The Lichters of Caledonia, MN
by Carol (Lichter) Hill, Mary Lichter, and Shaun Murphy-Lopez (Carol's son) Lichter ("Leest-er") seems like an uncommon name. The three of us have been intrigued by the story of our brother John (Shaun's uncle) meeting a seemingly unrelated Lichter at a wind turbine work site (i.e., Jim Lichter, whose ancestors reportedly hailed from Racine, WI). To uncover some of our mysterious Lichter roots, the three of us decided in October of 2022 to visit Caledonia, MN, a small town once known for its Lichters. The Iowa Connection First we'll explain the story of how the Lichters of Pocahontas County, IA are connected to a little town in Minnesota. In the late 1800s two brothers named John Jr. and Nicholas Lichter arrived in Dover Township in Pocahontas County, several miles northeast of Varina. You can see evidence of them on this 1901 plat map, which Carol and Shaun found at the Pocahontas, IA library in July. See "N & J Lichter" in Section 10 of the Figure...