In the 1850s there was a land boom in southern Minnesota. Jonathan Brown, 37 years old, filed on land along the Cottonwood River in what is now Burnstown Township. (S 1/2 of SW 1/4, Sec. 15; N 1/2 of NW 1/4 of Sec. 22)
Jonathan picked a good site for farming. The land on the south side of the river was flat ground above the flood plain. His land was protected on both sides from prairie fires and the large trees in the river bottom made excellent building timber and firewood.
Jonathan Brown built a cabin which became a way stop for travelers on the New Ulm to Sioux Falls mail route, also called the Shetek Trail. The route ran just south of his cabin. People traveling to Shetek, Pipestone, the Great Oasis, or Sioux Falls could stop and rest.
Jonathan, his father Joseph, and his sister Oratia were killed in August 1862 while trying to escape to New Ulm. Their graves are in the Springfield City Cemetery west of this location.
This sign was erected in 2012 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the US - Dakota War of 1862. It was supported by a grant from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Legacy Program, in cooperation with the Springfield Historical Society, Sleepy Eye Historical Society, Brown County Historical Society, and the Township of Burnstown.
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