How to Make a Brick

Looking around Shakopee, you see many buildings made of an iconic reddish brick. These structures were made from bricks manufactured at Schroeder Brickyard. The Schroeder Brick and Lime Manufacturing Company was founded in 1876 by Herman Schroeder, a German immigrant. The business stayed in the family until it ceased operation in 1941. Shakopee and neighboring communities were adding buildings rapidly in the late 1800s. This coupled with the fact that shipping heavy brick was a costly endeavor guaranteed a steady demand for locally made bricks.

Canvas advertisement for Schroeder Brick Manufacturing. From the SCHS collections.

The Schroeder Brickyard was located just east of downtown Shakopee along the Minnesota River. The location possessed all the components needed for a successful brick-making operation- a large accessible supply of high quality clay, wood to fuel the kilns and steam engines, a willing workforce, and close proximity to a growing community. 

Brick-making was an outdoor activity, and was limited to warmer months of the year. When the temperature dropped below freezing, the bricks could not dry properly before firing. During the icy winters the workers at the brickyard were forced to find other employment, or were left without work during the hardest time of the year. Production at Schroeder Brickyard was labor intensive. Bricks were created using a five step process, and a mixture of human, equine and steam power.

Workers at Becker Brickworks in Belle Plaine, 1895. Photo from the SCHS collections.

1) Mining (Winning) the Clay
Workers excavated clay using shovels, buckets and a horse-drawn scraper. Large clay and sand deposits were essential for an successful brickyard. The clay and sands of the Minnesota River Valley were deposited here over 10,000 years ago during glaciation of the region. During glacial runoff, the heavy clay was left behind in depressions called kettle holes. 

2) Preparation of the Clay
Sometimes the clay was “weathered” or aged for a year before it was used. The seasonal process of freezing and thawing helped break up the clay, and rain washed salt and other impurities from the clay. After the weathering process, the clay was mixed with sand and water in a large circular open pit using a huge horse-driven wheel. The type of clay found in the area determined the color of the brick. 

3) Molding of the Bricks
Bricks were traditionally formed by hand by packing clay into wooden molds. By the 1870, brick-making machines had become more common. The machine used by the Schroeder Brickyard at its opening used steam to pack brick molds with tempered clay.

Photo of a Shakopee Brick, taken 1967. Photo from the SCHS collections.

This technology increased production from one to eighty bricks per minute. About one out of every 100 bricks that came from Schroeder Brickyard was stamped with the iconic “Shakopee”. 

4) Drying the Bricks
After the bricks were formed, they were stacked under roofed, open drying sheds for one to two weeks. Proper drying was needed to ensure a uniform shape and strength. There were ten rows of sheds on the Schroeder site able to hold approximately 100,000 bricks. The structure of the sheds provided both air circulation and rain protection. 

Ruins of a kiln, possibly for lime, at Schroeder Brickworks taken in 1967. Photo from the SCHS collections.

5) Firing the Bricks
A simple roofed updraft kiln was used to fire the bricks. Freshly dried bricks were  carefully stacked in the kiln so that small perpendicular tunnels ran through the rows of bricks. Fires were then set in these tunnel openings, curing the bricks as heat rose up through the stacks. Temperatures between 1600 degrees and 2000 degrees Fahrenheit needed to be maintained for seven to ten days to properly fire the bricks. Constantly tending the fires that heated these kilns was a tedious job. 

Today, we have a variety of bricks from the Schroeder brickyards, and other brick factories around the county in the SCHS collections. The processes and labor of brick making has changed throughout the years, but you can still see thousands of the iconic red Schroeder bricks making up the walls of Shakopee buildings. 

Written by Rose James, SCHS Program Manager

The Dog Days

Canine companions have long been a part of Scott County’s history. To celebrate we have searched our collections for some photos and memorabilia honoring our furry friends- enjoy!

