Brooklyn Historical Hall of Fame Additions

Chapter 14 of The Brooklyns is "Halls of Fame". It has the biographies previously mentioned, all from Brooklyn Center, plus two more from Brooklyn Park.  One was Eldon Tessman who is still living and active today.  The other, who I will cover now, was Evelyn Schmidt. 

Evelyn Schmidt

From her obituary, published in the Star Tribune on July 4, 2007, we know of these life accomplishments: 

• Evelyn began her career in the 1940's in home construction, real estate development and brokerage. 
• She founded and was President of Brook Park Realty, Inc. until her retirement in 2000. 
• In addition to developing several thousand residential lots, building apartments and office buildings, she was especially proud of her part in developing the Edinburgh USA Golf Course and the executive housing surrounding it. 
• She was a guiding hand in the early development of the City of Brooklyn Park, especially involved in the development of the City park system. 
• Her favorite project was the Brooklyn Park Historical Farm to which she made many donations. 
• She was one of the founders of the Community Emergency Assistance Program (CEAP) and an advocate for "meals on wheels". 
• She was Grand Marshall of the Tater Daze parade in 1971 and Co-Grand Marshall in 1998. *
• She was one of the charter members of the North Hennepin Community College Foundation [1981], which she supported throughout the years and served as the first Director Emeritus. 
• In 1993 she received the North Hennepin Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year Award.
• In 1997 she received the Paul Harris Fellow Award, the Rotary Club's highest honor for volunteerism. She was the first community non-Rotary Club member to receive this honorarium. 

*In 1998, Evelyn  and Eldon Tessman were were Grand Marshals of the Tater Daze parade in honor of their induction to the Brooklyn Park Hall of Fame.

More from The Brooklyns:

As one of the city’s more prominent developers, she was part of building the foundation and roots of the community as it is today.  Evelyn and Herman Schmidt, and Tom and Vivian Thompson, bought the Back Way Motel on Highway 81 in 1950. When they sold the motel in 1951, Evelyn kept part of the land, bought five acres to the north, platted and developed lots, and built her first houses. Evelyn continued buying, developing, and selling lots until 1959.

She built the Villa del Coronado Apartments (192 units) in 1968. At this time, she met Fred M. Seed, vice president of Cargill, Inc. and she, her son Bob, and Fred, entered into a partnership to buy many farms in Brooklyn Park for future development. Evelyn and Bob formed Brook Park Realty, Inc.

After 34 years, Brook Park Realty, Inc., has successfully developed several thousand lots for single-family homes, townhouses, apartments, and buildings for commercial and industrial use. A few years after they started working with Fred Seed, he died of cancer. They have worked with Fred's son, Jim, since then.

After reviewing her family history, one can see how instrumental she was as Brooklyn Township transition into Brooklyn Park in 1954.

Brooklyn Township Place: Historic Eidem Farm

"Historic Eidem Farm is a 19-acre living history farm telling the story of market farming in Brooklyn Park during the 1905-1920 era." It is located at 4345 101st Avenue North, Brooklyn Park. My parents, Leone and Ralph Howe, volunteered as old-time characters during the site's Christmas events, and my mother was a regular, demonstrating her art of Norwegian rosemaling. 

Sources for learning about Historic Eidem Farm are the site's website, a 2018 Master Plan prepared for the city by Miller Dunwiddie Architecture, Inc., and newspaper articles since the city's purchase of the property in 1976.  A description of the historic site, "Our Story", a defunct webpage from the site's website found at https://eidemhomestead.wordpress.com/our-story1/ without a date or author, is reprinted here so as not to lose it forever.

"In 1972 the city and residents of Brooklyn Park became determined to preserve a piece of their farming history.  The reason being the flourishing suburban growth causing many of the older homes across the city to be demolished.

Four years later, in 1976, the city bought the Eidem home and its 10 acres using a federal grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development for $40,000.  The house, which had been owned by the Eidem family since 1894 was, despite needing some work, in amazingly good condition and structurally sound.  The next three years were spent restoring the house and outbuildings which at the time included a barn, windmill, well house, chicken coup and outhouse.

On September 23, 1979 the Brooklyn Park Historical Farm (Eidem Homestead) opened to the public with more than 1,500 people in attendance.

The East Farm

The East farm was owned by Archie Eidem, son of John & Electa Eidem, from 1918 until his death in 1977.  The property was then bought by the Seed Family, a developing company, for future development.

In 1986 the Seed Family sells 5 acres of the property along with the house, barn and outbuildings which included a sheep shed, chicken coop, and brick garage to the City of Brooklyn Park for $5.  This property then joined the previously existing west farm to create the existing Eidem Homestead, Brooklyn Park Historical Farm.

The East farm is currently closed to the public and serves as a caretaker’s residence and collective storage space for the Eidem Homestead."

The website previously posted family history of John Eidem (9V7K-6ML) and his wife Electa (nicknamed Lectie) Cotton (9DH3-FQM). Now it simply states that they purchased the house in 1894 and completed enlarging it in 1906. It does include this historic photo:

A resource study conducted for the city in 2001 by Carole Zellie Landscaper Research, confirmed the date of the house's beginnings as 1894. (1) The Study adds that "the land was previously owned by Silas Merrill and later by Willard and Rosa Bragdon. I assume the study reviewed deeds and tax list--both are posted online--but what section was the farm in? Silas Merrill (LJGQ-GK7) had several property plats, but other sources mix his with S.W. Merrill's property, Silas' brother Samuel. (LZFS-GPP) Both were brothers of Electa Eidem's mother; they were Electa's uncles.

Going to the Hennepin County wiki for a link to a modern map that shows land sections, I went to Hennepin County historic and current section map. There it was so easy to enter the address of the Eidem farm and up popped the property in section 10; it even includes outlines of buildings on the land. Now, looking at my favorite reference map from 1873, I see that the Silas Merrill property is just west of where Electa (Cotton) Eidem grew up, and adjoins the land of Alonzo Bragdon (G3RT-LKT). 

Two years after Willard Bragdon's father, Alonzo, died, he was 31 years old and married a divorcee named Rose on March 24, 1889.  His property was sold and the couple was divorced by 1895 when the MN census documented that Willard (9VPC-P6N) was living with his mother and maternal grandparents in Minneapolis. In 1900, Willard was committed to "Hospital for the Insane" in St. Peter, MN. 

The 1887 map marks that there was a house on the property that Silas sold (39 acres), and his neighbor was G. W. Pomeroy, the witness to Willard Bragdon's wedding.

Here is the 1913 map:

I have not found the evidence that Willard and Rosa Bragdon had owned or lived on the site of the Historic Eidem Farm.  That exploration will be another blog.

(1) Zellie Carole Brooklyn Park Economic Development Authority (Minn) and Landscape Research (Firm). 2001. Brooklyn Park Historic Resources Study. Brooklyn Park Minn: Brooklyn Park Economic Development Authority. pgs.99-100.  I own this publication and I am willing to do look-ups: jealeone@yahoo.com.