The Lyon County Historical Society’s annual meeting is Thursday, June 3 at the Lyon County Museum. Schedule of events:

• 5-6 p.m.: Social Hour (box lunch, cake, tour exhibit galleries)

• 6 p.m.: Business meeting (2019 and 2020)

• 6:30 p.m.: Presentation by David Pichaske on his book, “The Secret Places of Southwest Minnesota”.

The box lunch is $9 each. To reserve a meal, call Jennifer at 537-6580. The deadline to reserve a meal is May 31. The event is open to the public.

The Secret Places of Southwest Minnesota by David Pichaske was released in 2020. Copies of the book are available for purchase at the Lyon County Museum.

The chapters in the book are: The Lay of the Landscape, The Lost Villages of Southwest Minnesota, The Buildings of Southwest Minnesota, A Going Concern, The Cemeteries of Southwest Minnesota, and Make It a Museum. In the chapter, The Lost Villages of Southwest Minnesota, Heckman Siding is one of the villages in Lyon County mentioned in the chapter.

Heckman was a siding of the Chicago and North Western Railway; located 5 miles southeast of Marshall in Lake Marshall Township. A post office was in section 25 from 1901-1914, and it was located at the east end of Lake Marshall. Heckman was not platted by the railroad, like the communities of Burchard and Dudley were, also mentioned in the same chapter.

According to Arthur P. Rose in the 1912 History of Lyon County, the site was selected in 1876, but no improvements to the site were made until 1888, when the sidetrack was laid and the place appeared on railroad folders as Heckman. An elevator of the Western Elevator Company was built and operated by J.F. Brantner and his wife managed the post office. A warehouse was built and managed by W.F. Bryant, who oversaw the purchase of grain and selling of coal at the warehouse.

The photograph featured this week is courtesy of the Wheels Across the Prairie Museum in Tracy. The photograph was taken in 1910 and shows the elevator at Heckman. The elevator burned down in the 1920’s.

The Lyon County Historical Society (LCHS) is a non-profit, member-supported organization. LCHS operates the Lyon County Museum at 301 W Lyon St in Marshall. The Lyon County Museum is open to visitors. To contact us, visit our website: www.lyoncomuseum.org, call: 507-537-6580, email: director@lyoncomuseum.org, or on our Facebook page.