Special place in history

By Cathy Jents Scheibe with Abby Gold
Contributing Writers

FIRST 50 years (1860-1910) - Homestead, self-sustaining.

Located in north Moorhead, Probstfield farm continues to make history. The first 50 years of the history of Oakport Farm centers on Randolph Michael Probstfield, his wife Catherine Goodman, and their 11 children. Probstfield picked this site that was on a high point on the Minnesota side of the Red River, built his home, and during his lifetime made a name for himself. He experimented with many crops and supplied food for his family as well as the new towns of Fargo/Moorhead. He was active in local, county, and state politics and served as a State Senator. His most important legacy is the written history he left in the form of letters and journals. He was a fascinating man who had a dream for his farm — that it would become prosperous. It was a dream that never quite came to fruition.

SECOND 50 years (1910-1960) - Prosperous large-scale vegetable production.

It would take subsequent generations of Probstfields who would inherit Oakport Farm to achieve the level of prosperity the property would experience during much of the ensuing 50 years. A grandson, Raymond Gesell, in particular, would carry on R.M. Probstfield’s dream well into the next half century. Gesell did the unthinkable — he made a success of a farm during the hardest economic time of our country: The Great Depression.
Generations of people who grew up in the area during the 1930s, ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s remember the Old Trail Market well, the retail outlet for Oakport Farm’s fresh vegetables and flowers. This was the visible local part of a very successful business that sent its produce all over the country.

THIRD 50 years (1960-2010) – Inactivity-Rest–Land Donation

Raymond Gesell and his wife Evelyn Probstfield Gesell retired and eventually died. The original buildings fell into disrepair. June Probstfield Dobervich inherited the farm and Matthew Scheibe, a great-great grandson of Randolph’s, devised a plan to preserve the farm. Their dream and that of several others about 15 years ago was to form Probstfield Farm Living History Foundation to restore Oakport Farm to the thriving, productive, spic and span farming operation it was half a century ago — not as a museum, but as a working, profitable farm that preserves a significant segment of the history of American agriculture. June donated the farm to this cause and much has been accomplished.

Next 50 years (2010-2060) - Preserve the best assets of the first 150 years.

There is a need to restore/repair several buildings without selling existing agricultural acreage that is vital to the history and future of the farm. There is an opportunity to continue to protect a unique community asset and make investments in it that will greatly enhance the quality of life of the community for the next 50 years and well beyond through education, local food, recreation, and social interaction.
Join Probstfield Farm Living History Foundation at the Green Market for a special harvest menu Aug. 23 - Aug. 27. An exhibit highlighting the farm and its contribution to local foods past and present runs through Oct. 3 at the Green Market.

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