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MNopedia

Entries about Minnesota history from MNopedia are made available through a partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society and with funding from the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

MNopedia

Each week, MinnPost brings you a highlight of our state's past from MNopedia, an encyclopedia of Minnesota history written by experts and produced by the Minnesota Historical Society.

Arts amendment logoMNopedia is made possible with funding from the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

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scotch tape dispenser photo

A sticky solution to a painter's problem: the invention of Scotch tape

By Kathryn R. Goetz | 05/21/13

3M's Scotch brand masking tape and cellophane tape were small inventions that became a consumer revolution.

hamline building photo
MNopedia

Creating Hamline, Minnesota's first college

By Frederick L. Johnson | 05/14/13

In 1854 a group of Methodist ministers founded Hamline University in Red Wing.

alexander anderson
MNopedia

Minnesotan Alexander P. Anderson was the father of puffed rice cereal

By Frederick L. Johnson | 05/07/13

Anderson's new breakfast food would make him a nationally known figure and the face of a Quaker Oats advertising campaign for almost a decade.

greysolon art
MNopedia

Daniel Greysolon forged peace with native peoples, expanded French reach in Minnesota

By Thomas K. Backerud | 04/30/13

Greysolon and the marines were sent to Montreal because of King Louis XIV's efforts to expand French influence and control in North America.

Arts and Crafts-style hammered copper jardiniere flowerpot
MNopedia

Handicraft Guild established Minneapolis as national center for Arts and Crafts movement

By R.L. Cartwright | 04/23/13

Founded by women, the Handicraft Guild made the arts in Minneapolis more democratic and populist by offering classes like pottery and metalwork to artists and teachers.

colonist reception house photo
MNopedia

The Western Minnesota town that wasn't: New Yeovil

By Kathryn R. Goetz | 04/16/13

Despite high hopes, the settlement of New Yeovil crumbled soon after it began.

4th minnesota painting
MNopedia

Minnesotans in the Civil War: Fourth MN Volunteer Infantry Regiment

By Matthew W. Hutchinson | 04/09/13

The Fourth Regiment of Minnesota Infantry witnessed much of the action in the Civil War's Western Theater.

union depot historical photo
MNopedia

St. Paul's Union Depot has been rebuilt and remodeled many times

By John Diers | 04/02/13

The first depot opened in 1881.

Birney Quick painting
MNopedia

Grand Marais is home to Minnesota's longest-lived art colony

By Kathryn R. Goetz | 03/26/13

What began as an eight-week summer course became a year-round art colony that unites the natural beauty of the North Shore with Minnesota's vibrant artistic community.

Maria Sanford
MNopedia

U of M English prof Maria Sanford was one of first female professors in U.S.

By Kathryn R. Goetz | 03/19/13

Her exceptional teaching, notable public lectures, and active community leadership led many to call her "the best loved woman in the Minnesota."

farmers alliance campaign poster
MNopedia

Farmer-labor collaborations before the DFL: Meet the Minnesota Farmers' Alliance

By Molly Huber | 03/12/13

An 1890 union between the Alliance and labor groups yielded several successful political candidacies.

Minneapolis Board of Health member giving vaccinations, 1904. Vaccinations were
MNopedia

Never had cholera? Thank the Minnesota State Board of Health

By R.L. Cartwright | 03/05/13

Minnesota established a state board of health in 1872. It was the third such board in the United States.

AJ Rockne
MNopedia

Sen. A.J. Rockne was 'Watchdog of the State Treasury'

By Frederick L. Johnson | 02/26/13

Opponents gave him a different nickname: "Commander-in-Chief of the Hunger Brigade."

safety patrol
MNopedia

February 21, 1921: School safety patrol debuts in St. Paul

By Eric W. Weber | 02/19/13

The school safety patrol was first implemented in St. Paul in 1921, one of the earliest in the country.

William Williams
MNopedia

February 13, 1906: Minnesota's last legal execution

By R.L. Cartwright | 02/12/13

The botched execution of William Williams caused renewed fervor against the death penalty.

Thomas Lowry
MNopedia

Thomas Lowry brought streetcars to Minneapolis

By Molly Huber | 02/05/13

Thomas Lowry was one of the most influential and admired men in Minneapolis at the time of his death in 1909.

pan car
MNopedia

Minnesota-made autos: Pan Motor Company

By Ann Meline | 01/29/13

In 1918, the first Pan Automobile rolled off the assembly line in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Curling on the Mississippi
MNopedia

Over 100 years of winter fun with the St. Paul Curling Club

By Eric W. Weber | 01/22/13

The St. Paul Curling Club is one of the largest curling clubs in the United States.

Eugenie Anderson
MNopedia

Minnesotan Eugenie Anderson blazed trail for female diplomats

By Frederick L. Johnson | 01/15/13

In 1949 Anderson became the first American woman to hold the rank of ambassador.

green giant cans in a store display
MNopedia

Peas, corn and beyond: Minnesota's Green Giant company was a canned food pioneer

By Eric W. Weber | 01/08/13

Founded in 1903 as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company, Green Giant became one of the largest producers of canned corn and peas in the United States.

Swany Mill
MNopedia

Swany Mill was last 19th century flour mill in use in Minnesota

By Eric W. Weber | 12/18/12

Before burning to the ground in 2011, the Swany White Flour Mill was the last remaining 19th century mill in use in Minnesota.