Near Cleveland in Le Sueur County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
The Geldner Mill
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The Big Woods
Photographed by Liz Koele, January 4, 2022
1. The Geldner Mill / The Big Woods Marker
The Geldner Mill
This historic sawmill played an important role in the settlement, clearing, and development of the countryside in which it stands. The machinery was manufactured in the late 1860s by Halbert and Paige of Painesville, Ohio, and by D. Lane and Company of Montpelier, Vermont. It was shipped to LeSueur County by steamboat and placed in operation on upper Lake Jefferson, then moved in 1870 to this location where it has remained for more than a century.
Because of frequent financial panics between 1870 and 1900, the mill passed through the hands of a number of owners before Leonard Geldner purchased it from the McCabe brothers. Geldner had worked as a millhand for several previous owners before becoming the proprietor of the mill in 1906.
Leo Geldner, from whom LeSueur County purchased the mill in 1978, is of the second generation of his family to have worked much of his life at the Geldner Mill.
From 1978 through 1982 the mill was restored as a historic site by the county with local funds and the help of grants from the United States Department of the Interior and the Minnesota Historical Society.
The Big Woods
When
this page online
Between these two areas lay a belt of deciduous hardwood timber varying in width from 20 to 60 miles and known as the Big Woods. It was remarkable for the abruptness with which it rose from the prairie grassland on its southwest side and for the clear demarcation line that separated it from the evergreen-dominated northeastern forest.
The Big Woods was made up primarily of hard and soft maple, basswood, oak, elm, ash, hackberry, boxelder, and various nut trees. Pine and red cedar were its principal evergreen species.
Erected 1984 by Cleveland Chapter of the Le Sueur County Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1870.
Location. 44° 16.483′ N,
Photographed by Liz Koele, January 4, 2022
2. The Geldner Mill / The Big Woods Marker
Regionally, this marker is in the Minnesota River Valley. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Ruperts Land, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, and the Louisiana Purchase.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 16 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Charles A. Lindbergh (approx. 6 miles away); Limestone Treasures (approx. 12½ miles away); The Ottawa Methodist Church (approx. 12.6 miles away); Reverend Emil Polαek (approx. 13.9 miles away); Roster of the Le Sueur Tigers (approx. 15½ miles away); Dr. William W. Mayo House (approx. 15½ miles away); 1923 Minnesota River Bridge (approx. 15.6 miles
Photographed by Liz Koele, January 4, 2022
3. The Geldner Mill / The Big Woods Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 11, 2022. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2022, by Liz Koele of St. Paul, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 369 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 11, 2022, by Liz Koele of St. Paul, Minnesota. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
