Courtney Graff reports:

Jordan traces its history back to 1854. This is also when the Varner family story begins. Jane Varner Breimhorst, who was born to Harold and Myn (Gran) Varner, is the last remaining Varner descendent residing in Jordan. She recalls family history and town involvement from a compilation book written by a family member.

"Our family did not want our history to get lost or forgotten, so my relative typed up the stories on a typewriter" Breimhorst said.

Breimhorst lives on Varner Street, which is named after her great-grandfather who co-founded Jordan. According to family history, the Varners’ first wooden house was located at the corner of First and Varner streets.

While in high school, Breimhorst's basketball team won all-district. In 1999, she was recognized by the University of Minnesota for her participation on the Jordan basketball team and was presented with a trophy and the book “Daughters of the Game,” in which her team's picture is displayed.

After graduating from Jordan High School, Breimhorst continued her education at University of Minnesota's school of nursing. There, she was selected as a member of Sigma Theta Tau, a national honorary nursing sorority. Some of Breimhorst's work history in Jordan includes working for several doctors who were delivering many of Jordan's babies. She was later employed by Scott County to survey the health of the county's children. Breimhorst was then employed by Scott County health program to oversee the schools.

Breimhorst continues to nurture her love of nursing by keeping her license active.

"I take classes every month to equal 24 credits every two years. Health profession information changes often, and it is intriguing to learn about," said Breimhorst.

Breimhorst is on the Scott County Emergency Medical Service Advisory Committee, which coordinates all the emergency services in the county. She followed her father and husband and is active in the Commercial Club, which allocates its funds back into Jordan.

"It's a business organization whose purpose is to support, financially, special projects in Jordan" said Breimhorst.

From the family book packed with stories of Varner history, Breimhorst read exerts of how her descendents settled in Jordan, like this: "The first European settlers in Jordan were the Holmes who came to build a sawmill in November of 1853. They decided to settle on the then-nameless area that was split by a creek."

According to Breimhorst, "William Varner was the next white settler to establish a home in Jordan."

The Varner family, which had seven sons and three daughters, emigrated from Northern English territory of Ireland and lived in Kentucky and Ohio before moving the land of Minnesota in 1854.

Breimhorst's grandfather was a surveyor from St. Paul and saw the valley of Jordan as a beautiful place to settle. The Varner family then moved the little town now called Jordan and built the second log cabin in town. Later, the Varners had a farm on top of Varner Hill, where the children watched the 11 a.m. "iron horse" train debut in 1863.

As more people began to settle, William Holmes and William Varner, who had laid out the entire village's structure, decided it was time to name their village. Holmes wanted to name it Varner, and Varner wanted to name it Holmes. Their final decision was to call the village Jordan, as in "on the banks of the River Jordan" from the Bible.

Breimhorst read, "Both men (Holmes and Varner) were spiritual men and well read in the Bible."

Breimhorst married William Breimhorst in 1939 and had two children – William, who is a pastor in Mound, and Joan, who is a teacher in California.

Breimhorst's love for Jordan is evident in her history and community involvement to this day. She hopes that by investing in the town, others will also be able to cherish Jordan as it grows.

Courtney Graff is one of several students from Northwestern College in Roseville who took part in a collaborative project with the Jordan Independent. She and other freelancers can be reached by sending an e-mail to the newspaper at editor@jordannews.com [2].