Walker, Cultural Resources Program Coordinator
On Tuesday, September 20th, Park District staff was informed of a potential visitor safety
hazard regarding two open cisterns located on Big Island, within the Arthur A. Allen
Sanctuary. Per the recently adopted Cultural Resources Management Plan, Bill Walker,
Cultural Resources Program Coordinator conducted an ��Initial Cultural Resources Review" in
advance of the proposed solution- the filling of the open cisterns - to ascertain if such work
presented the potential to negatively affect known cultural resources.
Upon review, staff confirmed that the two cisterns in question are part of a larger group of
building ruins which mark the location of the historic Olaf O. Searle Estate (c. 1887). The
site is consistent with other identified archaeological sites of the post-settlement era
previously inventoried within the Park District. In addition to the presence of the visible
historic ruins, staff believes that a high potential exists for the discovery of unknown
resources during sub-surface excavations on the island given its known history as a
seasonal Dakota sugaring camp.
Since at a minimum, the procedures for filling the cisterns as proposed in a recent bid will
involve significant ground disturbance in and around the identified site for the assembly of
fill materials, staff believes that the project would result in significant damage to this known
archaeological resource (Searle Estate Ruins), and has the potential to impact currently
unknown resources related to previous habitation periods (Dakota Sugar Camp & other pre-
historic uses). Per the Cultural Resource Management Plan, work at the site should proceed
per"Option 3" (page C.13) unless other measures can be identified to fill or cap the cisterns
in a non-invasive manner. "Option 3" calls for close communications between the Park
District, the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA) and the State Historic Preservation
Office (SHPO) before any ground disturbing activities are conducted at the site to ensure
compliance with Minnesota Statutes 138.31-138.42 (commonly referred to as the Minnesota
Field Archaeology Act). To move forward with "Option 3", plans for work at the site should
be submitted to OSA and SHPO for review before any ground disturbing work is conducted.
Historic Background:
Olaf O. Searle: b. June 23, 1859, Fredrikshald, Norway.
Searle immigrated to the United States in 1881. He quickly secured a job in the emigration
department of James J. Hill's St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway (soon to be
renamed the Great Northern Railway), where he encouraged other Scandinavians to travel
to Minnesota via Hill's railroad, and purchase railroad grant lands to establish their farms in
the Red River Valley. By 1883, Searle was so successful in this endeavor that he left the
railroad's employ to establish himself as an independent emigration agent with partner A.E.
Johnson. By the early 1890's A.E. Johnson & Company was ranked among the largest
American shipping firms operating in Scandinavia, with over $1,000,000 in passenger ticket
sales to Minnesota, and over $5,000,000 in land sold to new immigrants each year. As such,
Searle played a significant role in the mass migration of Scandinavians to Minnesota in the
late 19th century - a phenomena which greatly altered the overall ethic flavor of the state.
In addition, Searle was recognized as a prominent local businessman, serving on the boards
of several prominent Twin Cities banks.
With his newfound wealth, Searle built his Big Island estate shortly after his marriage in
1887. Plat maps from 1898 and 1913 outline the estate in some detail, and the ruins that
remain can be identified per the map outlines. Photographs published in a 1906 Lake
Minnetonka souvenir booklet show the main house as well as other prominent features of
the Big Island estate as a point of interest for summer tourists. In addition to the cisterns,
building foundations can be readily outlined, as well as other features related to the estate's
extensive landscaping elements. The Searle's boathouse is still largely intact, and is a
prominent feature of the island's north shore. However, the most visually prominent feature
of the Searle estate is the man-made channel that divides Big Island into two distinct
portions, separating Searle's property from that of his neighbors to the west. The channel
was dug by hand sometime after 1898.
Despite his initial success in America, Olaf Searle died in relative poverty in 1926. This
tragic end was largely the result of economic recession at the turn of the 20th century,
coupled with the Searle family's personal struggles with alcoholism. Searle's Big Island
estate was destroyed by fire sometime after 1913, and the land has remained largely
undisturbed to the present, in part due to its recent designation as a wildlife sanctuary.
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BY LEADING LINES.
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F , Speclal B�rpis�lo
r ,/, .19� _ i _ "� ^'��Yiy �� 1......`. ,I�
G� �r Improved Farms and Farmlands in
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„ � -, �-�-. Al�o a List ol Bar��tu in
� � � MINNETONKA PROPERTIES.
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� ioo Washington Ave. So.
� � �_` �� N �, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
f�y�«
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O. O. SEARLE, Secy. & Treas.
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Asdre� H.Johnson. Olaf O.Se�rla. LutY J�eRer,
Prosident 1.aorits S.S�enwa. Gahier.
