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. Spence Hollstadt%Staff Photographer
Martin 'Shielos,`born on this Lagan property in 1900, stands onIanI his grandparents'
homesteaded in 1850. Development behind him is on land that o♦itt nce was the family farm. x
t
By Bruce Orwell
Staff Writer
Martin Shields knows an Eagan that would pe‘ =Iv cogmzable t
most residents of this suburban boom town
At age 88, Shields still lives on his'family's'homestead at Lon
Oak and Pilot Knob roads, just as he has since: his'rfather, died i
1911. It's the same`la'nd:that once' supported Eagan's original tol.
hall, before it burned down in 1912. It's the place wiere Shield
took over the falnily dairy farm when lie,was baiely,a'teen age.
and made it thrive �
So a people in` Eagan";think the flavor .of those days, 'when the
rural landscape was untouched by anything but the family dairy
onion d potato farms,.is-slipping away;as quickly: as today':
young familiesare gobbling up homes in the city. They're trying tc
latch onto old Eagan and freeze it in time while they still can.
The result is the Eagan Historical Commission, which is begin-
ning to sort through waysto preserve Eagan history, which dates to
the 1850s, while it's'still thereto preserve. •
"We have to give our new residents a look at the way it was
Pleae)see Eagan%?
St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch
FROM THE SECTION FRONT I7Dw
Eagan/ City trying to save remains of vanishing history
Continued from Page 1
then," said city council member Ted Wachter, who is
in charge of the historical group. Wachter said the
city, which has more than doubled in size during the
last eight years, is rapidly losing the opportunity to
save its heritage.
Wachter's group is already working on its first
project — saving the town hall that was built after the
original was destroyed. The building sits on Pilot
Knob Road near the current Government Center, but
a road improvement project is forcing it to be relocat-
ed away from the road on the same property.
Wachter said the commission wants to use the relo-
cation as an opportunity to make some improvements
in the building and prepare it as the possible site of an
Eagan museum. The city council is seeking grant
money to pay for any renovations. The building_cur
rently is used only for storage by several city depart-
ments.
Most people agree that the old town hall isn't much
to look at.
"It's mostly like an old shed," said Shields, who
serves on the historical commission.
But Shields, Wachter and others think it's the last
well-preserved building of its era in town, and they
think it would be the ideal place to display other arti-
facts of the city's history.
"There are families that have been here for more
than 100 years," said Eagan Mayor Vic Ellison. "They
have a good deal to share, and I think they would like
to display things if we had a place."
Ellison would like to construct a small courtyard
with park benches at the town hall, making it an at-
tractive place for the city's school children to visit on
field trips.
The city already has some historical items that
Wachter thinks the museum should hold. The old gavel
that the town council used to conduct meetings is still
around, as are the signs that identified the town hall
(one hangs in the office of city administrator Tom
Hedges). And there is a stove that Wachter and other
town council members used to keep warm on those 25 -
below winter nights.
And Ellison points out that the landmark Eagan res-
idents once used to identify their city — and still do in
its official logo — is still looking for a permanent
home. The Lone Oak Tree, a 200 -year-old Eagan
monument that stood at the intersection of Highway
55 and Lone Oak Road until it was cut down in 1984,
still has no home.
City officials long said the tree symbolized strength
and growth in the community. Unfortunately, heavy
pelting from road salt over the years diseased the
symbol, forcing it to be cut down.
A cross-section of the tree hangs in Eagan's Govern-
ment Center, Ellison said, but a larger 18 -foot section
— once thought of as the basis for a potential sculp-
ture — still waits in storage in a city -owned building
near the possible museum. The historical commission,
Ellison said, will look at ways the tree can be incorpo-
•rated into the museum.
Spence Hollstadt/Staff Photographer
Martin Shields, born on this Eagan property in 1900, stands on land his, grandparents
homesteaded in 1850. Development behind him is on land that once was the family farm.
JULY 8, 1876
Black Dog ViHage, Mendota
Preceded City Of Eagan
Martin Shields: witness to
82 years of change in Eagan
by Linda Hanson
As Martin Shields looks back over the 82 years he's
live(' in Eagan, he recalls everything from barn dances
at4*Shields by the Mud Puddle" to blowing the noon
whistle at his father's sorgitunt mill to the bootlegging
on area farms during Prohibition.
