A history of the Sved Farm

A history of the Sved farm by Mildred Sved - Summer 1996

My father, Matt Anderson Sved came to America from Portom, Finland in 1890 at the age of 25.
After spending some time in Newark, New Jersey he decided to go to Thompson, Michigan to live with his uncle, Matt Wagar. He was there untill 1900 when he moved to Dollar Bay. He was employed then at the Lake Superior Smelting Co. My mother, Anna Hilda Justine Sved came to America from Malax, Finland at the age of 24 on April 4, 1900. She came to Dollar Bay where her brother was located. She married Matt A. Sved on Feb. 1,1902. They were married at the home of her brother, Werner Sved, who lived on what is now known as G street.



Their first home was on a second floor of a home on Ave H (now Pastor Manzer's home). That is where my sister Ina was born on March 6,1903. Their next home was a 4 room house which was located next to the First Lutheran Church. Agnes, Arthur, Einar, Elmer, and Mildred were born there. At that time, there was land for sale 4 miles east of Dollar Bay, by the Keweenaw Land Association of Laurium. Several people bought the land, including my parents who bought 80 acres on section 2 and 3 for $650.00. It was to be paid as follows: $50.00 - March 1,1911 ; $50.00 - June 1,1911 ; $500.00 to be paid by Jan. 1,1912. Signed by John Soderman. Taxes were paid beginning in 1911; Dec. 20,1911 $2.99 , Dec. 21,1912 $3.12 , Dec. 1913 $3.90.









In 1912 my parents decided to have a house built on their new property. They hired a carpenter (Paavo Kurtti) to build a 3 bedroom house. By 1914 the house was completed. In August 1914 my parents moved their family, furniture and amenities to the new place. There was still much to be done- clearing land, barns and sheds to be built. At that time my father worked at the Centenial Stamp Mill in Point Mills. In those years, Point Mills had a grocery store and a post office. In 1914, 2 sisters and 2 brothers walked 1 mile through the woods to a beautiful 14 year old school. Four years later Elmer started and at the age of 6 I started. Ina had completed 8 grades at that time. My brother, Ray, was born in 1915, Ruby in 1917, and Bill in 1919.
The Centennial mill closed in 1919.






















In 1936 my brothers made a windmill, which was the height of the upstairs windows of the 2 story house. We were able to use lights and a washer. In 1946 the land was expanded from 80 acres to 280 acres, when Arthur and Einar bought a neighbors farm for the price of $1,600.00. In 1947 we paid the power company $300 for a 2 mile extension line to furnish us with electricity. In 1959 a pen type 120' x 36' barn was built that housed 38 head of Guernsey and Holstein cattle. This number included calves and heifers. It was in operation 18 years. Of this number of cattle, only 3 were purchased. The rest were raised on the farm. In 1965, 1,300 lbs. of grade A milk was shipped by bulk tank to the Copper Country Dairy every 2nd. day. Hay harvested in 1964, yielded 125 tons. 20 acres of oats were planted annually. On his farm that Ray bought in 1951, he planted 500 red pine trees. A 1700 ft. drainage ditch was made in 1961, to dispose of water that plagued the area. Mr. Codere made this with his bulldozer. A ditch in Okefenokee swamp was made early in the depression years (1928-1948) and was dug out entirely by hand. It was cleaned out every 2nd. or 3rd. year and was about 1/4 mile long and met up with the Lovell creek and mud lake. A pond was made in 1980 to use for watering a vegetable garden and strawberries. A smaller pond was dug near a raspberry field.






















In 1958, two quanset huts at MTU were dismantled and hauled to Point Mills. One of the buildings was made into a community building in Point Mills. The other was made into a 60' x 20' work shop here. A wood burning stove was used for heating, so it could be used during winters.





During the depression years, a building from the old Centennial Mill was moved to the road that turns into the farm. It was used as a winter garage. The half mile road leading into the farm was improved enough so that in the winters a plow from the Houghton County road commission was able to keep the road open. The building was then moved closer to the home and for a number of years was used for a horse barn and now stores a "hit and miss" engine.






In (1960's) Art dismantled the carpenter shop at Atlas Powder Co. from which a 3 car garage was made. On this farm there were hundreds of lbs. of butter made, many quarts of maple syrup, gallons of ice cream, many quarts of tomato juice, not to mention the blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries that were canned or frozen. Many bars of home made lye soap were made. Hay is still made here. Last summer, 1995, yielded 1000 bales, 1996 ??, 1997 yielded 1610 bales, 1998 yielded 1630 bales, 1999 yielded 2200 bales, 2001 yielded 1940 bales.





Additional pictures around the farm.