ORCHARD GARDENS

Minnesota Orchard Gardens, as it was originally named, included part of what is now Orchard Lake. The plat was drawn up for the R.H. Benham Investment Company of Minneapolis about 1910. Mr Benham could be called the founding father, but not the first settler.

Marion W Savage, owner of the great pacer, Dan Patch, had owned much of this property. He sold, some feel prematurely, because the future prospects and possibilities were to prove not only interesting but lucrative as well. The area attracted a group of enterprising and imaginative hard working people. Those of us acquainted with Orchard Gardens believe the expression "salt of the earth" best described these people.

Taking Mr. Benham's dreams into consideration, Orchard Gardens was an appropriate name. Orchards, gardens, and small farms comprised the plan the Benham Company had in mind when it was platted. A hill and a valley for each land owner was apparently the deciding factor for factor for the distribution and description of the lots. To some, who slaved over the soil, a more appropriate name would have been "Rock Gardens", but to many others it was referred to simply as "The Gardens".

In those early days the local residents found it difficult to get into the Twin Cities. A poorly graded dirt road let to the already constructed Judicial Road, which was built to connect the various villages to enable the County officials to make their way between Savage and Lakeville and on to the County seat in Hastings. It was through "judicial action" that Judicial Road came into being. Traveling between places of business, supply centers, schools and churches was no easy venture. Horses and wagons provided the main means of hauling, although walking, according to the Orchard Gardens residents, was the primary way of getting around. It was several years later before the railroad and the "Flivvers" arrived on the scene.

Once you were safely on Judicial Road and were determined to get to Minneapolis, you went through Savage, over the Minnesota River and up around what is now known as the Masonic Home, and into "town". In the winter you waited for tracts to be made by the milkman or mailman, or you just huffed and puffed your way through the drifts in the general direction you wished to go and hoped for the best.

In 1910 there existed only four or five occupied stock farms in the area,. Electricity had not yet been installed. If you heeded a doctor, and could get to him to let him know of the illness, the locally famous and much loved Dr. James J. Gaffney would come to your aid in his horse and buggy. About this time the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railroad was extending its line to Lakeville and points beyond. It was of great service to the later residents of the area, bringing us within commuter distance of Minneapolis. (See the "Dan Patch" Railroad.) Mail service was provided by Eddie Kennedy, a farmer and writer who wrote for nearly all the papers in existence at that time. He and his wife, Sarah, built a home which was later purchased by the Benham family. As the mailman, Kennedy traveled to Savage to pick up the mail and folks all around went to his house to pick up their correspondence.



LARGE INCOMES
from
LITTLE FARMS

21 REASONS
WHY ORCHARD GARDENS
IS THE BEST PLACE TO LIVE

1 Fertile soil...........................................11 Absolutely safe investment
2 Best markets...........................................12 Clear spring fed lakes
3 Finest scenery........................................................13 Fishing, boating, bathing
4 Electric passenger and freight line..........................................14 Homes built for purchasers.
5 600 feet higher than Minneapolis....................................................15 Low taxes.
6 Cultured neighbors.....................................16 Best of schools, churches and clubs.
7 Lower cost of living. ...............................................................17 Liquor restrictions
8 Purchasers are successful.....................................................18 Over 100 satisfied purchasers.
9 Unequaled for fruit..........................................................19 Horses and machinery furnished.
10 Excellent for garden and poultry........................................................20 Prices lowest.
21 Terms arranged to suit.


Mr. Roy (Doc) Benham's plan for the community included an orchard for each parcel of land and many people aided him in the planting of these fruit trees. There was a cooperative effort in building roads for the new project and those who worked steadily at it received 25 cents an hour. Many of the orchards failed because of the poor soil. A devastating fire swept through much of the area in 1914 and retarded the growth of most of the trees. But some bloomed and bore wonderful fruit and are continuing to do so today.

Since apples could no longer provide a livelihood, some residents got together to find a crop which would grow more readily in this soil. It had to be a crop which would take very little capital investment and one that would be very marketable. The farms were small and an owner had to do much of the work himself. Yellow onions were introduced and, to the relief and delight of the landowners, their labors resulted in a very lucrative product. From 1914 to 1920 the majority of families (numbering about thirty-five) were growing onions exclusively. One year they filled thirty- seven boxcars with these savory vegetables and the distribution was handled by Twin City brokers who had purchased the onions right in the field. This crop was to prove a disappointment when a disease called "Tripps" practically ended the onion business in 1920. "Tripps" is a spore-forming louse that lives on onion juice. Once the disease appeared in an onion patch, it was assumed by the growers of that era that it was useless to attempt to raise onions there again.