The land at the corner of Pilot Knob and 1..,otte Oak
melds, , i11
ather
Is
1c868,
withroads where ti41,0u9rei ehhsiisfsotgrartSatihndireftied in 1854 i
bqjlt near that corner in
,
Th.,4 edtice4%trilP/45'
recrriii,LY r
way
Martin Shields: witness to 82 years- of changes
SHIELDS: from p. 1
street) 21 years ago. So there's a lot
f attachment."
Shields is the only one of his
brothers and sisters who did not
roc ve :from Eagan.
When he was growing up, "there
were Shields all around the lake," he
sail. He added that the lake was
always called Shields Lake until the
Le\1ay family had it officially
:hanged in the late 1800s.
lie recalled how beautiful the lake
used to be before a storm sewer -
"spoiled it."
"There was never a weed in it or
anything. They had a beach on the
:ther side—Uncle Jack's side. They
had big barrels with a platform where
kids used to go out and jump off and
jive."
But swimming was only one of the
Fart things they used to do at the
ake.
"My cousin had big barn dances
-ig:it down there below the hill," he
;aid. "They called it `Shields by the
La.{e' or `Shields by the Mud
Puidle.' They'd come from all over.
The biggest band they had was
Whoopee John."
Shields also recalls how the pasture
iown the hill from his house next to
lake was used by 4-H clubs for
:aseball games.
When Shields was tending a lunch
:ounter at the Dakota City pioneer
village at the county fair two weeks
ago, some people who used to play in
pis field stopped by to reminisce.
"A lot of the girls who played back
:at n have big families now," he said.
A lot of the Tousignants were good
players --girls and boys."
;shields used to pitch for the
Dakota County League. His team
won the championship around World
War 1.
When asked if he ever heard of any
Coatleg whiskey -making in Eagan
luring Prohibition, Shields laughed
and said, "Heard of it—it was on
Tha Eagan CHRONICLE, August 23, 1982
almost every farm."
But, Shields added, not on his
farm.
Shields said a neighboring farm on
the lake had bootlegging going on.
He said the people making it used to
get warning when "the feds" would
be making a raid and they'd dump it
in the lake to get rid of the evidence.
"The lake would be full of the
stuff—the cattle would almost get
drunk on it."
He added that generally it wasn't
the farmers doing the bootlegging,
but experts from the cities who'd give
the farmers $5,000 for the use of a
barn.
But long before there was
bootlegging going on near the lake,
there was a more respectable industry
there.
Shield's father brought industry to
Eagan in the 1800s with the
construction of a sorghum mill on the
lake. "All the farmers from miles
around raised sugar cane and had it
processed there."
The cane was processed into
sorghum, which is similar in taste and
texture to molasses. When his father
died in 1911, production stopped and
the equipment was sold from the mill.
Just like his father, Shields is
credited with bringing industry to
Eagan, but in a different way.
After working many years as a
farmer (at times working the land at
night while working during the day
on another job), and after spending
16 years as an inspector with the state
Health Department, Shields took a
job with Suburban Electric
Cooperatives in 1959 as a field
representative.
His job was to bring more electric
customers to the area. When he
started, he said, there were 2,000
electric connections in Dakota
County, and most of them were
farmers who were light users.
When he left in 1975 there were
22,500 connections, and most of
those were big industrial users, he
said.
As part of his job, he provided
General Douglas MacArthur, the first
chairman of the board of Sperry
Rand Corporation, with information
on a 640 -acre site where MacArthur
could build a new plant and
recreational facilities for Univac
employees.
MacArthur was considering a site
in northern Eagan where Eagandale
Industrial Park now is. But before a
decision was made on that property,
MacArthur died in 1964.
A couple of years later Univac
officials decided to purchase and
build at the site on Pilot Knob Road.
"That hatched the egg for
everything else that came out here,"
he said.
After having served for 25 years on
the state Soil and Water Conservation
Board, Shields was familiar with area
farms which businesses might be
interested in buying.
When he was a member of the
industrial committee of the St.
Paul—Minneapolis Chamber of
Commerce, people would ask him
where they could buy land. Since he
knew the area so well, he could give
them advice on specific property and
refer them to a realtor.
Since Eagan was expected to be at
the intersection of two major
highways, Interstate 494 and 35E,
industries were interested in the area,
he said.
When Shields was named 1979
Dakota County Man of the Year by
the Dakota County Development
Association, he was credited with
bringing in as many as 10,000 jobs to
the county over about 20 years.
