Farm History

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The farmlands once surrounding Parkers, Kreatz and Snyder Lakes were home to some of Plymouth’s earliest settlers – families whose hard work and perseverance helped shape the community that exists today. Among them were the Parker, Kreatz, and Schmitz families, who arrived in the mid-1800s to carve out farms from the Minnesota prairie. Each family brought unique stories. Check out the details of each farm family below.

Parkers Family Farm

The Parker farm was started by four brothers, Alfred, Charles, Israel, and James, when they moved to Minnesota in 1854 from Maine. The following year, their brother Daniel joined them.

Four of the brothers had separate, yet connecting farms that bordered the northeast side of what was to be called Parkers Lake. Israel had a separate piece of land southwest of the lake that he purchased as two separate lots.

Alfred purchased 160 acres on the northeast shore of Parkers Lake on December 20th, 1856. He stayed on that land for over a decade before he and his wife moved to Crystal Lake in 1870.

Charles purchased 160 acres on November 15th, 1860 on the north side of his brother Daniel’s farm. Charles and his wife worked the farm for the rest of their lives, but they had no children to pass the land on to.

Daniel purchased 156.8 acres on the northwest shore of Parkers Lake on December 20th, 1856. Daniel built a farmhouse for his family on the land, but went on to sell the rest of the farm land to Olaf Johnson.

Israel purchased two lots that together were 146.18 acres on November 11th, 1863. Before too long, he sold the land and left the Parkers Lake area in 1875. He continued to move around for nearly a decade before once again taking up farming in Maple Grove in 1887.

James purchased 53.52 acres on the eastern shore of Parkers Lake on November 15th, 1860. He worked the farm until he no longer could and the land was taken over by his children.

Kreatz Family Farm

The Kreatz farm was started by two brothers, Franz and Ferdinand Kreatz. The two were born in Germany and came to Minnesota sometime between 1855 and 1858. They originally purchased 160 acres together on October 1st, 1860. Before long, Ferdinand opted to split the farm and purchased an additional 80 acres just south of his brother’s property.

The Franz Kreatz farm was taken over by his son Jacob Frank Kreatz, who stayed on the farm until he moved to Minneapolis in 1926. By that time, his own son, Arthur, had taken over full responsibility for the farm.

A 1918 crop survey showed that the farm run by Jacob Frank was then 144 acres. The farm consisted of 11 acres of barley, 10 acres of corn, 75 acres of hay, 15 acres of oats, 25 acres of potatoes, and 8 acres of wheat. Additionally, they had 10 hogs, 5 horses, 6 dairy cows, 2 cattle, and 100 poultry birds.

The Ferdinand Kreatz farm was taken over by his youngest son Gustav. Gustav ran the farm until his death. The farm was then split between his two daughters, Pearl and Dorthory, who gave chunks of the land to their children.

The same 1918 crop survey showed that the farm then run by Gustav had 10 acres of corn, 30 acres of hay, 20 acres of oats, 10 acres of potatoes, 5 acres of rye, and 2 acres of wheat. They also cared for 2 hogs, 4 horses, 3 dairy cows, 2 cattle, and 50 poultry birds.

Schmitz Family Farm

Dennis Schmitz was born in Prussia but settled in Michigan in 1852. A couple years later in 1855, he relocated to Minnesota. Here he purchased 160 acres on November 22nd, 1860. His land was just north of Snyder and Kreatz Lakes.

When Dennis passed, at the age of 77, his sons took over the property. The farm was run by the three brothers, but the oldest, Peter, was noted to be in charge.

In 1918, when the farm was under Peter’s control, it consisted of 8 acres of corn, 60 acres of hay, 12 acres of oats, 2 ½ acres of potatoes, 14 acres of wheat, and ½ acres of fruit, which were cucumbers. They also had 9 hogs, 5 horses, 9 dairy cows, 5 cattle, and 40 poultry birds.