Hultmans receive Heritage Farm award at state fair

Four years after the end of the Civil War, C.P. Hultman, his wife Sara, and their four daughters left their home in Illinois via train to Creston. From there, they traveled in a covered wagon to 80 acres of land in Fremont Township, Page County, near a town which would become Nyman.

The land, purchased in 1870 from the CB&Q Railroad, cost Hultman $7 per acre.

That parcel of land near Ironwood Avenue, and the hardworking, dedicated Hultman family, were recognized last month as a Heritage Farm at the Iowa State Fair. A Heritage Farm is one that has been owned by the same family for 150 years or more. Bret, who is the fifth generation of Hultmans to care for the property, is currently farming the Hultman homestead.

“The Hultmans came from Sweden in search for a better life. They first settled in Illinois,” explained Karlette Hultman. “The railroad hired a Lutheran minister, B.M. Halland, as an agent to sell the land not needed for the rail line. Reverend Halland was very successful in persuading several families of Swedes to purchase land in southwest Iowa, including the Hultmans.”

Karlette continued to say the land purchased through Halland from the railroad became the Swedish settlements of Nyman, Bethesda, Stanton and Essex.

C.P., Sara, and daughters Hilda, Lena, Augusta and Tillie first built a home close to the water and began to make a life for themselves in Iowa. Sara gave birth to Fred and Teckla, as well as two other children who died in infancy.

“Later the farm was moved to the hill. The horse barn, which still stands, was rolled on planks to its new location,” said Karlette.

Life on the new prairie certainly wasn’t easy, Karlette explained. There were Native Americans, bushwhackers, blizzards, wild animals and diseases such as small pox, scarlet fever and diphtheria.

“In 1875, grasshoppers by the thousands destroyed crops; turning corn to stubble. There were so many grasshoppers, they even contaminated the water,” Karlette said.

Fred continued to farm the Hultman homestead after C.P. passed away. He married Edna Mainquist, and the couple had six children: Carl, Marvin, Curtis, Corrine, Margaret and Morris. Morris died of appendicitis at the age of 15.

In 1913, Fred and Edna built a home from the Sears and Roebuck catalog, costing $2,400, on the farmstead.

“It was known to be one of the finest in the county,” said Karlette. “It had carbide generators for light, there was a big furnace in the basement, a bathroom, and running water.”

Fred and Edna were very active in the community of Nyman, serving on several boards and volunteering. Fred passed away in 1954. Son Carl purchased the farm from his siblings and he and his wife, Dora, had one son, Donovan, born in 1932.

“Carl loved his farm and as the years passed, it became a Century Farm in 1970,” said Karlette. “In 1996, Carl passed away and left the farm to Donovan.”

Donovan graduated from Red Oak High School in 1950 and attended Iowa State University. He and Karlette met skating at Porters Lake and the couple wed Feb. 18, 1956, in Shenandoah. They farmed all of their married life in Montgomery and Page County area, moving to the Century Family Farm in 2000.

Donovan and Karlette were very involved in the farm and their community.

“He was so passionate about the farm and the livestock,” said Karlette. “Everyone knew who he was; he never knew a stranger.”

Donovan and Karlette raised two children, Bret and Kenda. Bret and his wife, Danis, have two sons, Connor and Easton. Kenda and her husband, Troy Caskey, reside in Lee Summit, Mo., and have two daughters, Kelen and Tristen.

Donovan passed away in 2019. Bret became the fifth generation Hultman to manage the farming operation.

“Hopefully the Hultman Heritage Farm will continue for future generations,” said Karlette.

The Red Oak Express

2012 Commerce Drive
P.O. Box 377
Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-623-2566 Fax: 712-623-2568

Comment Here