Submitted photo Debbie Guelzow (left) and Jane Algee (right) are the current owners of the Swoffer Century Farm property and the great-grand daughters of Alfred Swoffer, one of the farms founders. When Guelzow and Algee visit the historic family property they make a point to take photos along the famous Plum Creek.

WALNUT GROVE – The Swoffer farm began with brothers, Alfred and Walter. The two brothers were originally from Kent, England.

Their father worked in Kent as a greengrocer, selling imported fruits from Europe and Africa. In fact, the family had a brick-and-mortar store in Dover, England.

In 1871, the brothers immigrated to the United States, likely coming through New York. The brothers began moving west following the railroad. Debbie Guelzow, Alfred’s great-granddaughter, said the brothers were unable to travel through Chicago because the city was burning. The Great Chicago Fire started in October 1871.

Alfred and Walter eventually arrived in New Ulm, where the railroad ended at the time. The two purchased a set of oxen and continued west. They settled in the community of Walnut Grove in 1872 and opened a mercantile store called “Swoffer Bros.” They bought the farm 15 years later.

Guelzow said Alfred and Walter were primarily businessmen. Even after they bought the farm in 1887, they were businessmen first and farmers second. The land they purchased is only located a quarter-mile outside Walnut Grove. It was within walking distance of the brothers’ store.

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt The Swoffer Century Farm, founded in 1887, rests on the banks of Plum Creek outside Walnut Grove. Today, the land adjacent to the creek is part of a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Reserve program.

The original farm was about 148.5 acres, is the same and remains roughly the same size today. In 1887, the brothers paid $12.50 per acre for the land.

Most of the work on the farm was not done by the brothers themselves. They would use hired hands or family.

“They had their kids work the farm,” Guelzow said.

There is no record of what type of crops were grown or livestock raised on the land. In the last 50 years, corn and soybeans have been the top producers on the land.

Jane Algee and Guelzow speculate the brothers kept cattle on the farm. Since the farm is on the banks of Plum Creek, it might have been easier to raise cattle. Even today, the soil near the creek is fairly sandy and not suitable for grow-ing crops, but it could have been used for grazing.

Submitted Photo Alfred Swoffer stands outside the Swoffer Bros. mercantile store. Alfred founded the businesswith his brother Walter in 1872. The two brothers immigrated to the United States from England in1871 and started their business in Walnut Grove. The Swoffer Brothers were primarily businessmen,which included purchasing a farm in 1887. The farm is still in the family after 137 years. Thecurrent owners are Alfred great-grand-daughters.

Alfred and Walter managed the farm for 10 years, but eventually, Alfred became the sole owner. Walter remained in the mercantile business but moved to Tracy. Alfred managed the farm and grain elevator in Walnut Grove. He continued to share the profits from the elevator with his brother.

Alfred also honored his brother by naming his son Walter, who was known as “Buck.”. The second Buck Swoffer would be the next generation to take over the farm. Buck, like his father and uncle, used family to help run the farm. He had eight kids, four boys, and four girls. Guelzow said it was a pretty good crop of kids to do farm work.

In addition to operating the farm, Buck took over the Walnut Grove grain elevator. It kept the Swoffer name for decades and was only recently torn down.

After Buck’s death, his wife Henrietta became the owner. The property was ultimately split between eight children.

Richard Swoffer, one of Alfred Swoffer’s eight grandchildren, took over management of the property. Many of the siblings moved away. Gretchen Swoffer relocated to Florida and raised her family, but many of her kids grew up learning about the family farm on the banks of Plum Creek.

When it came time for the next generation of Swoffers to take over the farm most of Alfred’s great-grandchildren were no longer living in the Walnut Grove area or had no interest in farming. Most of the land was being rented to other farmers. The family almost sold off the farm, but two great-grandkids decided to purchase the land to keep in the family name.

Today, Jane and Ben Algee are the primary owners of the Swoffer farm. Jane Algee is the great-grandchild of originally Swoffer’s brother Alfred. She and her husband Ben stepped in to buy the land 18 years ago. Jane’s cousin Debbie Guelzow, also owns a small portion of the property. Together the two women are working to keep the farm in the family.

Algee lives in Florida full-time but tries to visit the family farm as often as possible.

“We do like telling people our farm is on the banks of Plum Creek,” Algee said. Even in Florida, many people will understand the reference to “Little House on the Prairie.”

“When our family visits, we all want to get a photo by the side of the road with the Plum Creek sign,” she said.

Since Algee and Guelzow live in Florida, the day-to-day management of the farm is done by a neighboring farmer, Mike Landuyt.

Landuyt lived near the Swoffer farm most of his life. He remembers the farm being mostly used for growing soybeans and corn. Today, half the land is still rented out to grow corn or soybeans. The other half of the property is enrolled in a conservation program. The goal is to remove non-native vegetation and return the land around Plum Creek to its original prairie conditions.

Landuyt said about half

the Swoffer farm is in a Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) or a Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) Reserve program. On this land, crops are no longer harvested. Part of the CRP contract requires the land to be hayed every third year. This will eliminate tree saplings and promote the growth of native grass and prairie.

The banks around Plum Creek are heavy with trees, but this was not always the case. Most of the trees on the Swoffer land are invasive species.

Landuyt said this is why Laura Ingalls’ family lived in a sod house. There were not a lot of trees for lumber.

“This was all originally prairie,” Landuyt said. He believes it makes environmental sense to return it to prairie land. This does require routine clearing.

Landuyt supports restoring the land around Plum Creek to the prairie. He said the farm is the ideal land for CRP use. It is not suitable for farming. He said the land near Plum Creek is too wet and prone to flooding to be reliable farmland. Other sections of the farm are too hilly and sandy to grow crops.

He estimates there are only about 70 acres of tillable land on the property. The rest is kept in CRP or RIM programs.

Landuyt never saw a wild turkey on the property until after the first

year of clearing trees. After that, wildlife started to return.

“Wildlife wants diversity,” Landuyt said. “It doesn’t want it to be all one thing.”

The future of the Swoffer Farm is in the past. The goal is to bring the land back to the days before it was farmed. It will help sustain the land for future generations.

Currently, no one lives on the Swoffer Farm. The original farm home is long gone. Only two structures remain from its days as a farm; a cattle shed and an old corn crib. However, Algee said the family might return to Walnut Grove someday. She is committed to keeping the land in the family. Her daughter Angela Shoemaker will likely be the next owner and continue the Swoffer tradition.