Life has not always smiled on Laukko, which has also seen its fair share of tragedy. The darkest shadow was cast on its history by the eviction of the tenant farmers in the early 20th century. At that time the estate had over a hundred crofts, mostly on the Tottijärvi side.

 

In order to rectify the injustices of the rental system, the crofters began to strike in 1906. Baron Herman Sigfrid Standertsjöld-Nordenstam refused to agree to their demands and instead took them to court. By decision of the court he was able to evict dozens of families to fend as best they could in the freezing winter’s night.

 

The Laukko strikes and evictions received considerable nation-wide publicity on the eve of Finland’s first parliamentary elections. The ensuing bitterness erupted at local level during the Civil War of 1918, when the Reds razed the Baron of Laukko’s home to the ground.