‘First 85’ moved to OTC from Kentucky in 1898

By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

This past summer, in early July and late August, two busloads of people from the Twin Cities came to the county museum in Fergus Falls (historical society) to learn more as descendants of black veterans of Otter Tail County.

“I feel fortunate to be involved with bringing the history of the ‘First 85’ who came to Fergus Falls in 1898,” said Missy Hermes, education coordinator for the Otter Tail County Historical Society.

“This is a history that I have been researching since I moved here in 1991,” Hermes said. “Their story begins with the resiliency to survive enslavement and then to rise up and serve this country in the military and in defense work.”

This includes the Civil War and the United States Colored Troops to overseas deployment in World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. 

“This definitely was a proud legacy of military service,” Hermes emphasized.

In 1898 a group of black families known as the “First 85” moved from Kentucky to Otter Tail County and settled in Fergus Falls. They left the Jim Crow South and sought a better way of life in Minnesota.

In July members of the Tate family boarded a bus in the Twin Cities and headed to Otter Tail County for a visit. Among them were Ron Tate and his sister, Marilyn Tate Johnson. They were among the few African Americans residing in Fergus Falls in the 1950s and 1960s.

Ron Tate’s daughter, Pam Tate-Draper, arranged the itinerary for the Tate family’s visit to Fergus Falls. They visited establishments in downtown Fergus Falls, spent time at Oak Grove Cemetery where some Tate family members have their final resting places and visited the county museum.

The Tate family appreciated assistance at the county museum from Hermes and other historical society employees Vicky Anderson, Kathy Evavold and LeAnn Neuleib. Tate family members toured the museum galleries and shared stories.

The following month, in August, Ron Tate’s younger brother, Jeff, was on board a second bus of descendants of black veterans who came to Fergus Falls for a visit. Jeff Tate himself is a veteran of the Vietnam War. 

Hermes addressed this August group like she had done with the previous busload that arrived in early July. “We appreciated the help from Missy and all of the county museum employees,” Jeff Tate added.

One member of the bus group in August, Robin Hickman Winfield, answered a question before it was asked. “Yes, I have a family connection to Twin Cities native and pro baseball player Dave Winfield,” she said. “Dave also is proud of black military veterans who came before him.”