hoglund dugout

Researched the history and found it very interesting. Hard to believe that the family spent two winters in the dugout. It was difficult to find even with a map. We drove past it the first time around.Should be marked with an historical marker.

Finding it requires effort. The site is not marked. Take Highway K-4 west out of Lindsborg, at 12th Avenue turn north. About ¾ mile on the east side of the road is an “opening.” From this opening you access a grassy parking area that would probably accommodate about three cars. To find the dugout, follow the footpath through the pipe fence then - keep alert! The dugout itself is not marked and suddenly there is this pit in the earth!Tragically this potentially interesting historical site appears to have fallen into a dismaying state of disrepair. The bottom was covered in some sort of greenish slime in which a few fishing bobbers nested. The hole serves as a receptacle for trash – natural (tree debris) and man-tossed which I didn’t even want to examine closely enough to figure out what it was.This site is sorely neglected and slowly being reclaimed by nature; it is no longer an inspiring piece of history. Is it worth the effort? With regret, I must state emphatically, “No.” Unless, however, you come at the right time of year and are able to gather a basket of sand plums! There is a healthy, well-established thicket of them along the trail between the parking area and the hole.Date of Visit: 02Aug2014

This is just outside of Lindsborg, but you won't find it if you don't have directions. There is a "map" (sort of) in the visitors guide you can get in town but it is still one of those places you could drive past a million times and not realize it. It is on a dirt road and you have to look for "a break in the trees" and a "pull off" because there is no sign for it. Park in the pull off and hike a few minutes back toward the field and you will practically fall right into it.The story behind it is that this is where the first Swedish settlers "dug out" the hole to live in and pulled their wagon over the top of it as a roof. It had about 2 feet of water in it when we were there, but you could see how they had used the stone from the area to make it a little more stable and practical. We were a little creeped out by the area since it really is very isolated, but the story behind it makes it worth the search if you are into early american history. This is a rare look into early settlements that I have not seen anywhere else, and its free.

Before you go out there, get the Lindsborg visitor's pamphlet, (Its free and all over downtown) so you can see a map of how to get out there, and read the history of the place while you are looking at it. It is off the beaten path, and there are no signs, so you drive down a dirt road, and see a gap in the trees where there is a little pull off area. Park there and walk straight ahead through the grass and you will walk up to a hole in the ground. This was an original Swedish settler's house,made to put his wagon cover over it. Notice that it is by a stream, and in the few shady trees in the area. You can climb down into the hole and imagine what it must have been like to live in that tiny space! Some of the best historical places have no parkinglots, signs, or pay booths to muddle them up, and this little place is a gem! (For this reason, if you see trash here, please take it with you so this place doesn't get ugly, and so the next generation can enjoy it)