A view of the Sylvan Border Farm in Underwood. A barn, windmill and house are in the background surrounded by trees; and a harvested field covered in snow is in the foreground.
This shows the Thomson Road just south of present day Interstate 35, lined with fence posts and stones removed from the field. There is a small shed in the background, and piles of stones and branches. This was located near the John Fredrickson's farm - formerly known as John Alatalo. John Alatalo homesteaded this farm in 1873, one year after he came to America from Finland. He died in 1876, and his was the first death among the early settlers in the area. John Alatalo's brother, Peter, took over the operation of the farm after John's death. In 1935 the owner of the farm was Peter Fredrickson Jr., who was born on the farm on March 2, 1889.
From the fields, the harvested potatoes were taken to winter storage in a huge root cellar (60 feet in diameter) that had been constructed out of the sand pit dug on the campus at the time of building Sacred Heart Chapel in 1911 - 1914.