Brooklyn Historical Society "Our Agricultural History"   Brooklyn Township, Hennepin County, State of Minnesota; Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park

A belgian horse, Genese de Ergot,  owned by Earle Brown won 5 medals, here in an image from a 1935 issue of National Geographic magazine with similar medals shown below the picture.  The teams of Earle Brown Belgians must've been an impressive sight in their wagon competitions.

One of the major potato farms in Brooklyn Township was that of the Tessman family. A key motto of theirs promoted their  major crop in "Fresh Potatoes Make The Meal".  It's a phrase that could be used effectively to this day. The Schreiber family, the Gray family, Arnlund and Goetze families and many more made the potato a major part of their farming efforts. In its heyday, the Brooklyn area produced 38% of all the potatoes grown in Hennepin County. From harvesting with pitchforks to those years with multiple row potato harvesters, this crop was a mainstay of farm life in Brooklyn towns for over a century!

Tessman Farms images!

The Howe family had an store in the early history of the township.  In the 1950's they had a major fertilizer business that also processed potatoes for shipment by rail and truck.  A major potato market developed in Osseo which became a major center of this activity in Hennepin County.

Popular varieties of potatoes included names like the Early Ohio, the Rural New Yorkers, the Bliss Triumphs, the Irish Cobblers and Burbank Russets.  In 1933 the Warba and reddish Warba became a major choice.

For more on "Growing Potatoes in Brooklyn Park" and the broader subject area, see the Fall (1994) article in Hennepin History magazine by Norene A. Roberts.

Displays created for the Kare11 photography for their report on the historical background for the Brooklyn Park "Tater Daze" events in June.  See program link on our home page!

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Updated August 2, 2010