Hadley Valley Schoolhouse
Open to visitors to explore during the summer months!
The Hadley Valley Schoolhouse was built in 1885 in Haverhill Township, approximately three miles northeast of Rochester, at a cost of $800. The one-room school served both boys and girls through eighth grade until 1957, when a larger brick school building was constructed to accommodate the growing student population.
A single teacher instructed approximately 35 students in grades 1–8, teaching subjects such as arithmetic, history, spelling, geography, elocution, reading, writing, and penmanship. The school day typically began at 8:00 a.m. and ended at 3:45 p.m. Most students came from nearby farms and were assigned various chores to help maintain the school.
During the 1930s, the schoolhouse was modernized with the addition of electricity and an indoor restroom. In 1964, the building was moved to the Olmsted County Fairgrounds, and in 1975 it was relocated to the History Center of Olmsted County.
The schoolhouse has been carefully preserved over the years. In 2018, a new cedar shake roof was installed, and in 2019, the exterior was scraped and repainted. Today, the Hadley Valley Schoolhouse stands as a reminder of rural education and community life in southeastern Minnesota.
Dee Log Cabin
Open to visitors to explore during the summer months!
The Dee Cabin was built in 1862 by early Rochester settler William Dee and his wife, Bridget. Irish immigrants seeking a new life in southeastern Minnesota, William and Bridget set out to build their first home on June 7, 1862. With the help of family members and friends, the cabin was constructed from poplar logs in a single day. Their first child together, David, was born in the cabin the very night the family first occupied it.
Located originally on 6th Street SW near 4th Avenue in Rochester, the cabin is typical of the simple log homes built by many early settlers. Poplar logs were chosen because they were lightweight, easy to work with, and readily available. To keep costs down, windows were kept to a minimum, as glass was an expensive luxury on the frontier.
The cabin provided shelter for several families over the decades. The last resident was Anna Benson Ward, who rented the cabin for $3 per month from 1907 to 1911. Anna lived there with her five children, making the small log home a place of resilience and determination for another generation.
Over the years, the Dee Cabin has been moved six times, including its relocation to the campus of the History Center of Olmsted County. The structure has been carefully preserved and restored to ensure its survival for future generations. In 2011, many of the original logs were replaced, and the cabin was re-chinked. In 2020, a new cedar shake roof was installed.
George Stoppel Farmstead
Open to visitors to explore during special farmstead events!
In 1856, two Stoppel brothers, Franz, usually called Joseph, and George settled side by side in Rochester Township. George left Germany in 1834 and spent several years in Switzerland and France. In 1848, he sailed to the United States to join his brother in Ohio where he met and married Maria Ann Faber. Seeking affordable land, Joseph and George traveled to Minnesota with their families. On April 28, 1856, the two each filed a claim for 160 acres of land and paid $1.25 per acre, for a total of $200. The two families lived in a cave during the first winter. The cave in still standing along with three other caves built on the farmstead. Thereafter, George built a number of buildings, although the only ones still standing are a barn, the backhouse, a silo, and the stone house built in 1861. The farm stayed in the family for 100 years, until it left family control in 1956. The farmstead was purchased by the Olmsted County Historical Society in 1972. The George Stoppel Farmstead stands today as a national register historic site to commemorate the early pioneers and agricultural history of SE Minnesota.
Restored and staged in 2025 and 2026, the George Stoppel Barn now serves as an exhibition space highlighting farm life from the 1870s through the 1930s. Visitors can explore a wide variety of artifacts, from machinery and tools to farming-related products, offering a glimpse into the daily lives and work of past generations. Whether you're interested in history, agriculture, or simply curious about life on the farm, there's something for everyone to experience.
The Smokehouse
Part of the George Stoppel Farmstead
Open to visitors to explore during special farmstead events!
This remarkable structure reflects the practicality, ingenuity, and cultural heritage of the Stoppel family. Combining a smokehouse, hired-hand quarters, storage shed, cave, bell tower, wood shed, corn house, workshop, and privy, it was a true multi-purpose building designed to support every aspect of daily farm life. George and Maria A. Stoppel likely built the structure in the early 1860s, though its exact date remains unknown.
The smokehouse is staged as it would have been used in the 1870s—a multipurpose space for food production and storage, as well as living quarters for hired farmhands who worked the Stoppel fields. Smokehouses were essential on 19th-century farms for preserving meat before refrigeration. Access to a cave through the building provided additional cold storage for food and supplies, helping the family endure harsh Minnesota winters. A 1876 newspaper described the building as “very conveniently arranged,” noting its wine cellar, wood shed, corn house, workshop, and smokehouse, though its use as living space remains less certain.
The bell tower remains the structure’s greatest mystery—possibly used to call workers in for meals, signal emergencies, or simply serve as a decorative feature.
The Stonehouse
Closed to Visitors – Restoration Project Starting Soon
Fred Enke was the first relative to settle in Olmsted. He and his brother claimed property just south of Salem Road in 1855, and Fred apparently recruited his distant relatives the Stoppels to join him when brothers George and Franz Joseph arrived in 1858. They claimed the land just north of Salem Road.
Fred was the first to complete a stone house in 1857. Franz Joseph started his in 1858 and completed it in 1859. Around 1858, George and Maria A. Stoppel began work on their stone house. Evidence suggests that it was a family affair. Franz Joseph had opened the first lime kiln in the county in 1857, which produced lime for mortar, and he was a carpenter and trained stonemason.
George was a cooper (a barrel maker), which meant he was good with wood. The stonework and design of the three homes are extremely similar. It is likely the families all helped each other.
With a snug home established, George and Maria A. welcomed a fourth child, Frederick, in 1864. Sometime between 1864 and 1874, they added a kitchen addition to the north side of the house. A few years later, probably after the 1883 tornado ripped off their chimney, they added a full second story to the back (west side) of the house. The masonry work on the back side is a little sloppier, suggesting that George may have tackled this project without the assistance of his brother.
Ralph Stoppel Farmstead
The Ralph Stoppel Farmstead was originally claimed by Franz Joseph Stoppel in 1856. The farm was divided between his sons Henry and Charles. Charles built a farmhouse on his part of the property in 1892. Ralph Stoppel, Charles' son, took over the farm and lived there for much of his life. The farm was sold to the Olmsted County Historical Society in 1972.
This farmstead has a mixture of original buildings and recreated buildings. The farmhouse burned in 1992, one hundred years after it was built by Charles Stoppel. The Ralph Stoppel Farm is also the home of the Mechanical History Round Table. This group organizes the annual "Days of Yesteryear" event, a threshing and antique agriculture show held on the second weekend of August each year.