BlockBefore

Christian F. Uytendale Farmstead

Built in 1887. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

From the record

“Uytendale Farmstead is a historic farm in Benson Township, Minnesota, United States. The property was established as one of the first farms in Swift County, Minnesota, in 1868, by Norwegian immigrant Johannes Torgerson (1823-1909).”

Wikipedia article Christian F. Uytendale Farmstead, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 9 National Register listings published here for Swift County · listed in 1985 · category: District · built in 1887.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 5 buildingss, 3 structuress as contributing to the listing.
  • Listed as. Uytendale, Christian F., Farmstead - the National Register files a house under its owner's surname.
  • Address. Off Co. Hwy. 25, Benson, 56215
  • When was it listed? September 1985
  • Category. district
  • Township. Benson township
  • When was it built? 1887
  • National Register reference number. 85001989 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

4 since 2000

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Christian F. Uytendale Farmstead between 2000 and 2020, burning about 988 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Recreation and ceremony2
Debris and open burning1
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
27 April 2020Recreation and ceremony42 acresMorris National Wildlife RefugeMNBNR-FY20-WF-CRAMLET NORTH
10 April 2020Recreation and ceremony14 acresMorris National Wildlife RefugeMNBNR-FY20-WF-CRAMLET
14 October 2006Equipment and vehicle use85 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 October 2000Debris and open burning847 acresMorris National Wildlife RefugeSVOR

Every fire recorded in Swift County

Storms near this property

49 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Benson, the town this property stands in, in 49 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 21 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 6 tornado, 4 funnel cloud. The reports record 7 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2001Tornado (F2)Benson7 hurt, $10,000,000After several brief tornadoes around Danvers, a much larger tornado struck the east side of Benson and travelled southeast along Highway 212. 71 structures were damaged, including 4 homes and 7 businesses that had to be demolished. The tornado lifted off in DeGraff, but not before damaging one last grain bin, taking the roof off a grain elevator, and knocking several sheds down in DeGraff. Seven people were injured when they fled a van just as the tornado was hitting the vehicle on the eastern edge of Benson. One boy was critically injured but survived and was discharged from the hospital two weeks later. Damage listed encompasses damages from all tornadoes and wind events in Swift County.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindBenson$500,000Three 50,000 bushel grain bins blown onto highway. Wall collapse at ethanol plant. Damage estimate for entire county.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBenson$50,000Several trees were blown down and a steel building was damaged near the intersection of 40th Street and Highway 29 south of Benson. Dozens of downed trees were scattered across Benson.
August 2020Thunderstorm WindBenson$5,000Several large trees and power lines/poles were blown down around Benson, Minnesota.
June 2014Tornado (EF0)Benson$5,000A brief tornado touched down just to the northeast of Benson. It took the roof off a shed and hit a grove of trees but caused no other damage. It drew water upward from a slough and then soon thereafter dropped all the water and debris when the tornado dissipated. The tornado was recorded on photos and video.
May 2025Tornado (EF1)Benson-A tornado developed approximately 3 miles to the SSE of Benson. Visible debris was reported by trained spotters and law enforcement. The tornado caused damage to some farm outbuildings before lifting just north of the intersection of US-12 and 10th St NE. Multiple damage photos and the detailed track were provided, so a virtual storm survey was conducted on this tornado. Its maximum wind was estimated at 95 mph.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBenson-Several large trees were blown across Highway 9 near Benson.
July 2018Funnel CloudBenson-The local police department reported funnel clouds west of Benson.
July 2017HailBenson-A swath of large hail occurred north, and through the city of Benson. The largest hail stone was golf ball size.
June 2016Funnel CloudBenson-Several fire department personnel, trained as spotters, witnessed a funnel cloud just southeast of Benson.
July 2016HailBenson-In addition to the hail, strong winds around 50 mph occurred.
September 2014Thunderstorm WindBenson-A 10 inch wide apple tree was uprooted. There were also several other reporting sites that had wind gusts over 50 mph.
June 2014Funnel CloudBenson-Two separate funnel clouds and one tornado developed west and southwest of Benson at the same time. Eyewitness accounts suggest that of the three vortices, only one touched down (see separate entries for the tornado and other funnel cloud).
June 2013Thunderstorm WindBenson-Scattered trees and power lines were blown down around Benson.
March 2009FloodBenson-An ice jam and debris was up against the railroad bridge over Chippewa River in the northwest side of Benson. Water was over a few township roads south and southwest of Benson.
July 2008Thunderstorm WindBenson-One hundred thousand square foot building under contruction destroyed.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindBenson-Two trees down in town. One blocking a street.
May 2005Funnel CloudBenson-A funnel cloud was reported by a Sheriff's deputy 4 miles north of the Chippewa/Swift County line south of Benson.
May 2005Thunderstorm WindBenson-Several trees were downed.
May 2005Tornado (F0)Benson-Two Sheriff's deputies saw a tornado pick up debris near Highway 29.
June 2005HailBenson-Law enforcement officials reported nickel sized hail at the intersection of Highway 29 and County Road 6.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindBenson-A tree and several branches were downed.
June 2005HailBenson-Dime sized hail was reported south and west of Benson.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindBenson-Trees and power lines were downed near Benson.
July 1998Thunderstorm WindBenson-Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed.
August 1998FloodBenson-3 to 4 inches of rain in less than 2 hours caused street and basement flooding.
June 1998Tornado (F0)Benson-Crossed open fields.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindBenson-Numerous trees blown down. Portion of roof ripped off Livestock Exchange.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBenson-no account filed
June 2018Thunderstorm WindBenson-no account filed
June 2016HailBenson-no account filed
July 2016HailBenson-no account filed
May 2011HailBenson-no account filed
May 2011HailBenson-no account filed
September 2006HailBenson-no account filed
April 2005HailBenson-no account filed
May 2005HailBenson-no account filed
June 2005HailBenson-no account filed
May 2004HailBenson-no account filed
August 2001HailBenson-no account filed
June 1999HailBenson-no account filed
June 1999HailBenson-no account filed
May 1996HailBenson-no account filed
October 1996HailBenson-no account filed
October 1996HailBenson-no account filed
October 1996Tornado (F1)Benson-no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindBenson-no account filed
May 1994HailBenson-no account filed
July 1994HailBenson-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Swift County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

3 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Church of St. Francis Xavier-Catholic4.9 miles1985
Swift County Courthouse5.0 miles1977
Christ Church-Episcopal5.0 miles1985

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 85001989 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Swift CountyAll 9 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.