Frank, Emma and William Lebra with a dog, 1905. Photo from the SCHS Collections

Strunk and Ries families in Shakopee, 1910. Photo from the SCHS collections

Children and dogs in Shakopee, 1905. Photo from the SCHS collections

Children gathered with dog, 1905. Photo from the SCHS collections

Boy and dog in Jordan, MN, 1920. Photo from the SCHS Collections

Street scene in Belle Plaine, 1898. Photo from the SCHS collections

Dr. Maloney and his dog in Belle Plaine, 1898. Photo from the SCHS collections

Sam Bowler (left) and F. J. Whitlock (right) with dog in Belle Plaine, 1890. Photo from the SCHS Collections

Workers at Jordan Sulfur Springs, 1915. Photo from the SCHS Collecitons

Photo of the Belle Plaine Hikers Club. Pictured are are Edna Sherman, Mable Wherley, May Whitlock, Francis Martin, Carrie Chressman, Margaret Paulson, Lillian Irwin, Angela Weibeler, Florence Paul, Florence Martin, Sarah Nichols and Josephine Townsend.  Edna Sherman and Florence Paul were both teachers.  Paul is also holding a dog in her lap. 1915. Photo from the SCHS Collections.

Harry Weldon with Dog, 1933. Photo from the SCHS collections

Coller family with dog, 1914. Photo from the SCHS collections.

Women’s Suffrage in Minnesota

In September 1919, the Minnesota legislature ratified the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote.

This change had been a long time coming. As far back as 1858, granting the right to vote to married women was proposed as an addition to the new state’s constitution. This idea was, unfortunately, rejected.

Women moved one step closer to the ballot in 1875 when they were granted the right to vote and run for office- but only for school board and school related issues.

The first statewide suffrage organization was formed in 1881 when the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association (MWSA) was created by 14 women in Hastings.

The MWSA transformed into the Minnesota League of Women Voters, which is still an active organization devoted to civic engagement nearly 100 years later.

The Scott County Historical Society will be commemorating the anniversary of statewide womens’ suffrage during the upcoming year. To kick things off, we are excited to host historian and author Lois Glewwe. Glewwe is the descendant of the longtime South St. Paul Glewwe family. On August 27, 1920, South St. Paul women, including three of Lois Glewwe’s paternal aunts went to the polls. They were the first women in Minnesota to vote after the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Glewwe will share the story of 21-year-old Marguerite Newburgh, a stenographer at South St. Paul City Hall who the national press identified as the very first woman to vote that morning at 6:00 a.m. when the polls opened. Join us on Thursday, August 8th at 6:30pm for this special event!  Learn more at https://bit.ly/2NIZGYM

Additionally, look forward to a special exhibit on the journey towards womens’ suffrage in Scott County opening in April of 2020. Do you have any artifacts or stories to share relating to the history of women’s suffrage in Scott County? Don’t hesitate to reach out to SCHS at 952-445-0378, or email info@scottcountyhistory.org

Womens’ suffrage was a hotly contested issue in print publications of the early 1900s. Below is the text of an article entitled “Votes for Women: By a Suffragette” about the British and American womens’ fight for voting rights. It was published in the Scott County Argus on April 2nd, 1909:

IIlustration from the Scott County Argus, April 2, 1909

“Votes For Women”: The peer who could have been apprehended uttering those words 100 years ago in England would have been ostracized by society- by men and women alike. But scan the situation today and you will find that we suffragettes have nearly won our battle. Perhaps it seems far from victory for Americans who have been following the the struggle which we have been conducting in our own way, but let me say right here that “votes for women” is in my mind a certainty within a decade. 

The idea has been drive home among the men who are the ruling powers of Great Britain and they cannot help but see the beauty of our arguments. The opening of a vista of light in the stubborn minds of men who construct English law is to the suffragettes a certain indication that if the fight is carried on in the next few years with the same vigorous measures which have marked the pursuit of votes by the feminine British of the past few years our cause is won. 

It is an enlightened age. The woman who spurns the thought of participating in the political activities of her country has not yet reached a plane, according to my belief, where she can possibly appreciate the benefits derived from the ballot. Why do women dislike politics? I answer simply because they believe the political side of a country’s life is the degraded one. They connect politics and votes with drinking, graft, and other evils which, I may say beset the safety of political government today. 

Illustration from the Scott County Argus, April 2, 1909

And, let me ask the woman who does not believe that she should vote. Would not the introduction of the feminine into government affairs serve to cleanse them of the stigma which is too often attached. To mind that would be the result. 

