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Welcome...to the
Jackson County MN genealogy website!
Jackson County is located in southwest Minnesota and borders Iowa.
License Plate 1912-1913-1914
MN license plate from Charley Wendel's first car...97 yrs ago
(farmed in Rost township)
Welcome to the Jackson Co MN genealogy website!
My name is Randy Wendel (meet Randy), Rootsweb volunteer coordinator and webmaster for Jackson County, MN since May 2007. My goal is to keep this website regularly updated with Jackson Co genealogy and Jackson Co Historical Society information. I'm always interested in contributions to post on this website so please pass along any photos, person or family history/genealogy related items! Also note I live 150-miles from Jackson County (Mpls/St.Paul) and as of 2008 my trips there will be less frequent. As a life member of the JCHS, the distance keeps me from on-site volunteering and research. Therefore, the least I can do in any volunteer-capacity on a regular basis is maintain this web site! Click here to email me with questions, submissions, etc.
YOU ARE INVITED !!!
The annual meeting of the Jackson Co Historical Society will be held at the musuem on Saturday Jan 9, 2010 at 1:30pm. Members and non-members are all invited. Guest speaker, historian and author of many books Mark Diedrich will provide a discussion about early native-american history including some events surrounding the Springfield settlement in 1857 and Sioux leader Inkpaduta. Mark is well rehearsed in this research and likely can provide some intriguing information. Come early (museum opens at 8am) and tour the museum...stay for the meeting. You do not need reservations but Mike would like to have some idea of how many chairs to setup. If you THINK you might be attending, please email me and let me know so I can keep a tally for how many chairs we might need. Yes, Mark will have books for purchase at the meeting...and he has written several! DON'T FORGET...GIFT IDEAS! Shop the museum stock of historical gifts also! PLEASE join us...hope to see you there!
PHOTOS...I have a few here
I have several photos with some names written on a number of them, some have no names at all. I think most of them are from or have some connections to Jackson County. Some photos are from out of state...Wisconsin, perhaps a few others, as well as Davenport, Holstein, Armstrong Iowa, and elsewhere.
Some of the names tied to these photos are: Stolhner, Karsten, Otto and Pauline Threde, Garms, Jappel, John Paulson, Hilbert, Edna Hanson, William Hanson, Wiese family, Wunder, Rachou, Engel, Holtz, Harst, Wienert, Willhausen, Grosjkruger/Grossbruger/Grosjbruger (hard to read), Bertha Willerd, Frieda Knolls, Chris Bauer, Markquardt, Theo-Vera Lage, Fred Snear, and others.
I am guessing I have at least a hundred...maybe 150 photos in a box and some are dated back to the early 1900's. I suspect some are tied to family also located in NW Iowa...Lake Park perhaps, or surrounding locations. Someday when I can find the time, I hope to scan each of them in to post online. That won't happen anytime soon, but I just can't dispose of them...they are too valueable (to somebody) I'm sure. Let me know if any of these names might be tied to your tree and I can certainly pass along more detailed names or scan a photo or two to email you so you can see if there is a connection. I'd like nothing more than to find a more perminant home for these pictures. My email is at the top of this page.
Annual Meeting date set (members and guests!)
The annual membership meeting (and interested guests!) is tentatively set for the usual 2nd Saturday of January. If you have any idea for a speaker or topic/presentation you would be interested in, please pass it along...soon. Any activity you would like to see at the meeting...speak up! Let's get some ideas.
November 2009 activities
Funny how October was just miserable in the weather department, and November now brings nice weather (at least to start with). Farmers are busy now running behind and trying to harvest while it's dry so they can get things done before it really gets cold (or more rain).
My wife had another knee replaced Oct 29, so the first week of November I'm home to help her...food, bathroom, physical therapy visits, clinic visits, etc. She had another unfortunate mishap with the "CPM" machine on her leg after therapy...pulled her leg and likely set her back several weeks. I'm not sure what it does/did to aggravate things, but perhaps the surgeon can clarify when we go back in mid-November. She still feels the after effects from the other knee replaced in late winter, so you can imagine the tears she had when this happened again. I felt so sorry for her...she was doing so good otherwise. To have to go through this 2 times besides. Between my hip and her two knees, it's been an interesting year (and expensive). To top it off, on Nov 3 (today as I write this), I went to freeze the last pickings (brussel sprouts) from my garden, and when I opened the chest freezer (30 yrs old), I noticed some water sitting on top of a package in the freezer. Yep, freezer went south. Another deep freezer was to be delivered Nov 4 after a quick phone call and a peek on the internet...20% off Kenmore deep freezers! Good timing (sort of). 60lbs of ice from the nearest convenient store to hopefully hold everything cold for a day until it arrives. Whatever can't be re-frozen will just have to be cooked and kept as "leftovers." I guess that means a feast awaits me. Can you say...buffet? Wait, I'm supposed to keep off the 25+lbs I've worked at all year to lose!
It just seems to have been so busy the past few months. I had all good intentions of catching up on some genealogy work this week off while caring for my wife and it seems between her and other projects I'm trying to catch up on, there is only some spare time to relax. I figured with my week off at home, it was also a good time to ship several things of mine that I eBay'd off the previous week, so that helps clear more space on the "storage shelves" which won't really be storage anymore with nothing to store! Less stuff to deal with that I had all good intentions of, but never got to it.
