Maier House

Maier House. . German homesteaders John and Dora Maier left Odessa, Russia and entered Eureka, South Dakota in the late 1880s. They first farmed near fellow Germans from Russia before moving to Moorhead, Minnesota. The Maier's built a house on their new homestead and originally managed it as a truck-garden farm in south Moorhead. Their daughter, Magdalina, inherited the home and lived here while her children, Merle Maier and Dorothy (Maier) Sanders built new homes on the land. After Magdalina's death, Merle and Dorothy honored their mother's wish of wanting her childhood home preserved and donated the house to Bonanzaville in 1983. The home stands as a memorial to pioneering Germans from Russia., Germans were left in poverty on damaged lands after the Seven Years' War ended in 1763. Russian Empress Catherine II possessed large amounts of untouched land in Russia and looked to attract settlers. She offered privileges such as religious freedom and the right to self-government, and these were guaranteed to their heirs. Many Germans moved to Russia to start a new life. Catherine II's son and grandson later restricted or removed these privileges as emperor and this pushed Germans to search for new homes. This happened alongside the United States Homestead Act of 1862 and many German-Russians moved to the U.S. to take up homesteads., (Caption) , 1910 Clay County Census listing John and Dora along with their children.