I have said that I would deal impartially in this article and so I am giving “the other hand” of the question. Men have opposed equal rights because they say that the influence a women of evil intentions could throw into a political fight would disrupt organization. I answer: There is now much evil in the manner in which our male citizens are carrying out their policies and it is a certainty that the purifying influences of women would be felt in national questions.

“But women has not the training for a political career”, some of my skeptical friends may declare. True, she has not had the training which has been accorded to the men, but just ow she is not looking for political office, for she is after her primary right- the ballot. Then after that is one the political training will naturally follow with the interest which the woman must take in the affairs of the country which she will necessarily help in deciding. 

I do not suppose that enlightened readers will want me to again go over that thread bare motto, which arises to the uppermost part of the brain of man whenever he is arguing against equal rights, vis., that “women’s place is in the home”. 

Of course woman’s place is in her home. So is a man’s, but that does not prevent either from participating in the decision of who shall govern the rights upon which that home is built. Think it over. Does it? 

It befell me to be a member of the little band of women who, when they asserted their rights verbally in front of the house of commons in February, were dragged into the worst excuse for a court of justice and sentenced to one month in the workshop because they had nerve enough to tell the people of London their ideas on the rights of men and women. 

The mental agonies which we women were compelled to undergo were compensated in the good which was done the cause, or we were the martyrs of our division of the great band of women which is fighting for the ballot. 

True, the magistrate was good enough to give us places in “jail” which were better than those to which the ordinary drunkard is sentenced, but the care we received was not such that our lived in the confinement of the “jail” was by any means comfortable. Yet we refused to allow ourselves freedom. 

Men have laughed at our methods of going about the acquirement of our right to the ballot. 

A male friend of mine said to me: “Why do not you women go after suffrage peaceably without the attempt at making your point felt by the use of brute strength?”

Think of it, sisters and brothers. He called our efforts the utilization of “brute strength”. I laughed outright when he chose to term our fight under that caption. 

Perhaps he gained his idea from the fact that our vigorous prosecuting of the fight has been styled “rioting” by the sensationalist press. But in my mind, it cannot be called that for to my knowledge, none of the women came to blows with their enemies in this fight. IT seems to me that what “brute strength” has been used was on the other side. 

Brains have been used to a greater extent then you might imagine. It was a cunning mind among our leaders who thought out the plan to talk to leaders of Parliament by having two women chain themselves to the guard in the balcony. Just that little incident gave England the idea that the fight was a determined one. 

Illustration from the Scott County Argus, April 2, 1909

Modern advertising methods were used to circulate general knowledge of the March demonstration and certainly if we believed that the power of brawn is needed to win this struggle we would not have gone about it in that manner. We could have hired hoodlums to make a far more startling argument in the line with the use of brute strength. 

Another manner of unique advertising was the airship episode which unfortunately ended disastrously. The craft, upon the side of which a great banner hung bearing the slogan “votes for women” traveled in the direction opposite to that for which it had been steered, but the moral effect upon the public was good 

Though it is not generally known, there are great minds behind this campaign and through them eventual success is sure. Every day new moves are planned, and the members of parliament who are opposed to our creed little know where to look next for an outcropping of the emblem which bears our little legend “equal suffrage”. 

Male members of the British nobility are to be figured upon if the selfish would defeat us, and that is why I say I believe I have good reason to argue that within a decade our fight will be won. Are there not in England among the male population minds of far lesser caliber than those of the women who believe they should vote? There is no doubt of it. Yet we, who have a greater grasp of the political side of life in his majesty’s domain are denied the privilege. Is our condition not like that which you Americans fought back in 1776: taxation without representation?

From reading the cable news from America in the daily newspaper here in London I learn that several states of our former colonies have bestowed upon their women the right to cast ballots in rendering decisions as to state and city officers. If the offspring of England shall have so far progressed as to recognize that the feminine branch of the human race deserves a say in the affairs of men is it not time for the mother country to cast from her back the black cloak of unequal suffrage? 

There is a suffrage lesson in America and well may England profit by it. The thought that voting is unwomanly is as obsolete as the old stage-coach system, to my mind and some day the eyes of our country will be opened to that fact. We women have simply formed ourselves into a band of leaders and we hope soon to see our way clear to the voting booth. 

