District 10 Como Community Council

Know Your Como History: Kunze Farm Part I

Know Your Como History: Kunze Farm Part I

By Darlene Kunze

Map by Willis Kunze, 1990

My great grandfather, Alexander Kunze, came to Minnesota in I868 and acquired farming land. Later my grandfather, Oscar Kunze, lived and worked on the farm, and my father, Willis Kunze, grew up on the farm. He later built a house on a piece of the property which is the house I live in now.  

In the late 1800’s, the Kunze farm was located approximately at Nebraska and Victoria, northeast of Como Lake. This area was part of Rose Township. It consisted not only of farm land, but also hills and swamps. Eventually the hills would be leveled with donkey-pulled plows, and the swamps filled in. 

Original farm house with greenhouse on side

Farmers in the area originally were regular farmers, but found that truck farming was more profitable as more and more people moved into the St. Paul area. Truck farms grew vegetables and they were delivered to St. Paul daily by horse-driven carts and later by trucks. Farmers close to the city found that vegetables for daily shipments were the most profitable because people needed fresh food daily. It provided farmers with many opportunities for a growing urban market. In the first decade of the 20th century these farms were known as “urban fringe farms”. They were in the shadow of the city and depended upon the residents of the city for their income (St. Paul Historical Society, Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 6). The Kunze farm not only grew vegetables, but also flowers, peonies and lilacs which were cut, packed and sent to Duluth and Chicago.   

Map of farm by Willis Kunze, 1990

My great grandfather, Alexander Joseph Kunze (1840-1919) was from Prussia (formally a part of Germany) as was his wife, Matilda Hohlen (Holmann) (1845-1917). According to census data, they were married in 1868 and most likely came to the United States at that time and acquired land in Minnesota. Perhaps he came to this country to avoid military service as was common at that time. They built a farmhouse consisting of thirteen rooms and eleven out buildings. All nine of their children were born in the farmhouse. My grandfather, Oscar Kunze (1878-1971), was the fifth child. 

Alexander and Matilda with Oscar

The house had various addresses because the names of the streets changed. Originally, in 1870, Nebraska was Woodland Ave or Grove Street, and Victoria was perhaps Plum Street that became Quincy Street. In the 1905 census the address was listed as the corner of Quincy and Nebraska. The address of the farm was at first 1514 Quincy, then 1269 Quincy and by 1916, the farmhouse was 875 and the farm buildings were 883 Nebraska at the northeast corner of the intersection. Later when my house was built in 1942, it became 875 and the former farmhouse 883 (Information from historical maps and census data).

1886 map

Alexander, my great grandfather, must have done well. The family could afford to go to the photographer and have their portraits taken; in the photographs you can see that the children are well-dressed. 

Alexander was respected in the community; he was president of St. Paul’s Growers Association and active with this group at the State Fair. In a newspaper article from 1903 (The St. Paul Globe, Sept. 3, 1903), it mentions prizes he won for his vegetables. He also farmed potatoes on a property that today is Roselawn Cemetery. My grandfather recalled that they had to plant and harvest all the potatoes by hand and that they also had to pick off potato bugs and later kill them by pouring hot water on them. The potatoes were sold at 25 cents a bushel (Pioneer Press, November 21, 1968). Willis, grandson of Alexander and son of Oscar, remembers Alexander as being strict and one who liked order.

1892, Oscar top row, third from left

Two years prior to Alexander’s death in 1919, my grandfather, Oscar (1880-1971), moved onto the farm with his family, his wife Hilda (1881-1954), sons Harold and Willis (Bill), and daughter, Dorothy. 

Willis and Harold, 1920

The first decade of the 20th century truck farming was extensive and profitable, but later city folk weren’t so dependent on the farms close to urban areas because there were new national markets for goods and products that became available. There wasn’t such a great demand for local fresh fruits and vegetables. Whatever food was needed could be delivered in a few days from anywhere in the country  (St. Paul Historical Society, Vol. 20, No. 3, p. 9). Oscar continued to farm, but not full time. He also began to work at various companies: Merrill Greer Chapman, Wholesale Crockery Company, and Louis F. Dow Company.

Changes had come to urban farming near St. Paul in the second decade of the twentieth century. The second part of the story will share my grandfather’s and my father’s memories of the Kunze farm.

Do you know some interesting history about your home, your neighbor or about the Como neighborhood? Anyone is welcome to do an interview, share historic photos or do a write up for the Know Your Como segment of our newsletter! For more information on how to submit go to our Know Your Como page.

For more information regarding the Como Neighborhood History Project click here.

Do you know some interesting history about your home, your neighbor or about the Como neighborhood? Anyone is welcome to do an interview, share historic photos or do a history write up for the Know Your Como segment of our newsletter! For more information on how to submit go to our Know Your Como page.