Southwestern Minnesota

Redwood Falls, MN where we visited the historical society

Land of big sky and cornfields

 Today we set out from Minneapolis under cloudy skies and high winds in search of more information on why Bill's great-grandparents and other Barber relatives left Ontario for this little part of Minnesota.
A visit to the Redwood Falls Historical Society gave us some clues: after the US government made treaties with the Dakota tribes which were not honored, the native people attacked settlers and started a very short war in 1862 in which they were outgunned and outmanned. Once that rebellion was quelled, thousands of settlers left the region never to return. At least 1700 native people were interred in a camp at Fort Snelling in Minneapolis where many of them died. The land that was once home to many people was de-populated.
Along with this, the newly completed railway and the treaties conceding millions of acres to the government opened up homesteads for people looking for farmland. Two of the Barber sons came to Echo MN and homesteaded there; Thomas' daughter Sarah Lavinia (Sadie) grew up in Echo and married Bill's grandfather before moving to Regina.
We have now visited the homesteads and settlements of each of our great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents, and have learned more about the history and times they lived in. From here, we continue to head west and will enjoy the company of living relatives (!) and nature's grandeur before heading home at last. It has been a deeply satisfying trip with incredible discoveries about our ancestors' lives.

This is the little town where Bill's grandmother was born

The family plot where Bill's great grandparents are buried

Bill's great grandparents' gravestones