EP History: The Riley-Jacques Homestead
Patrick Riley and his son Mathew immigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1845. We know that prior to arriving in Eden Prairie, Mathew worked in Lowell, Mass. and in 1853, arrived in St. Paul, where he ran a public ferry at Fort Snelling for two seasons. We also know that by 1854, Patrick had built a log cabin and was farming on the shores of a lake in Eden Prairie that would soon bear his name. Mathew Riley followed his father to Eden Prairie and by 1857, father Patrick owned 58.8 acres of farmland and Mathew owned 160 acres, wrapping around the north and eastern shores of Lake Riley. After Patrick’s death the land was divided, consolidated and rearranged until Matthew’s farm consisted of around 200 acres.
Most Eden Prairie farmers during the 1850’s and ‘60’s subsisted on what the land yielded. They cleared land, planted, hunted, gathered and harvested what they needed to live. The farm customarily had a dairy cow to provide milk, butter and cheese. The family’s diet was mainly potatoes, pork and corn bread, occasionally fish, venison and other game. In season, nature provided a bounty of wild fruits like grapes, strawberries, raspberries and plums. Maple trees yielded syrup and the bogs provided cranberries. Honey was a special treat. But the subsistence farmer still had an occasional need for cash; to pay for taxes, land, livestock or manufactured goods. So, when there was a surplus of produce or meat the farmer found a ready market at Fort Snelling or the growing communities of St. Anthony and St. Paul. During the 1870’s, ‘80’s and ‘90’s the majority of Eden Prairie farmers, including Mathew Riley, put nearly all of their cropland into wheat production. The wheat boom in Eden Prairie was enabled by advances in technology: the widespread availability of McCormick’s reaper, developed in 1831, and the arrival of rail transportation into (and out of) Eden Prairie by 1871.
Two new structures were built on the Riley farm during this period. Both still exist; a good-sized granary and the impressive Greek Revival-style house, overlooking Lake Riley. The house is a handsome example of “second generation” homes being built in the area after the Civil War. Mathew Riley died in 1912 and his son, James took over the farm until 1917, when he died. Ten years later, James’ wife, Anna Teeling Riley sold the farm to Michael Jacques. Two generations of Jacqueses lived on the farmstead. One son Jerome and his wife Elaine raised six children and lots of cows and chickens on that farm. Until 1941 the house did not have indoor plumbing or electricity; it was heated by wood- burning stoves and lit with kerosene lamps. In 1990 Elaine Jacques sold the house, farm buildings and what remained of the land to the city of Eden Prairie. Today, the Riley-Jacques Farm is part of City parkland called Lake Riley Park and has been designated an Eden Prairie Heritage Preservation Site.
This cache follows all EP Park Rules.