Shields is reminded of Eagan's
industrial growth frequently. Living
at the corner of Pilot Knob and Lone
Oak roads, he continually hears
trucks rumbling by, shifting gears
when they get to the corner.
"Sometimes I wish I hadn't done
it," he said. "It was once so nice and
peaceful here. This was a real quiet
place to live. But now just try to
sleep here at night."
In general, Shields has welcomed
most of the changes he's seen in his
82 years. But the best change was thi
coming of electricity to rural areas,
he said.
It's easy to understand his
enthusiasm once he explains that
before electricity, he had to hand
pump the water for 50 head of cattle
After electricity came to Eagan, he
bought seven engines just to pump
the water.
"We got rural electrification in
1936 and the minute we turned on th
light at the old barn we bought a
refrigerator," he said. "All the
demand for electricity prompted
General Electric to make more
equipment. It put millions of people
back to work."
Shields knows what he's talking
about when he discusses electricity. 1
addition to working for Suburban
Electric Cooperatives, he was on the
board of directors of Dakota Electric
Cooperative (now Dakota Electric
Association) for 26 years.
Shields also has strong opinions of
mass transit. He can recall the days
of taking a street car into town,
which is how many people in the are
once commuted to work. Now he
looks at commuter traffic and think!
there has got to be a better way, suc
as the high-speed commuter trains
Japan has.
"Just think of the energy and the
gas that's wasted when pert near
everyone is one to a car. There will
have to be some radical changes."
He chuckled and added, "I'm an
opinionated son of a gun, huh."
But despite his strong opinions,
Shields never ran for public office.
When asked why, Shields said, "I
sure had lots of chances to. But I
thought you could do better on the
outside if you squawk like the
dickens."
T_=i7 SHI'LD'S SORGHUM MILL
One of ^a an's first industrial basides farming was a
sorghum mill processing sugar cane for borghum.
Several mills had been built beginning in 1/5/, b'it
fire had destroyed to first two. Tha big operation began
in 179d, the mill was situated by Lake Leciay. It consisted
of a building 400-01 long and 100-0} feet wide and threw
stories high. This three story mill became a familiar land—
mark to the people of Lagan.
Within this building ware two steam Anginas with 2/ and
30 foot flues in the boilers-to,genrate power for the opAr—
ation. of the mill. ;Dater was pumped from Letiay Lake for the
boilers and coal and pressed can stalks ware used for fuel.
Farmers raised the can for the mill, and ware paid so
much a ton. Cane was grown and delivered for a distance of 50
miles around. Sorghum ie nada from sugar cane and at times it
grew to a height of 16-0 to 1`!—O' feat high.
The opening of the mill each season was a big avant, with
such dignitaries as Archbishop Ireland, Jamas J. Hill and the
Rev. Waltar of the Lone Oak Trinity Church coiling for the open—
ing cer^monies.
A craw of 6 or 7 uen handled the mill operation during thA
day and 4 or 5 uen made up the night crew. Tach crew worked 12
hours a shift and the pay was $2.00 per day.
The capacity of the mill was Q0 gallons of sorb un1 per day.
Industry within Eagan had its beginnings with the sorghum mill operated
by Michael Shields from 1889 to 1911. Sorghum is a sweet -tasting syrup made
from a thick cane -like grass similar to sugar cane. The process involved
pressing the cane stalks and then boiling the juice to refine the syrup.
The Shields' farm was located around the intersection of Pilot Knob
Road and Lone Oak Road. The work was first conducted a little to the west
of Pilot Knob Road, but after a couple of years, a new mill was built on the
east side of the road. It was operated in a 20' x 30' 2 -story wood building
on a stone -walled basement, and included a 100' long storage shed. The
press was run by a 12 -horse power steam engine, and two 200 -gallon boilers
were used, with water drawn from nearby LeMay Lake.
The opening of the mill each fall was quite an event, with such dignitaries
as Archbishop Ireland and James J. Hill reportedly having attended on occasion.
For a time in the fall, the mill was operated day and night. The entire
Shields farm was said to have been devoted to the growing of sorghum cane.
Many area farmers also grew sorghum cane which they sold to the mill. The
price they received was only about $3 or $4 a ton, and as they began growing
other crops, it was not long before the mill ended its operation.
