Civil War-era Army life will be reenacted Saturday on the grounds of Probstfield Farm by the 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment.

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

One of the Red River Valley’s oldest farms throws open the gates on Saturday for a day-long visit to a long-gone era.

The Probstfield Farm Living History Foundation hosts its annual Harvest Festival from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday. Visitors can step into a bygone era at the homestead, where German immigrants Randolph Michael and Catherine Probstfield began building their log home in 1868, well before the settlement of Moorhead and the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad brought more founders to the fledgling townsite and soon-to-be Clay County.

The annual festival features the kinds of vintage sights and activities that fit the first Saturday in October. According to foundation president Paul Sando, highlights include hay rides in a wagon pulled by a bright red vintage tractor, tractor driving lessons on nearly 90-year-old models by John Deere, old-time music and demonstrations of useful skills, from spinning fleece into yearn to making rope.

The 5th Minnesota Infantry Regiment, a group of reenactors who dress, eat, sleep and drill  in the ways of the Civil War era, will also be holding its winter encampment on the farm.

The centerpiece of the farmstead, Sando says, is the original home of the Probstfields. Now sided with clapboard, the sturdy structure – more than 150 years old – is the focus of the foundation’s restoration plans, starting with restoration of its foundation and roof several years ago. The group is looking for funding to complete tightening up the exterior of the building in line with guidelines from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, then plans to rehab the interior to the style of the 1880s.

The farmstead also includes three barns including the Big Barn, site of some of the entertainment, as well as a replica of the original machine shed that was built from some of the original materials in 2014. (Its predecessor was slipping into the Red River.) There’s also a potting shed and the Jeep House on the edge of the yard, a tiny dwelling where hired men stayed.

The foundation was established by several Probstfield descendants in 1992, when some of the original acreage was sold for development. Now held in trust, the funds help offset the cost of maintaining the historic property.

One of the Probstfields’ great-granddaughters, Cathy Scheibe, is a permanent member of the board, which leads the approximately 60 members of the society. She will be an active participant in the festival Saturday. The bright red restored tractor that pulls the haywagon is one that she and her late husband restored … and she will be serving cider and homemade Probstfield-era cookies, along with vintage family recipes.

Probstfield Farm is located north of the American Crystal plant on Oakport Street, the extension of 11th Street North. A $5 donation admits a family. For more information on the festival and the sponsoring foundation, go to  or search for it on Facebook.