After the onion failures, chickens became the next means by which to make a living. The first chicken farmers started with an average flock of 300. The problems were many, but the times were such that one did not dare lose courage. They were on their own and the government was in as precarious a condition as they were. A year or so later, the "Orchard Gardens Egg Circle" was formed and numbered seventeen members. They bought feed and marketed under that name as a cooperative. The co-op existed about two years, when an unfortunate decision was made to let a "commission man" handle the marketing for the group. He proved unreliable and after a "hot" discussion, the entire project was dissolved and once more it was each man for himself.

The aftermath of World War I left the nation in a severe agricultural depression. The Orchard Garden residents were not spared and the community found itself nearly bankrupt. Less than ten percent of the enterprises in the area were able to survive. A few were able to weather the economic collapse but the "exodus" to greener pastures began in earnest. Foreclosures and mortgage debts were much too common. After all the hard work in an effort to build an economically sound community, those were years of heartbreak. Bitterness, though, softened as time passed. To those who survived the hard times and to others who came later, most remember the later years as pure fun, but it was hard work, too.

The community was beginning to change. From 1920 to 1926 Orchard Gardens was part of an incorporated Village with numbered streets laid out through the woods and along fence rows. More people were coming to Orchard Gardens who did not stake their livelihood on the land alone, but were commuting to the "cities" during the week to their places of employment and doing after-hours farming. Wages in the 1920's averaged $2.50 for every nine or ten-hour day and most of those employed in the city worked six days per week.

By the end of 1926, after eleven elections and much heated discussion, the Village was dis- incorporated. The Village was bankrupt and it was a reluctant Burnsville Township which took Orchard Gardens back into the fold. To assume the financial responsibilities of a debt-laden Village was no small burden for the small community of Burnsville. by June Dille


ORCHARD LAKE SCHOOL

In 1968, workers began to demolish a historical landmark that since the early part of the century served the entire area as school, church and community center for any and all activities. To an older generation, it was with much regret and nostalgia that we watched it disappear. Known during its existence as the "brick" school, it was preceded by the Silsbee School, named after the then known chairman of the board, which was used from 1905 to 1915. Silsbee School was located on the southwest corner of Orchard Lake.

On a hot day in August in 1914, a meeting of the school board was held and a site near the Orchard Lake railroad station was chosen for the new school. The land belonged to the Benham Investment Company as part of the Minnesota Orchard Gardens territory. The exact location corresponded to Mr. Benham's plan for a town site. In November of that year, excavation for the new school vegan at a firm price of ten dollars.

The local residents built and were responsible for the survival of the school. The problems they faced were severe, funds were scarce, but through their efforts the school became one of the finest rural schools in the state of Minnesota. In 1920, a high school department was added and continued for two years.

Arie Streefland, Sr. provided the first buses. They were horse-drawn carriages and could be converted to sleighs in the winter. The tree men who drove the vehicles were Mr. Charles Huddleston, Mr. Joe Ertsgaard and Mr. Strand.

Orchard Lake School had the distinction of being one of the ten or so chosen by the State of Minnesota to become an experimental school. For a time, students sat at tables and studied in groups, rather that sitting at their individual desks for study and instruction.

For many years, students, after graduating from eighth grade, attended Bloomington High School. Several years later, the students attended Farmington High School and finally Lakeville High School became the area's secondary school.

June Dille


ORCHARD GARDENS ROAD CLUB

In the mid-thirties, the Road Club was organized to improve local road conditions. The club represented a degree of agreement between the commuters and the farmers that the roads needed improvement and showed a willingness to work together. The Road Club organized a dance and raised $200 which was spent on snow fences. Each fall and spring the members worked on the fences. The meetings became increasingly important social gatherings.

In order to direct visitors to the area, the Road Club erected on Orchard Gardens Directory sign near the railroad station, it listed the names and distances to the local residences from that location.

The only way the roads could be improved was through constant work by the members. This worked well for emergencies but was too time-consuming to keep the roads in good condition all the time. A rift between farmers and commuters developed when the County was asked to gravel, grade, and remove snow. The request by the commuters was made by going over the heads of the Village Council. The farmers, accustomed to doing things themselves, withdrew from the Road Club in protest. Ill will continued between the two groups for a long time.

