Hillcrest Park
Posted by: 
MNSearchers
N 44° 18.669 W 096° 46.632
14T E 677278 N 4908835
Hillcrest Park is the original tree claim of Marthin Christianson a native of Gjovik Norway who emigrated in 1850 with a large colony, only 12 of whom survived a cholera scourge.
Waymark Code: WM186P
Location: South Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 02/20/2007
Views: 30
Trees were important to him because he was a spotter which is one who selects which trees are to be cut. At the age of 30 he and his coworkers got lost in the Wisconsin woods one night. Though the youngest logger in the group, he reasoned that moss grew only on the north side of trees and that a northerly direction would eventually lead them to the clearing. Marthin led the group home.
Homesteading the quarter section north of here, Christianson later planted ash, cottonwood, and maple trees and claimed the site of the present Hillcrest Park. The timber Culture Act provided that a homesteader should plant and grow 10 acres of trees on any 160 acres of land or 5 acres on any 80 acres and at the end of the 8 years claim the 160 or 80 acres of land. Christianson was one of the first settlers in what was to become the city limits of Brookings.
Marker Name: Hillcrest Park
Marker Type: City
Marker Text: Not listed
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