This Indian image first became part of Willmar in 1915, when it appeared as the Kandiyohi County Bank symbol. That same year, artist Eben E. Lawson, commissioned by the bank, created "Kandiyohi," a smaller sculpture which was the basis for this . . . — — Map (db m76191) HM
Berger Thorson was the first resident of what is now the city of Willmar. Little is known of the man except that he raised cattle and sometimes herded cattle for other settlers. On August 20, 1862 a Dakota war party surprised him near his cabin and, . . . — — Map (db m231826) HM
Welcome to the original District 18 school house! Measuring a cozy 18' by 22', it was built in 1880 on a site in northeast Willmar Township across Foot Lake about a mile north of the radio station tower. Prior to that, school was held in private . . . — — Map (db m231823) HM
Engine 2523 is a P-2 class mountain type locomotive survivor of the steam engines acquired by the Great Northern Railway from Baldwin Works in Pennsylvania in 1923 to speed up mainline passenger service. A powerful and speedy locomotive of the P-2 . . . — — Map (db m231822) HM
Solomon and Adaline (Stocking) Foot, with their four children, were the first settlers in Willmar Township, at this site in 1857. (Nearby Foot Lake was named after them.) Ground was broken in the spring. Vegetables, grain, and corn were planted. At . . . — — Map (db m231806) HM
The agricultural land of the Willmar region has a history that dates back 60 million years, when an inland sea covered the Great Plains from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Ocean. As the adjacent land eroded and life in the sea flourished, . . . — — Map (db m75844) HM
This mountain type locomotive survivor of the steam engines acquired by the Great Northern Railway to speed up main-line passenger service was placed on permanent exhibition here on October 17, 1965.
A powerful and speedy . . . — — Map (db m76363) HM
This monument has been placed to honor Guri Endresen-Rosseland and other early settlers of the Solomon Lake community. The settlers were predominately immigrants from Hardanger, Norway. Among the special characteristics of these pioneers were . . . — — Map (db m75661) HM
In May 1859, Olof Olson Haugen, his wife Bergeret, and son Frederick homesteaded here in section 32, Dovre Township. Over the next three years, the Haugen family diligently worked to establish their new life; building shelter, raising crops and . . . — — Map (db m77735) HM
Owned originally by Judge Gauthe Emil (GE) Qvale, this log cabin was part of the family estate on Eagle Lake. It was built as a children's playhouse and later converted to a guest house.
GE Qvale (1860-1951) was born in Norway and immigrated to . . . — — Map (db m231825) HM
The first native Americans came to what is now Kandiyohi County about 10,000 years ago, to hunt mammoths and other huge prehistoric animals.
As the environment changed over the years, so did the Indians. They became less dependent on . . . — — Map (db m76235) HM
Robbins Island was formed about 25,000 years ago during the Wisconsin glaciation period. Early people used it as a refuge from prairie fires and their enemies. Artifacts, including a copper projectile point about 3 thousand years old, have been . . . — — Map (db m76867) HM
The Sperry House was built in 1893 when this site was A. H. Sperry's farm. Featuring exterior brick, gables, wood molding, stained glass windows and carved interior oak woodwork, it was proclaimed by the Willmar Argus as "one of the finest . . . — — Map (db m231808) HM
Seems every town in the Midwest has a local summer celebration of some kind, and Willmar, Minnesota is no different. 1946 was the Kaffe Fest's first year, the chosen name being Swedish for coffee festival. The self-dubbed "Coffee Drinking Capital of . . . — — Map (db m231820) HM
Turning Back Time
The wetland before you is only a small part of the Weber Waterfowl Production Area; this original 80 acre site was bought from Regina and Anthony Weber in 1965. Additional land was purchased between 1970-74. This 421 acre . . . — — Map (db m77714) HM
Sponsored and Erected
By Austin F. Hanscom Post 167
The American Legion
Willmar, Minnesota
In grateful remembrance of those who have died serving our country in war, and in honor of all others who have served in our armed forces. May their . . . — — Map (db m76412) WM
In the fall of 1856, a party of land speculators, organized by Edwin Whitefield, projected a town site on the west shore of Lake Wakanda. As a real estate agent and artist, Whitefield did much to impress the merits of the Minnesota frontier upon . . . — — Map (db m79336) HM
The first business firm in Kandiyohi County, a sawmill managed by W. H. Clark, was established at this site in 1858. The townsite of Fullerville was named after Randall Fuller, a partner in the sawmill venture who first came to the Eagle Lake area . . . — — Map (db m231769) HM
A Congregation & the Conflict
Kandiyohi County's first church once stood near here. Housed in an abandoned log cabin, the first congregation gathered in 1859 to hold its services. The congregation was called New Sweden and later became . . . — — Map (db m231773) HM
Home to an Historic Battle
The Erickson Cabin was the site of a battle during the U.S.-Dakota Conflict in 1862. This outbreak of violence occurred at a time when tension between Dakota tribal members and the U. S. Government had reached . . . — — Map (db m231774) HM
This log house is one of our state's Norwegian-American treasures. It was built about 1858 for the Endreson family, who had emigrated from Vikoy parish, Hardanger, Norway, in 1857.
Lars Endreson Rosseland, the builder of the house, had been a . . . — — Map (db m231777) HM
Swarms of grasshoppers invaded this county in July 1876, destroyed two-thirds of the crop, and laid millions of eggs. A grain farm at this site was owned by Paul Willmar (son of Leon Willmar, after whom the city was named). Willmar and other farmers . . . — — Map (db m231807) HM