The significance of the Road Club was not the work that was accomplished during its cooperative period but the fact that diversified groups could bank together to work for a common goal. This is the essence of what has made the Orchard Gardens are a community, then as now.


ORCHARD GARDENS ROAD CLUB ANECDOTE

The meetings of the Road Club were held in private homes. During the hard times of the depression, one homemaker hostess decided to serve donuts and coffee. Much to her consternation, she found she lacked only milk to make the donuts. She solved the problem. The donuts appeared on the table and were consumed quickly, with all the guests raving about her "pink" donuts, and asking for the exotic recipe.

Some of you older residents know her secret ingredient! We promised not to tell...but...tomato juice will turn donuts pink!

June Dille


ORCHARD GARDENS STATION

There were originally three railroad stations serving our community. The Whittier, remembered by some as Foley's station, was located in the vicinity of the Burnsville Lumber Company, the Oakdale Station was near the "trestle" or underpass by Orchard Lake and the Orchard Garden "depot", on what is now County Road 5. The latter is the only station that still stands and the only one that has not changed in this expanding countryside.

The Orchard Gardens depot was built in 1910, by the Minneapolis, Northfield, and Southern Railroad for commuters who used the Dan Patch line as their link with the big city. Through the years it has come perilously close to being destroyed and it is to the credit of various local residents and organizations that it has been preserved.

What a busy place it once was! Everyone used it, and for every conceivable purpose...the chicken farmers, the gardeners, the apple growers and the dairy farmers. It was used by commuters to Minneapolis to go to work, or by some simply for a shipping trip to "town". The flower growers used it daily to bring their beautiful blooms to the large stores in the city. It is said that once, 36 boxcars were filled to the brim with onions to be sold to the city markets from Orchard Gardens Station. Apples of all varieties waited for Dan Patch trains, bushels and bushels of them, to markets in St. Paul and Minneapolis to be shipped to all corners of the Midwest and beyond. The milk wagons once waited there, too. Later, some of us waited there for the school bus to take us to high school, first im Bloomington, then Farmington, and finally to Lakeville, as the school districts changed and expanded.

A man died in that station, some recall, and could not be moved until he was identified, nor did the train move until he was properly cared for. Such were the ways in those slower paced times.

All of us use the station now, as then, to direct friends and relatives to our homes north, south, east and west of that small depot. It is one of the few remaining landmarks of a bygone era and some of us hope it will remain untouched by progress.


ORCHARD GARDENS COUNTRY CLUB

The idea of a golf course with home sites was conceived by Martin H. Otto in 1958. The original plan, designed by Dolan Engineering in Burnsville, was to have had a regulation 18-hole course. At that time, Orchard Gardens was considered to be too far out in the country, and Mr. Otto was unable to convince financial sources that this would be a profitabel venture. Since then, however, it has become a very popular and profitable development.

Unable to develop his original plan, Mr Otto resigned himself to a smaller project. This resulted in the present golf course and subdivsion known as the Orchard Gardens Country Club. The name Orchard Gardens was chosen to preserve the historical name of the area.

Construction on the golf course began in 1964. During the years of construction, the Ottos were still raising corn, hay and soybeans on the land that was not, as yet, being used for the golf course. The first five holes on the course were ready for play in 1968. A fee of $1 enabled a golfer to play the five holes twice...10 holes for $1. The nine-hole course was completed in 1969 and was opened to the public at that time.



ORCHARD LAKE CEMETERY

In the early days churches and cemeteries were few and far between. Arie Streefland saw the need and donated the property along what we call Old Lyndale. The stipulation was that it was to be used either for a church or a cemetery for the new community.

One of the Ladies Aid Society projects was to get the property ready for such a purpose. A rummage sale was planned and some of the husbands had the job of hauling all the article for the "bazaar" to the Dan Patch Line. The sale was held in Minneapolis. More than enough money was rain=sed for the project.

The cemetery was originally named Evergreen Point of Orchard Lake, but for some reason few evergreens exist there any more. Only a few people are buried there, but unless you know its location you would be unaware of its existence.

Mrs. June 11, 1998Albin Swanson worked very hard with the Ladies Aid Society to bring it into being and was the first person to be buried there.

The Trinity Evangelical Free Church is next to this small two-acre burial plot and the church cares for the few graves in the Evergreen Point Cemetery.