This is just the beginning! Our collection holds over 300 years of history, including rare newspapers, obituaries, marriage records, birth records, and so much more—most of which you won’t find anywhere else!
Dirk DeJong's College Years and Farm Transformation
Dirk enters Midwest University in 1909 to study broadly while his mother Selina expands the DeJong acres. She finances growth by borrowing from August Hempel to drain and tile low land, modernize equipment, and build a prosperous vegetable operation that attracts South Water street buyers. Dirk forges friendships with Unclassified student Mattie Schwengauer, revealing immigrant farm roots and ambition as he adapts to campus life.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
South Water Street Commission
Dirk
Haymarket
Aug Hempel
Selina
Julie
Beauty
Miss Fister
Michael Arnold
Eugene
August Hempel
Rip van Winkle
Duffy
Yards & Ranger's Bank
Pervus
Infanta Eulalie
Spain
Julie Hempel
DeJong
Clark Street
High Prairie
Roelf
France
Seine
Roelf Pool
Cornell
Harvard
Boston Tech
Midwest University
Dirk DeJong
Wisconsin
Madison
Schwengauer
Mattie Schwengauer
Iowa
Chicago