The Samuelsons and their Cabin

The Samuelsons and their Cabin. . The 160-acre tract in this Nature Area was homesteaded by John A. Samuelson, (top left) originally from Sweden, who settled here in 1869. His first home was a dugout in the hillside where he and his wife Anna (bottom left) lived for three years and in which their first child, Anna, was born. John Samuelson has the distinction of being the first pioneer settler in Split Rock Township, Minnehaha County., In 1873, they moved into the log cabin, which remains today on its original site. The couple lived in the cabin for 24 years, farming and raising a family of eight children. Besides Anna, all the other children, Celia, John, August, Christina, Carl, Emil, and Martin, were born in the cabin. Their second daughter, Greta O'Celia, was born in the cabin, but died shortly thereafter., The 17 x 25 foot cabin was built of local, hand-hewn oak timbers. There were two rooms downstairs and one large loft upstairs. The exterior eventually had lap siding and the inside walls were plastered to help keep out the cold. The walls were also wallpapered, and the floor made of wood. The bedroom area was walled off and a set of stairs sat at the far end of the bedroom. The windows had small glass panes, and water was brought in from a well in the summer. The back door led to the kitchen, which was a small lean-to addition across the back of the house., The Samuelson's homestead was occupied by family members or other tenants who farmed the land until it was purchased by the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Department as a Nature Area in 1967. John passed away in 1927 and is buried beside Anna, who passed away in 1905, in the Riverside Cemetery in Pierre., Captions: , Samuelson family, ca 1895. , A family picnic at the homestead. , The Samuelson family outside the homestead, 1885. The cabin has been sided and a small lean-to put on the back., (Right) An aerial view of the Samuelson homestead in the 1960s. John Samuelson located his homestead in an area with good land, water, and timber resources. , (Left) The Samuelson children sold the homestead to the State in 1967 for use as a park.