Probstfield, Randolph M. (1832–1911)

Randolph M. Probstfield is commonly considered Clay County’s first European settler-colonist. A farmer in the Red River Valley, he was a local leader in politics, education, and agricultural development from his arrival in Minnesota in 1859 until his death in 1911.

Randolph Michael Probstfield was born to Jakob and Theresia Probstfield on November 9, 1832, in Coblenz, Germany. Well educated, he immigrated to America in 1852. After extensive travel across the Midwest, along the Mississippi River, and to San Francisco, Nicaragua, and even the Panama Canal, Probstfield eventually traveled to northern Minnesota to claim land. He arrived on March 21, 1859, helping a steamboat crew build the first steamboat on the Red River, which sparked the construction of a trading post by the Hudson's Bay Company, thereby officially establishing the community of Georgetown later that same year.

In September 1860, Probstfield received news of his father’s death and traveled back to Germany to help settle the estate. He returned to Georgetown in June the following year, along with three brothers and a cousin. Along the way, Probstfield married his long-time lover, Catherine Sidonia Goodman (1839–1899), on September 11, 1861.

In March 1862, Governor Alexander Ramsey appointed Probstfield, along with Richard Manning and George W. Northrop, commissioners to help organize the newly created Clay County. The Probstfields welcomed their first child, Mary Ann Elizabeth, on June 17, 1862. The couple would go on to have thirteen children in total, eleven of which would live on to adulthood: Mary Ann Elizabeth (1862–1928), Justus Theobald (1866–1957), Cornelia Judith (1868–1958), Dorothea Christina (1872–1900), Walter George (1877–1949), Alexander Paul (1865–1936), Edmund Henry (1868–1919), Susan Theresa (1870–1928), Emily Martha (1874–1943), Carl (1877–1877), Arthur Charles (1879–1962), and Josephine Isabel (1882–1964). Their thirteenth child was unnamed.

Probstfield’s commissioner position was never filled due to the evacuation of Georgetown in 1862 during the US–Dakota War. Though the family returned briefly, General Henry Sibley later ordered all remaining inhabitants to Fort Abercrombie for safety. Thus, it wasn’t until May 1864 that the family returned to stay. Along with the Hutchinson family, the Probstfields were the only settler-colonists to return to the Georgetown area after the war.

In fall of 1868, Probstfield began building a farmhouse on the Red River in Oakport Township, three miles north of the future site of Moorhead. Though he started with seventy-one acres, he would eventually expand his property to over 400 acres and use them for cultivating crops, growing orchards, and hunting game. The family officially moved into their new home in May of 1869.

A passionate learner and community supporter, Probstfield contributed to the area in many ways, particularly in agriculture, education, and politics. On his farm, he conducted various agricultural experiments for the United States Bureau of Agriculture. He proved that the Red River Valley was workable farmland for more than local crops, like corn. It could also yield tobacco, sugar beets, tomatoes, various fruit trees, and other plants previously thought uncultivable in the harsh northern climate. His crowning achievement came in 1893, when the World’s Columbian Commission awarded Probstfield an exposition medal for his entry of Saskatchewan wheat.

Probstfield also contributed to the area’s educational development. After building the first schoolhouse in the area, he continued to support the cause by buying supplies and teaching when needed. He maintained a life-long passion for politics: his election to the Minnesota State Senate in 1891 on the People’s Party ticket proved to be the pinnacle of his career. During his single term, he served on committees devoted to agriculture, normal schools, and game laws. He was also chairman of the committee that oversaw tree fuel and culture issues.

Probstfield passed away on his farm on September 11, 1911, after a series of heart attacks that led to paralysis. He was buried in Prairie Home Cemetery in Moorhead, next to his wife and other deceased family members. His legacy survives in his extant journal entries and letters, which have proved to be valuable historical sources, and in the name of Probstfield Elementary School. Cultivation and preservation of the Probstfield family farm continue at the Probstfield Organic Community Garden (funded by the Probstfield Farm Living History Foundation).