In 1863, Amos and Kate Dustin and their family were living in Wright County, Minnesota. In 1862, the Dakota Indians, who lived on a reservation some miles away, launched a war against the whites as the Dakota were frustrated with their situation for a variety of reasons. In response to that uprising in 1862, the Dustins had fled their home in Moores Prairie, in Wright County. As the situation with the Dakota had quieted down, the Dustins decided to return to their home the next year. On June 29, 1863, the family consisting of Amos and his wife Kate, their children Alma, Robert, and Leon, and Amos's mother Jeanette, set out in their ox-drawn wagon. They were attacked by a small party of Dakota when at a point northwest of present-day Howard Lake. Amos, Robert, and Jeanette were killed and died that day, and Kate was mortally wounded. The Dakota left the other two children unharmed. Kate did manage to make it some distance with her two children. They were eventually found by a search party, and Kate died on July 3. The inscription on their gravestone reads "Burial Place, Dustin Family, Massacred by the Indians, June 30, 1863." The date on the stone is incorrect, as it should read June 29 for three of the victims. Their story is detailed on page 76 of "Dakota Uprising Victims: Gravestones & Stories," published in 2007 by Curtis Dahlin. A historical marker relating the story of the killing of the Dustins is located on U.S. Hwy 12, west of Howard Lake, MN. This is near the site where they were killed. The original marker, with an inscription carved into a boulder, is also at this site.
In 1863, Amos and Kate Dustin and their family were living in Wright County, Minnesota. In 1862, the Dakota Indians, who lived on a reservation some miles away, launched a war against the whites as the Dakota were frustrated with their situation for a variety of reasons. In response to that uprising in 1862, the Dustins had fled their home in Moores Prairie, in Wright County. As the situation with the Dakota had quieted down, the Dustins decided to return to their home the next year. On June 29, 1863, the family consisting of Amos and his wife Kate, their children Alma, Robert, and Leon, and Amos's mother Jeanette, set out in their ox-drawn wagon. They were attacked by a small party of Dakota when at a point northwest of present-day Howard Lake. Amos, Robert, and Jeanette were killed and died that day, and Kate was mortally wounded. The Dakota left the other two children unharmed. Kate did manage to make it some distance with her two children. They were eventually found by a search party, and Kate died on July 3. The inscription on their gravestone reads "Burial Place, Dustin Family, Massacred by the Indians, June 30, 1863." The date on the stone is incorrect, as it should read June 29 for three of the victims. Their story is detailed on page 76 of "Dakota Uprising Victims: Gravestones & Stories," published in 2007 by Curtis Dahlin. A historical marker relating the story of the killing of the Dustins is located on U.S. Hwy 12, west of Howard Lake, MN. This is near the site where they were killed. The original marker, with an inscription carved into a boulder, is also at this site.
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