Homestead National Historical Park

Happy Friday, my friends! We had an easy-going day yesterday with a visit to Homestead National Historical Park. I can't remember when or where I first heard about this place, but I was most interested in the Quilt Discovery Experience there. As it turns out, the Quilt Discovery Experience was just a small part of the park. The rest was all about the Homestead Act signed into law by President Lincoln in 1862. It documented the lives of the homesteaders, and the challenges they faced. The exhibits and short video also gave fair time to the Native Americans who were displaced when their homeland was given away to settlers moving west. It was an all-encompassing and interesting look into our nation's past.

As we approached the visitor center, we read this sign. I was inspired to add Willa Cather's book to my wish list.

This was an interesting map. The light tan states were Homestead States.

Oregon was among them, and I have no doubt I live near a homestead. 

Inside the visitor center, there were computer stations where one could do genealogy work, if desired. I was motivated to look up the names of my grandfathers to see if they were homesteaders. Neither were, but I couldn't search any farther back than that, since I didn't know the names of my great grandfathers.

This was just about the extent of the Quilt Discovery Experience. The booklet was handed to me for free.

Inside were listed about two dozen traditional quilt blocks with information about their origin and meaning. There were also quilt block signs posted throughout the trails and walkways. Here are some that we saw.

The booklet inspired me to make my 2023 Rainbow Scrap Quilt as a "Heritage" quilt using different blocks listed in the booklet. While the exhibit was smaller than I expected, it did inspire me, and that made it worth the visit.

There were some interesting exhibits and artifacts inside the visitor center. These beaded moccasins, as an example.

Here's a close-up view of the beading.

I liked this exhibit. There were three items shown, and then three drawers below each showing how the settlers made do with what was available to them. Most interesting to me was the feed sack.

When I opened the drawers below, here were just some of the ways the settlers used them.

Animals were put to use doing some of the manual labor. There was a goat-driven treadmill that turned a grinding stone...similar to the grist mills, but with goat power. Kind of funny. We wondered how one would get the goat to cooperate. Also, this dog hitched to a travois. And this, my friends, is why cats are superior to dogs. A cat would never submit to this kind of manual labor. Don't blame me...I'm just the messenger. 

Of course, I knew you'd want to see the kitchen tools.

Walking on, we took a look at the Palmer cabin.

A family of 12 lived here. Yikes.

Inside, there were a couple of quilts. Directly ahead, there was one draped over the rocking chair.

It was a very small space. To our left was a table and a spinning wheel. The other item there almost looks like a treadle sewing machine without the machine.

To our right we saw this:

In the right corner, a bed with a log cabin quilt. That wood fire would have kept things warm.

Here was some information about another settler, Daniel Freeman, and how he was able to be successful on his homestead when so many others failed.

Looking out across this tallgrass prairie, this is what we saw, and it's what Freeman saw when he staked his claim. 

Looking in another direction.

We walked to the far side of the field to see this:

Here is his and his wife's grave.

Looking back at the visitor center, the upturned roof was designed to resemble a plow.

That was pretty much all the time we spent there. We went back inside to use the restrooms before we left. To the right of the women's room was this quilted wall-hanging.

Here's the information about it.

From there, we drove into Beatrice (pronounced bee-AT-ris). I nearly missed the sign as we drove past.

But that's okay because I caught this painted mural as we drove through town.

We were on our way to this quilt shop. I'll tell you about it in a separate post.

This town is very old. It's one of those small towns that looks as if its frozen in time. It was a windows and walls kind of day. Here are the ones across the street from the quilt shop.

I was able to capture a few more as we drove by. They aren't the best pictures since I was shooting through a window and looking up to see them. Still, I think you get the idea. Windows and walls is just another of the thousands of quilts I'm going to make someday. Lighthouses and barns are also on my list.

We made a quick stop at the grocery store, and then headed for home. We spent the rest of the afternoon just hanging out, and I got quite a bit of slow-stitching done. I'm hoping to finish my quilt block today, but that might be overly-ambitious. It would be good to finish it while I'm able to use my washer to wash out the Sticky Fabri-Solvy. One never knows when the next opportunity might be.

We're planning a chill day for ourselves here. There's nothing on our agenda, and it's raining outside. Not a problem. I'll make us some cookies for two and we'll enjoy just hanging out for an entire day. We'll be moving on tomorrow, and we're coming close to the end of our sight-seeing journey. We have just a few more stops before we start our homeward bound trek.

Exploring Fort Ransom State Park

We made good on our promise to walk a portion of the North Country National Scenic Trail yesterday. What a lovely hike! Our mission was to see the Sunne Farm, which is a part of the state park. We started out from our campsite, walking much the same way we had on our evening stroll the night before. This time, we walked past the visitor center and onto the national scenic trail itself.

