Farmhouses of Richfield is a series of geocaches intended to highlight several old farmhouses still standing in Richfield. These farmhouses were all built between 1852 and 1918 by settlers who migrated to MN because land was affordable and fertile. Please take time to look at these impressive houses that have stood for over a century.
This property, at one time belonged to the James Tinkham family. James was the son of Milan and Marion Tinkham of Vermont who settled in Richfield in the year 1875. The elder Tinkham owned land south of 78th Street in Bloomington and was named as one of the executors in the will of Richfield pioneer, John McCabe. The Tinkham property changed hands and by 1890 was divided into sections of 40 acres each.
Fred Boeser was born in Bloomington in 1872. His father was one of the founders of the Assumption Catholic Church in 1875. Fred Boeser purchased one of the 40-acre lots of the Tinkham land and farmed it for many years. He also did roadwork for the village and dug basements for new houses. He often told the story of how 66th Street had a crook in it west of Lyndale Avenue: "When the Baptist Church was built at 64th and Lyndale, the members on the west side made a short cut by walking on the beaver dam between Wood Lake and Grass Lake. Later they hauled in a little more fill and drove over the dam. After this road had been made, the lake water rose and more fill had to be added. This beaver dam became the established road which was later improved to become 66th Street." After the beavers built a dam across the central part of Wood Lake, the body of water north of the dam became Grass Lake. Highway construction in the 1950s and 1960s sliced Grass Lake in half. The southern section was given the name Richfield Lake.
Eventually, the Boeser farm was plotted into smaller lots and in the 1940s became known as Marshal and Heard's Addition. The Fred Boeser house has changed hands several times since then and has now been reconditioned to its earlier appearance. Modern homes surround this lovely old home and reflect the changes in Richfield over the years.