4665 Manor Dr
Eagan, MN, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Holz Family Farmstead

Statement of Significance:

Until the suburbanization boom of the 1970s and 1980s, Eagan Township within Dakota County was a thriving agricultural community. Connected to markets via rail and bridge, Eagan’s economy was bolstered by both crop production and livestock. With its combination of dairy farming and crop production, the Holz Farmstead participated in these regional markets and contributed to the Township’s economy. The Holz Farmstead also symbolized how a particular farm family adapted its operation to meet, not just market demands, but advances in farm technology. The Holz Farmstead’s development spans the era of Eagan’s prime agricultural development and reflects changes in farm technology and diversity in production that once marked the Eagan landscape. Today, the Holz Farmstead is the last remaining remnant of the agricultural development of Eagan. During its history, it produced, at one time or another, almost all of Eagan’s “famous” crops, including dairy, animal feed (com, oats, hay), onions, vegetables, and some rather distinctive items, such as fruit preserves, eggs, and fur. The intact quality of the farmstead is a last reminder of Eagan’s agricultural history, one almost entirely obliterated today by suburban growth and large industry (City of Eagan 2003: 9, 11).

After evaluating the documentation on the historic nature of the property and applying National Register criteria, the Holz Farmstead is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) under National Register Criterion A, under the Area of Significance of Agriculture. The Holz Farmstead is an excellent example of a family farming operation that kept pace with the changes of Minnesota’s agricultural economy. The property’s level of significance is therefore local. The period of significance for the Holz Farmstead is 1893 to 1955, a time period that represents the farm’s operation by two generations of the Holz family—Louisa and Otto Holz, Sr. and Ella and Otto Holz, Jr.. The Holz Farmstead retains exceptional history physical integrity. Significant construction dates include 1902 (Chicken Coop, Granary), 1911 (Farmhouse, Outhouse, Driveway Loop, Com Crib), and 1927 (Bam and Silo). Furthermore, the Holz Farmstead’s significance clearly relates to the statewide context of Railroads and Agricultural Development, 1870-1940. The Holz Farmstead represents an aspect Dakota County’s agricultural development by the production of variety of farm products important to that county’s agricultural history.