ABOVE: Heritage Acres member since 1983 Marv Dalledge and former President Jerry Simon look over some Sentinel and other news clippings over the years, including of when the Welcome Railroad Depot, Country School of Trimont and United Methodist Church of Trimont were moved onto Heritage Acres in 1985.

FAIRMONT – While Heritage Acres is focused on preserving history, the venue itself has passed a historical milestone by reaching 50 years of existence.

Marv Dalledge was there when the agricultural interpretive center opened in Fairmont in 1975 with a goal of sharing the ongoing story of farming. He was a worker then, and wouldn’t become a member until 1983. He recounted some of the first memories he had of Heritage Acres.

“They had a Bluegrass festival,” he said. “The first one was held down here by the prairie dogs. There was nothing up here except that house and the barn. Then they decided to move it up by the barn.”

When Heritage Acres first opened, the Bluegrass Festival, Threshing Day and Fall Festival were the main events put on. The first big expansion would come in 1985, when a train depot from Welcome, a school house from Trimont and a chapel from Fox Lake Township were all brought in to add to the heritage preserved on the acres.

Also in the 80s was when the site’s first large building allowed for the miniature storefronts and historical displays. Dalledge said they built the buildings inside one at a time.

“This was the first building that got built here,” he said. “They decided to put stores inside the building because the grocery store, hardware store and blacksmith shop were individual buildings. You had a lot of buildings to upkeep here. We’ve got all of that right in here. There is no upkeep to the buildings because they’re all inside.”

All of the stores were named after members essential to the early and continued success of Heritage Acres, including Dan St. John’s Livery Barn.

With the 80s and 90s passing through, former Heritage Acres President Jerry Simon said bluegrass faded out around 2000. After this, music that came through included polka bands like Barefoot Becky and Malek’s Fisherman, who will be playing at Threshing Day this year.

Simon said there had been promoters who wanted to have festivals on the property and had several ideas, but they wanted to charge admission. Simon said he has strived to have free gate admission for Heritage Acres events since.

The new millennium also included the first Fourth of July Heritage Acres celebration. Simon said that event was stopped right before COVID due to the saturation of themed events in the area and work it took to put the event on.

“It was too much going on,” he said. “Our guys worked every Fourth of July, so we let them go and do something else.”

With this year’s Threshing Day billed as a 50th anniversary celebration, Simon said they are going all out on the event. This includes ice cream making, loom spinning, spoon carving, rope making, wagon rides, petting zoo, balloon creatures, vendors, food and music. If they can get the machinery out, Simon said they would like to have some extra displays as well.

Unfortunately the oats crop, which supplies the threshing portion, has failed due to the weather conditions this year. Simon said they still look to have a fantastic time of it by augmenting it with extra activities.

Looking at what’s been built in the 50 years there, Simon said it is crucial they keep the memory of how things used to be done alive. Dalledge said this is especially true for the younger generation.

“We’ve got to keep it this way to let the younger generation know what grandma and grandpa grew up to have,” he said. “We never had a lot of these modern conveniences. You pumped your water by a hand pump, you did your home butchering, and you had your cook stove in the house and corn cobs for the wood-burning stove. Everything was pretty simple in those years.”

Threshing Day will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Aug. 10. Admission is free. For more information or to inquire about donating or volunteering, visit heritageacresmn.com.