For some time I have used an 8gB thumb drive to backup much of my computer data...especially scanned photos and documents. I've found that it's quite easy to fill this to capacity so I'm seriously thinking about looking for an external backup drive...one I can put into a fire box. Actually, I think I once saw a backup drive online that was built into a fire-safe enclosure of some sort. Not quite as cheap I'm sure, but, can you put a price on memorable photos and documents? Well, especially if you don't mind spending the extra few bucks or so.
I don't know what our plans will end up being for Thanksgiving (other than I'm on-call that week) but hopefully yours -and- ours will be enjoyable. Bring on the mashed potatoes and gravy! Meanwhile, if you're with family on turkey-day, don't forget to keep inquiring for family information to help fill in those blanks on your family tree. Occasionally I catch myself realizing I'm missing a date or middle name for someone.
Poynters Parkview Grocery, Jackson (03Oct2009)
After a day of work in Red Wing MN recently, I spent a few hours with my cousin there before leaving for home and we began to talk about the Poynters Parkview Grocery store in Jackson. It was located across the street from the park (I should know the park name) between the corners of Grant and Sherman on Butler Ave. Mrs. Poynter passed away in Jan 2009 at age 100 and when we were kids we used to go to their store for candy. It was a small but jam-packed little store. We always proceeded up the steps toward the back to the candy section past the checkout counter. After all, the store was less than a 1-minute walk from our Grandparents home.
Does anyone have a photo of their store? I would be grateful if you could forward me a copy. We have wonderful memories of that place. It was in our discussion we realized we did not have one photo of the store or of all of us kids at the store with our candy, etc. It would really bring a smile to our faces if we could just see the place again!
Country school building photos sought (30sep2009)
The Jackson Co Hist. Society is seeking photos of the country school buildings that existed many years ago. Rather than list all of them, I can tell you there are MANY school district buildings which they do not have a photo of.
The years are slipping away and perhaps you have access to some of these photos. If you are unable to donate a photo, an scan electronic copy would certainly be helpful (i.e. .tif, .jpg, etc). If you have a photo, please let me know and what district it is from. If you have a photo I could scan, please let me know. I'd be happy to scan and return the photo back to you.
Loon Lake Cemetery and Church's photos sought (30sep2009)
The Jackson Co Hist. Society is seeking photos of the Loon Lake Baptist Church (later converted to a store) and Methodist Church. Photos and information on anyone who is interred at the cemetery is also welcome, as well as any pictures of District school 6 and 12 buildings.
Rural stores and post office photos, church's and other buildings welcome (30sep2009)
We're not done yet! The historical society is interested in many photos (for obvious reason!) that you may have, including any rural post office (any year), dance halls, stores, etc. Orr post office, Folsom Corner, Old Country Store, Rost Store, Country Kitchen, Checkerboard, Old Log Cabin are a few that come to mind. Do you have an old photo that may be of interest? We'd like it or a copy of it (including any info you may have to go with it)!
Jackson County residents...how can you help?
Occasionally I receive email requests for photos of headstones in Jackson County cemeteries as well as other general information requests. If you live in the area and are willing to occasionally visit a location to take a photo or two, I would be happy to post your email address, or simply refer the requesting party to contact you directly. Please contact me if you are interested!
What needs to be done at the historical society (and how can YOU help)??? The historical society has MANY MANY photos (and documents) in original form that should (need to) be scanned for electronic preservation. These scanned copies could be used for quick retrieval AND can be copied/stored off-site...protected from a fire. However...HOWEVER...someone needs to scan all of these items! It cannot be done by just one or two people (i.e. staff) due to other things that need tending to. Other projects are ongoing as well. Volunteers ARE NEEDED to help with these projects to assist by simply scanning photos. You can help. It is needed. The process is simple...they will show you how. Please stop by or call Mike at the historical society. Yes, you can play a small but important role in helping preserve history in Jackson County!!! A few hours on a Saturday or during the week (if you're retired?) helps. Come in, volunteering a few hours just once without further committment still helps. Call Mike...tell him "I'd like to come in for a few hours on Saturday morning, or on Wednesday afternoon (etc) and do something to help," and he can get setup before you arrive. You'll be glad you did!
History books and memorabilia, etc
Some of you are beginning to think ahead to Christmas and gift ideas. Maybe you are interested in something for yourself for the cold months? Don't forget the historical society has several books, pamphlets and other items available. Take a look at the books page, though keep in mind I only show a few of several items which are available. These are books I happened to have so call Mike and inquire what other items he has available that may be of interest. ...click here for the books-page...
Township maps uploaded
I have neglected the MAPS page since assuming responsibility for this website in spring of 2007. Individual township maps have now been added. I hope to eventually add more maps as time goes on.
Jackson...the name
Jackson County, established on May 23, 1857, was named after Henry Jackson, the first merchant in St. Paul and a member of the first territorial legislature. You will find Jackson County in the Southwest corner of Minnesota (43.6750 N, 95.1567 W).The county seat is Jackson. The historical society is located in Lakefield.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Dec 14 2009 Board Meeting 7pm
Jan 9 2010 ANNUAL MEETING 1:30pm