SHIELDS TRS MARK FOR SORGHUM SYRUP
The sorghum syrup was taken to St. Pau]. and marketed in five, ten
and thirty two and fifty gallon barrels. These containers were filled,
labeled and shipped to various parts of the country. They were shipped
under such names as Minnesota Valley Cane Drips and Shields Mendota sor-
ghum.
Small containers, jugs and crocks were used to supply the local trade.
The employees lived on the premises, and Martin recalls that his
mother did all the cooking and baking for the employees and her child-
ren. One order for each day was twenty loaves of bread, which she baked
all during the sorghum season. The season usually lasted through Sept-
ember and October. The mill finally closed down in 1912.
Ref: Martin Shields
By Francis J. Dembroski
LOIS ANN, 9, and. Richard LeMay, 12, are shown looking at the remains of the old Shields
- sorghum mill, in section 10, Eagan township. The mill was erected back in the late
1800s. -
A crumbling foundation located
in a wooded hollow- on the south
shore-bf LeMay lake, is all that
remains of a historic sorghum mill
which more than 60 years ago was
a beehive of activity during sugar
cane harvest time, in northern Da-
kota county.
Located on the Martin- Shields
property, the mill- was erected by
the late Mike Shields, Martin's fa-
ther. _
Ruben LeMay, 83-years-oldl
resident living just east of the old'
mill site remembers some of the
early history of the northern Da-
kota county area.
Ruben's father, Thellesphorei
LeMay, imigrated to Mendota from
Canada in 1852 when he was 21
years old. - (He lived to be 96).
The young French Canadian did
such odd jobs as he could fin
about Mendota, the parent set -1
tlement of the section. The little;
village was the center of culture;
as well as fur trading.
The palatial home of Henry
Hastings Sibley, now preserved as
the oldest stone dwelling in Min-
nesota, was then in its prime of
distinction and hospitality, being,
17 years old.
The city of St. Paul became
known to early Mendota as "the
new town across the river." It
grew rapidly into a city of paved
streets, wide lawns, factories and
jobbing houses.
Fourteen months after Thelles-
phore's arrival (January 1854) he
was married to Vataline LeMay,
who had the same last name, but
was not related to him. For their
wedding they came to St. Paul in
a stoneboat drawn on the river
ice by horses.
Their residence was taken up at
the present farm owned by Ruben
LeMay, a son, who is still living
at the farm. It was west of this
farm, on the shore of LeMay lake
that the late Mike Shields werlt ir to the sorghum business. ;
His first mill was a temporary,'
crude affair, using the power of
one horse to make his sugar cane
Dress work- Thn fircl.. mill -urn,: 1.-_
After a couple of years Mike
moved his equipment across the
road -and began construction of a
',modern'_' sorghum. mill_ He and
his brother, a priest, worked- all
summer on the mill, which was
quite- an ac^omplishment in the
early days.
The basement was made of rocks
and mortar, and the top was con-
structed of boards. Two tanks were
installed -to boil the sugar cane in-,
to sorghum syrup; water for the,
steam came from the lake, via- a.
long pipe, and later a cistern. -
Farmers hauled their loads of
sugar cane, causing a problem of
storage. To cope with this -situa-
tion, Mr. Shields constructed a
storage shed.
The shed seemed to work fine
,,for.awhile, but soon the sugar cane
stalks started to sprout, and •they!
h'aacto be hauled out into the sun -
Dining the busy season, Mr.
Shields and his occasional helpers,
worked day and night. They fed
the big sugar cane press with bun-
dled sugar cane stalks, boiled the
juice, and hauled the sorghum to
market in barrels.
Business continued good for
about seven or eight years. But I
the sorghum boom was short lived.
It seems Mr. Shields could pay on-
ly $3 or $4 per ton for the cane.
Farmers then began growing other
'crops.
Ruben LeMay, whp helped Mr.
Shields iri his busy seasons, re-
members that the; Shields + farm
-vas at one time devoted to noth-
ing but the sugar cane crop.
The storage was about 100 feet ; +
long, and the cane mill was 20x30
(two stogies). A steam engine from
an old threshing machine was
'
employed in the place. It was ,a
12 -horsepower engine. Each boil -11
er had a 200-4allon capacity.
Ruben was asked if he remem,
bered any of the storis his father
told.about early Mendota.+ He said!
when Thellesphore first came, to.
