Staff photo by Clay Schuldt The Alwin Family donates a historic plaque marking their ancestor’s birth to the Brown County Historical Society. Top row Left to Right: Floyd Alwin, Kathleen Backer, Jack Alwin and Michael Alwin. Bottom row: Jo Ellen Christiansen (left) and Joyce Alwin (right).

Staff photo by Clay Schuldt
This plaque noting the location of Friedrick Alwin’s birth was donated to the Brown County Historical Society by the Alwin family.

The plaque was originally placed in Flandrau State Park in 1955 to mark the location of Alwin’s birth on July 5, 1855.

Alwin was the first white settler born in Brown County. He was born to German immigrants Wilhelm and Wilhelmenia Alwin. The couple was originally from northern Germany in a city called Posen, which is now a part of Poland.

Wilhelm and Wilhelmenia arrived in Brown County on July 4, 1855. The very next day their first child, Frederick, was born on what would become the Alwin Farm. As they had just arrived in Brown County they had no permanent shelter. Alwin was born in the family’s covered wagon, which they called a “Prairie Schooner.”

His status as the first white settler born in Brown County has been called into question before. One of Friedrich’s great-nephews, Floyd Alwin had been told by several people that his ancestor was the first male born in Brown County and that a baby girl named Caroline Dambach was born months earlier. Floyd had some concerns about the plaque being inaccurate.

After a quick search of the Historical Society’s records Brown County Historical Director Kathleen Backer uncovered a letter written in 1955 prior to the plaque’s placement in Flandrau.

The letter was written by former Historical Society curator Leota Kellett. Before placing the plaque the Minnesota Historical Society wanted to confirm Fred was the first born settler and Kellett submitted the letter confirming the information based on an 1860 census and church records.

Two other settler children were born in Brown County in 1855, but they were both born months after Frederick. Martin Mueller was born in Nov. 1855 and Caroline Dambach was born Dec. 1855.

With the accuracy of the plaque confirmed it was placed in Flandrau State Park on the 100th anniversary of Friedrich’s birth. The plaque indicated he was born 160 rods (half mile) west of Flandrau on the Alwin farm. The plaque was removed by request of the park early this year.

Michael Alwin (Friedrich’s great-nephew) explained the marker was removed due to its deterioration as well as interpretive controversy.

The plaque states Frederick was the first “white” child born in Brown County. Jo Ellen Christiansen (Friedrich’s grand-niece) said whenever a plaque uses the word “white” there are some who view it in a racist context and the State Park was concerned the site could become a rally point for white supremacists.

“Our family did not want it associated with that,” Christiansen said.

A new plaque with additional interpretive information will likely be added to Flandrau in the future, but the Alwin family wanted to original plaque preserved by the local Historical Society.

In addition to being the first German-American settler born in Brown County, Friedrich was fortunate enough to live a long life, dying at age 92 in 1947.

He would have been five years old during the start of the Civil War and seven during the US-Dakota War. When the U.S. entered the First World War he was 61 and 86 when the U.S. entered World War II. Friedrich Alwin is buried in the New Ulm Cemetery.