Peering at the Past – Sheldon, “Beautifully Ensconced in the Valley”

Second of a series

Hiram Knox, a great lover of horses, bought several trotters and laid out a race track for training on the east edge of the village of Sheldon. He, assisted by his three sons, won many races at the Houston County Fair as well as other venues in the area, including Iowa. Trotters are horses used in harness racing in which the horses race at a specific gait, usually pulling a two-wheeled cart, often called a sulky. An 1869 newspaper article mentions Hiram Knox and the Sheldon horse “Doc” winning the first two heats at the Houston County Fair.

Another Sheldon native, whose name was known well beyond the immediate area was Irvin Sheldon, who authored many books and poems, one about the village’s “Old Mill Stream.” He became the State Historian in Nebraska but made many trips back to the village of his childhood.  

Back at home were Irvin’s parents. Dr. Roland Sheldon was not only a competent physician but also a teacher in several county schools and delivered sermons when no pastor was available. Mrs. Sheldon was a teacher and musician who owned a type of organ called a melodeon. Men of the church congregation would carry it over to the Presbyterian Church. She playing hymns was a remarkable part of worship services, especially for the children, since there was no other home with an organ.

Sheldon was a thriving community in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Besides a race track, school and church, there was a brick kiln, the Martin Newberry Hotel, drug store, shoemaker, two blacksmiths, horse doctor and general store that included a post office. There was a saw mill in the 1850s and soon after an early grist and flour mill plus two sorghum mills.

People came from afar to have their two years supply of sorghum made at the sorghum mills. One was owned by Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Freeman who at the end of the season, invited those of all ages to a party at their home. “Mrs. Freeman was an expert at making taffy,” noted local historian Ethel Johnson. “After our candy pull, we would have a dance. Mr. Freeman and Jim Sweet played violins, and John Gordan called for square dances.”

Mr. Barnum operated a large workshop on the first floor of a two-story building. The second story was a dance hall, where according to Johnson, “people gathered from hill and vale to trip the light fantastic step.”

Two accomplished cabinet-makers, Mr. Chapman and Mr. Moe, turned out black walnut furniture that remained in use for more than a century. 

The village well once featured an “old oaken bucket,” which was later replaced by a pump. The creamery once purchased cream that was brought in by haulers from a 20-mile radius. The greatest amount of butter shipped out in a single year by J. E. Johnson was 150,000 pounds.

With the availability of excellent water power for mills, the settlement of Sheldon started in 1853 about 10 miles south of Houston and about six miles northwest of Caledonia. The 1882 History of Houston County described Sheldon as “beautifully ensconced in the valley… surrounded by high bluffs on either side and built on a broad bench of land running back from the creek, upon which it is situated… generally level, undulates sufficiently to increase the beauty of the place…” The stream “is filled with fine trout… supplying the table with a luxury ever envied by the epicure.”

Since the village of Sheldon was never incorporated, there have been no official population figures. After being bypassed by the railroad, an 1888 newspaper item referred to “about 30 dwelling houses in the village and immediate vicinity.”

When Lillian Flatten wrote of growing up in Sheldon in the 1920s and 1930s, she estimated the population of the village to be “around 150, give or take a few, depending on who moved in or who moved out.” A hundred years later, there are about a dozen dwellings with a permanent population estimated to be less than 20.

Leona Gjedrum expounded to a reporter in 1965, “It is a wonderful place to rear children,” enumerating swimming, fishing, horseback riding and skiing. At that time, Mrs. Gjedrum’s store, established by her late husband Karl, was the last surviving business in the village. However, it would survive for only a couple more years. Leona would pass away in 1969.

Although, there are no population figures for the village, there are statistics for Sheldon Township, in which Sheldon is the only village. In the township, there were 555 people in 1860, increasing to 824 in 1885, but only 726 in 1890 and dropping to 587 by 1920 and a century later 300 in 2020.

The village had begun with a sawmill and a flour mill, and the area is still known for a mill. A current landmark is Schech’s Mill, an enormous structure built with native stone by John Blinn in 1876, which is the only surviving water-powered mill in Minnesota. Facing financial problems, he advertised it for sale in a trade paper in 1887. Michael Schech (pronounced “shek”), an emigrant from Bavaria and master miller employed by one of the large mills in Minneapolis, purchased the mill, which was operated by his brother until 1890 when Michael relocated his family to Beaver Creek Valley. Thereafter known as Schech’s Mill, it featured “Schech’s Best” cornmeal, rye, buckwheat, graham flour and whole-wheat cereal, all marketed to stores in nearby Houston and Caledonia.

Schech’s Mill, still in the family, was nominated for the National Registry of Historic Places in 1977, at which time it was the only mill in the state with unchanged, operable milling equipment and to retain its original stone. It is one of only three mills in the state operating solely on water power. It is open for tourists on weekends from late May through October, located on County Highway 10 one mile south of Sheldon, six miles northwest of Caledonia and 10 miles south of Houston.

Sources: Sheldon, Minnesota, 1858-1972, History of a Town, by Ethel Johnson; Down An Old Dirt Road, Life in Rural Sheldon, Minnesota During the 1920s, ‘30s and Early ‘40s, by the family of John and Louise (Jensen) Flatten.