Mendota the Indians were camped'
on an isl nd there (no doubt Pig's
Flye 1518.n%L _ _ --- --- -
The Indians, he said, were
friendly, good natured people, un=
til they went to St. Paul to load up
on "firewater." When liquored -
up, they suffered a turn -about in
personality. They were anything
but friendly.
Most of the time when on their
sprees, they would enter peoples
houses and snoop about, picking
up beads or anything they were
curious about.
Early residents reported that
Indians, when they'd come back
from "scalping trips," would hang
their scalps on poles, and dance
all night. An uncle of Ruben came
nearbeing shot by an arrow at one
time.
District 11, a nearby rural school,
had a centennial exhibit, before
Easter. Miss Virginia Scott is the
instructor there.
"Another shop was opened by George Auge in May, 1867, on the
Mendota Road, in the southwest quarter of Section 4, which he
continues to operate.
"In 1869, Edward Rachenberg opened a blacksmith shop in the
southwest quarter of Section 1, which he operated until about (1877)."
In 1876, Herman Raddatz established a blacksmith slop in the
northwest quarter of Section 2. About five years later he moved the
shop a little to the south, where Lexington Avenue crossed the
railroad tracks. He operated it there for the next 40 years.'
Ephraim Beaudette worked as a blacksmith at Nicols, next to Reo
Beaudette's grocery store, in the 1920s. Ephraim was described as
weighing about 165 pounds—but all muscle. He was said to have
broken cast-iron horse shoes across his chest and bent steel shoes
straight with his hands.
Horses were the power of most Eagan farms from the town's
earliest days up into the I940s. Huge, strong breeds such as Belgians
and Percherons pulled plows and wagons; lighter horses carried riders
and drew buggies and carts. "Horse trading" was more than a cliche
phrase.
11 was common in the late 1800s fur travelers passing through 00
horseback to meet tocol people and swap their tired mounts for fresh
ones. Both sides could come away with e bargain: the traveler would
get a fester horse and the farmer one Chet, eller it was rested, 'night
prove to be better shun the one he'd traded.
"Red Toni" Kenneuly was en old man in the 1920s. He used to tell
the local children stories about Eagan when he was young. One
member of his audience remembered Red Tums story of swapping
horses with a man who was passing through. Red Thm said he later
found (Jul he had "horse traded" with Jesse James.
Sorghum Mill
Michael Shields operated e sorghum null in Eagan from 1889 to
1911. Sorghum is a sweet -tasting syrup made from amber sugar cane.
It is milled by pressing the juice dut of the stalks and boiling it until it
1Iuckens.
At first the processing was done on the Shields farm, e little west
of Pilot Knob Road at Lune Oak Road, but in the early 1890s a new
mill was built on the east side of Pilot Knob. The new building wes e
two-story wooden structure with a stone -walled basement. It had a
100 -foot -long storage shed es well. The mill was equipped with e press
run by a 12 -horsepower steem engine and two 200 -gallon boilers that
used water drawn from LeMey Lake end were fueled with caul end
pressed cane stalks.
The mill opened each fall when the sorghum cane was harvested.
Its official start for the year wes a social event, with such dignitaries as
127
The Shields Sorghum store and
warehouse on Third Street in St. Paul,
1904. The filling of sorghum containers,
labeling and shipping runs done from
here. (Martin Shields)
Archbishop Ireland and James J. Hill attending. The mill usually ran
night and day through September and October.
A crew of six or seven men handled the day shift, and four or five
worked at night. Each was paid $2 a day for 12 hours. The employees
lived on the premises; Michael's wife Bridget did all the cooking and
baking for them, as well as her husband and her 14 children. In mill
season she often baked 20 loaves of bread a day.
The milt's capacity was 80 gallons of syrup a day. The syrup was
taken to St. Paul and marketed in 5, 10, 32 and 50 -gallon barrels. The
containers were labeled and shipped to various parts of the country.
Smaller containers were filled for local trade.
Farmers as far as 50 miles from the mill grew sorghum, but didn't
find it profitable and turned to other crops. As the supply of sorghum
disappeared, the mill ended its operation in 1911.
Retail
"One grocery store and saloon was put in operation in 1865, by
Alexander Fluor (Huard), at the crossing of the Mendota and St. Paul
roads, which comprises the whole of the trade, both wholesale and
retail..." noted the unimpressed author of an 1868 history of Dakota
County.2 Huard's Halfway House and other businesses grew,
128