Our struggle commenced in humble little mass meetings in the street. The success of these resolved itself into the desire to do greater things and today you Americans who read the newspapers are viewing a fight which is nearing the mountain top of victory. 

Reminiscing

Friday is my last day at the museum before I begin a new chapter in retirement.  For the past couple of weeks I’ve been reminiscing about the changes that have occured during my fifteen years at the Scott County Historical Society.

In technology alone we are light-years away from the lowly fax machine and dial-up internet service we used in 2004. To publicize our programs, like “coffee-talks” and “lunch-box lectures”, we had to program media phone numbers (like Southwest News and Star-Tribune reporters/editors), into the banker-box sized fax machine – which had a dedicated telephone line.  I remember listening for the buzz-dot-dot-ding-zzzzzz sound to make sure the fax went through properly.  Now sending a press release is super easy, just create a media email distribution list and send an email.  However, we still need to review and update the distribution lists – the same as for fax phone numbers – somethings don’t change.

Faster internet is a blessing – and a curse.  We can get so much more done, connect with people faster and easier, and share information with the click of a button, which is fantastic.  However, with ease-of-use comes pressure to do more.  It’s a balancing act to do more and keep quality, which is something I believe we achieve at SCHS.

Here is a visual walk through some of the more outstanding changes at SCHS.

Office space reflects changes in technology (thanks Cargill for donating in-kind the desk & chair).  The director (me) added a bit of color and cleaned up her act.

Our early hands-on exhibit item was a push button board – now we have a touchscreen that’s easily changed for new exhibit content.

Along with changes in technology, the museum building itself had a very different look when it opened.  Originally the center hallway was one large room. Over the years, two half-walls were added to create three separate exhibit galleries – Maurice Stans government life, family life, and a center hall gallery for local exhibits.

There was limited space to display county history; at one point we used the museum store area for exhibits.  A museum redesign project (funded by a 2013 Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community – SMSC grant), provided great opportunities to make the museum more welcoming, accessible and useful, including… a new entry and store.

We had an African gallery, complete with a diorama! The SMSC 2013 grant provided funds to change the diorama into much needed archival storage, and create open gallery space.  (The lion and zebra were auctioned and the proceeds benefited collections care.)

The research library shared space with SCHS exhibits. Through the SMSC 2013 redesign, we removed the platform and installed a much needed education storage closet. Exhibits were removed from the space and now the full room is devoted to research library use.

Even the garden changed (thanks to a TORO grant in 2016); we removed the hedge surrounding the garden to create an open parklike space.  The new garden has native plantings, butterfly gardens, pergola, raised garden beds, and open space for programming.  The garden has hosted a few weddings since it’s redesign!

Staff has shifted over the past 15 years and I am extremely grateful for their skills, laughter, and high-quality work!  Thanks Megan, Judith, Patrick, Jaden, Courtney, Andy, Allison, Theresa, Stephanie, Rachel, Tyler, Erika, Tony, Caitlin, Dave, and Rose.

It’s been quite a run and I am proud of all that we accomplished during my tenure at SCHS.  These years have been the best of my working life and I have had many wonderful experiences both professional and personal that I will remember fondly. I will miss the incredible people I had the pleasure to work with and am at a loss on how to thank you for all the support you’ve shown me and the experiences we shared.

SCHS has an amazing staff and a wonderful volunteer base, and I look forward to seeing what new heights SCHS will reach in the future.  Thank You!

Scott County Creameries

Guest Blog Post! Thank you to St. Thomas student Arnold Rosas for volunteering in our research library this past month, and for writing a blog post for us on Scott County Creameries. Are you interested in researching and writing a blog post for SCHS? Email our Program Manager Rose James at rjames@scottcountyhistory.org

Scott County Creameries

Although we love the sweet, sugary taste of ice cream and cake, the process of making these delicious desserts oftentimes goes unnoticed. The ingredients that make these foods so special are made from creameries all around the world and are central to our daily lives. You may not have known this, but creameries have been a huge part of Scott County’s history. In this article, we will discuss how local creameries start out and four major creameries located in Scott County and why this matters today.