Vlee-Preddrnu.
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H I STO RY
oa Tss
SCANDIN�AVI��NS
�
SUCCE�SFUL SCANDINAVIANS
A't THE
UNITED STATES.
OOMPILED A1�TD SDITED
8Y
0. i�• l��i.IS�1�L.
VOLUME I.—PARTS I AND II. '
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�IIfNEJPOLIt� MIM�$60T�S
O.PI.IZBL80N� �
1�18 Univenity Aveaae 8. E.
1895. � � ���
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BIOGBAPHIE3 OF SCAI�iDII�IA'QIA1�I3 IId MIIZI�IBSOTA. Jr81
than a settled pastor. Scheie was married to Inger Johan-
neson in 1888; she survived him. He re-visited his native
coun trp t�vvice.
Sahutz, C. Q�., educator—St. Peter—born 18 Mar., 186?,
in New Sweden, Minn. His Swedish parents came to the
United States in 1865. He attended Gustavus Adolphus
College, St. Peter,four pears,and gradnated from Augustana
College, Rock Island, Ill., in 1888. He has taught school in
Otter Tail and� other counties. He was� appointed countp
snpt. of schools for l�iicollet countv, in 1890, and was elected
to the sa,me position in the fa11 as a Republican. He ia a
member of the Swedish Lutheran Church.
Soott, Frederick, duggist—Stillwater—bora 25 June,
1851, in Lekesa, Vestergiitland, Swedeti. He came with his
parents to the United States in 1864; thep settled in Carver
county, Minn., and there poung Scott worked on his father's
farm until 18?1, when he commenced to clerk in a drug
store, continuing in that business for two pears. In 1874
he gradaated from Curtiss' Business CoUege, Minneapolis;
afterwarda had a drug store in Jordan; tben studied at
, Chicago College of Pharmacy, Ghicago; and came to Still-
water in 1881. Scott has two drug stores,one in Stillwater
.a,nd another in Duluth; hesides being interested in other en�
terprises. He has taken the highest degree, thirtp-second,
in Freem a,sonrp; was the Repuhlican nomonee for mapor
in 1891, but wa.s not elected. In 1881 Scott was married
to Lake Mills, of Carver.
..�w Searle, oiar, 0., emigration agent and hanker—St. Paul
� —born 23 June, 1859, in Fredrikshald, l�Iorway. After
having received a fair education in his native country be
, �,.
o�9�r�zed by�OU��C .:�
J �..,L"4*t --
3+sar.�ior.e, ;E
- - ���• ... . . .. .....
682 33UCCE3SFUL SCAI�IDIIZAQIAI�i8 Il�i TH]� II. S.
went to sea, emigr&ting to America, however, in 1882. In
the fall of the same pear he began work in the emigra,tion
d artmmt of tbe St. Paal Minneapolis and Manitoba� �c�^ \
� r � ,� I
Railway, remaining there tiU 1883, When tog�ether w�th A�� �"�'�'�L`"',%
E.Johnson he opened business as emigration agent. This
firm, known aa A. E.Johnson and Companp, is now doing a
very eztensive business in the sale of passage tickets for the�
various steamship companies, and also in the sale of lands�k
In the pear 18�1-92 the firm sold over one million acres of
land to settlers, for an amount of about $b,000,000. In
the same year $3,000,000 in cash was transferred through
their house from America to tbe Scandinavian countries;
their annual sale of passage tickets Rmounts to about
$1,000�000. These sums represent a fair estimate of their
annual bnsiness, which is, andoubtedly, the largest done bp
any Scandinavian firm in the world. The firm has offices in
I�Iew York City; Boston; Chicago; Ishpeming, Mich.; St.
Paul, Minneapolis, Dnluth, Little Falls, and Staples, Minn.;
Spokane, Tacoma� and Seattle� Wash. $earle is also
one of the directors of the Scandinavian American Bank, St.
Paul; of the �Nashington Bank, Minneapolis; of the Scandi-
navian American banks, in Tacoma a.nd Seattle,Wash.; and
of the Securitp Trust Company, St. Paul, �inn. Being a
dealer in land, Searle takes great interest in farming. Ae
has a farm at Devils Lake, I�I.D., compriRing 1,500 acres of
well-tilled landwherea large number of fine horses andsheep n�
are raised. In eummer he lives at Lake Minnetonka where� e,� '�
he owns a fine honse and 100 acres of land on the Big �-Iv
Island, being one of the fii�est places on the Iake. �earle �` �
was married in 188?to Dagmar Jobnson. They have one child. ���
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O. O. 8BARLE, 8T. P�vt.
O�itized by Goo�le