Here's some information about the trail, along with a map showing you its entire distance, beginning in Vermont.

Here's some information about the North Dakota portion. You can see where we're starting from.

Here's a little information about the volunteers who help to maintain the trail in North Dakota.

Please step aside if we happen on any horses.

Everybody got your shoes tied? Let's go.

If you look waaaaaay off into the distance in the image below, you'll see the object of our desire this morning.

We'll be paralleling the river and following the stakes with the blue blazes.

On the far side of the river, we could see these black-eyed Susans.

I found some closer to the trail on our way back.

A little to the left of the black-eyed Susans on the far side of the river were these pink guys. Hard to see them very well from this distance.

The trail was mostly grass with mud in spots. There were hundreds of these Northern Leopard frogs hopping around as we approached. It was nearly impossible to see them until they moved. Some were green as grass like this one.

Others were brown with the same spots and stripes.

This park caters to equestrian campers. There are special campsites with hookups and corrals for the horses.

On our way back, these campers had unloaded their two horses into a corral and were readying themselves for a ride.

Remember those brown stickery things I showed you in yesterday's post? I have an idea these might be the same thing, only not bloomed out.

As we got closer, we were able to see the whole farm.

The land is still farmed by someone, and we passed by this cornfield, already harvested.

Mike really enjoyed this wonderful display of antique farm implements. I've posted the explanatory sign followed by the actual piece of equipment on display for the next several pictures. 

It was very windy out there and sometimes it was hard to hold the sign straight for its picture.

This might have been the first time I stood right beside one of these windmills. Usually I only see them as we're driving down the road. 

The blades turn with the wind, activating the pump below.

Water is pumped into the trough to the right.

Just behind me was this "cook's cabin." I have an idea this is a modern addition, although the wheels on this trailer seem older.

This property is still used by the Fort Ransom Sodbusters Association for their annual Sodbuster Days event, and I believe some of these more modern structures are for their use.

This next image is my "windows and walls" shot of the day. I've always liked this little row of windows sometimes seen on the sides of barns.

Here's the barn from a different angle. This is the original barn built in 1914.

The next few informational signs will tell you about the Sunne family. They were Norwegian immigrants.

Here's a picture of the family and some of the farm hands.

Here is the log cabin where the family lived.

The cabin was locked, but you know that never stopped me from peeping in the windows and taking pictures that way. You can see a wood burning stove across the way and in the foreground, I believe that is the wringer from a wringer washer.

There are two quilts on the bed across the way. Also, there's a piano or an organ on the left side.

I tried to get a better picture of the quilts through the side window, but this next image is the best I could do.

To the right of the log cabin was this house. There was no information about this place, and the windows all had screens, so I couldn't take pictures of the interior.

Behind it was this "Summer Kitchen." I can recall the plantations in the south had "kitchen houses," where the kitchen was kept separate from the main house in case a fire broke out. I'm guessing that was part of the function for this place.

On the other hand, consider how hot it can get here in North Dakota in the summer, and it makes sense they'd want to do these things in a separate structure.

We sat on a bench outside the Summer Kitchen and gazed at the house from there.

We were impressed by the "spread" of this big elm tree. No doubt it gave a nice amount of shade on a hot day.

There were more structures without explanation.

Here, it was interesting to note the many different sizes of wheels.

This would have been a chicken coop.

At the far side of the farm was another display of large antique farm implements.

After thoroughly exploring the farm, we headed back the way we came.

We happened on this monarch butterfly who spread his wings for a picture.

Toward day's end, we went for another walk around the campground. It is so beautiful here. There was something in the air...moisture, dust...hard to say. It caught the light and gave everything a golden glow. This is the slope above our campsite.

Walking toward the clearing at the park boundary, it looks like this:

On the river side, it looked like this. The sound of the wind in the trees was soothing. There are other campers here, but it feels as if we have the place to ourselves.

Today I believe we'll take a drive to see the nearby Sheyenne National Grassland. It is the only National Grassland in the tallgrass prairie region of the United States. We'll be moving on to Minnesota tomorrow, and so we'll also devote plenty of time today to relaxation. It's been a couple of days since I worked on my slow-stitching, and that's where I'm headed next. I'd like to finish up the first block before the end of the month. Sight-seeing is keeping me busy this trip.

Oh yes, and I almost forgot. Remember my pictures of all the sunflowers grown in North Dakota?

As it turns out, we were just lucky enough to happen upon a "superbloom." My thanks to my friend Karen for sending the link to an article about it. Take a look.