Spring Dinner 2024 Recap

The 2024 Hill Farm Historical Society Annual Meeting and Spring Dinner was held May 17 at the North Oaks Club.  150 persons, the biggest attendance at any HFHS Spring Dinner, listened to a presentation by Jim Stolpestad, a noted lawyer, real estate developer, historian and author describing his latest book Great Northern Iron: James J. Hill’s 109-Year Mining Trust, a fascinating story about the Great Northern Iron Ore Properties Trust  This trust was the brainchild of James J. Hill and his son, Louis Hill, in response to the Federal Government’s trust-busting efforts personally directed by President Teddy Roosevelt.  Certificates of the Trust were traded on the New York Stock Exchange for over 100 years until termination in 2016.

 Also, at the Dinner HFHS officially announced the start of fund raising and restoration efforts for HFHS’ 135 year-old farm buildings.  HFHS was incorporated in 1989 and given the remaining 5.6 acres of the James J Hill Farm and  buildings by the North Oaks Company.  The buildings need new roofs and structural repairs.  The Hill Farm is an historic treasure of North Oaks and has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the US Department of the Interior.