Erhard is the home of the largest 4th of July celebration in Otter Tail County. The city of Erhard is surrounded by beautiful scenery throughout its rolling hills that provides you with a view for miles!
Erhard was platted in 1882, and named for Alexander E. Erhard, an early settler.[
Interesting Fact: Who was Minnesota’s first woman Speaker of the House? A poor immigrant girl who became a teacher in Erhard, MN and got elected to the highest office in the state, Hannah Kempfer affected change that lasts to this day. (Otter Tail County Historical Society) She was one of the first four women to serve in the Minnesota Legislature. The others were: Sue Metzger Dickey Hough, Myrtle Cain, and Mabeth Hurd Paige. All four were elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives.
She was born at sea, to an unmarried stewardess and a sailor, under the English flag. She was left at an orphanage in Stavanger, Norway. She was adopted by Mr. And Mrs. Ole Jensen of Stavanger, Norway in March 1881. She came to Adams, Mower County, Minnesota in 1886 and moved to Otter Tail County, Minnesota in 1889.
She was an Independent. (Minnesota Legislative Commission on the Economic Status of Women)
On January 28, 1925 she was appointed honoray speaker for the day, making her the first female to serve in this role in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
She died in the hospital at Fergus Falls, Minnesota. (Minnesota Legislative Reference Library)
Hannah Kempfer, Term Photo – 43rd Session