There are a lot of things that need to be done just to build a creamery such as approval from the state. The New Prague Times recounted the Farmers’ Cooperative Creamery’s city hall meeting on September 7th, 1911. At this session, “the committee discussed the cost of building, operating name, the number of cows to each creamery, and the price paid for butter fat.” In addition to this initial report, the committee brought in Mr. Grosser, the butter maker of the Cannon Falls creamery, and Mr. Meyer, the manager of the Webster, Minn. creamery to explain the success and higher prices of Farmers’ Cooperative would be for the community.”  “The city members were pleasantly surprised at the facts brought out by the report and Farmers Cooperative was able to start building plans the following day.” Without a doubt, starting a creamery in Scott County takes a lot of preparation and research, but when all of these components come together, it is the community that really benefits.

Have you ever wondered how thousands of dairy products are brought to your local grocery store every week? Well, it takes a lot of machinery, packaging and transportation. Historically this was very difficult because of the lack of technology. One local creamery in New Prague was able to mass produce butter and cream at an astonishing rate. An article from the New Prague Times published on February 11 in the year of 1926 notes “the importance of the dairy industry not only to the farming community but also to small family businesses.” On this historic date, “the New Prague Creamery Association ranked third among all of the co-operative creameries in the entire state of Minnesota and produced 974,464 pounds of butter and 2,892,716 pounds of cream.” Needless to say, New Prague had an amazing creamery, but there were also notable ones located in Shakopee.

The Scott Co. Argus on October 15th, 1915 boasted the success of “the Shakopee Creamery, Geo. and the proprietor, A. Dellwo.” This “creamery has listed 85 farmers and pays them an average of $85 a day for their cream.” In addition to this, “Mr. Dellwo manufactures a fine grade of ice cream, averaging about 75 gallons per day during the summer months.” Even though Scott Co. Argus is a famous creamery in this area, the first one started in Shakopee by J.C. Munsch was another prominent creamery. Another Scott Co. Argus article published on December 14th, 1906 invited “farmers in the vicinity who have cream to sell or shipping abilities to work with Mr. Munsch.” Some questioned his qualifications, “but he was a practical butter maker that learned the trade from the Silver Lake creamery, where he was sole in charge of the business.” Understandably the creamery business takes a lot of marketing to provide the best dairy products, but this task was very easy for the Milton Creamery in Belle Plaine.

The Belle Plaine Herald revealed Milton Creamery’s immense milk shipping on June 8th, 1898. This creamery operated here in Scott County way before New Prague and Shakopee. The authors found that “eighty teams had hauled in milk that day, from which 440 gallons of cream had been separated and shipped out.” It was also found that “the amount of milk received each day seemed to vary from 14,000 to over 22,000 pounds a day, the latter amount coming in on Mondays.” What made this feat so significant was how this creamery was able to produce so much in such a competitive environment where “business had been lost to the number of other creameries that had sprung up around them.” Clearly, it was a stressful time and even though a pound of butter amounted to a couple of dollars back in 18th and 19th centuries, there were some that chose to steal these products.

The Jordan Independent mentioned multiple butter robberies in the Scott County area during the year of 1927 in an article published on March 31st. According to “the police department, Olschlagle purchased creamery butter that was stolen from someone in the area and sold them to residents.” This influenced “sheriffs to set out a stakeout and “E.J. Dee was apprehended by Hastings police for trying break into a local pool hall and around the same time, Jack Welte was taken into custody in Owatonna while trying to rob a grocery store.” It turns out “that these two burglars traded stolen butter for Olschagle’s bootleg booze.” Although these two were put into jail, “Olschagle pleaded that he was innocent, but police later found out that he had a second identity as George Harvey, and arrested him for receiving and selling stolen property and selling illegal liquor.” The aspect “that made this case so controversial was whether or not the creameries were going to be reimbursed for their losses.” Overall, creameries are difficult to sustain and these issues are even faced today.

Today, many companies today move towards sustainability and protecting the environment. In terms of the future, creameries in Scott County will have to be less mindful of bootleggers, and more mindful of the changes in our society and how their products are being made.