History nerds, rejoice: Minnesota History magazine has launched a new website that makes available nearly 100 years of back issues. Each issue, including photos and articles, can now be viewed on this vast archive, enabling authors, genealogists, educators and the curious public to peruse by subject or year.
The publication was launched in 1915, just 57 years after Minnesota achieved statehood, but interest in Minnesota history predates statehood, says Anne R. Kaplan, the magazine’s editor.
“People were paying attention to Minnesota history from the earliest territory days,” she says. “Most East Coast historical societies were run by the Old Guard elite, and they were interested in what was happening out here. Things were already being recorded and collected by our Founding Fathers, and they knew they were making history.”
Even before Minnesota History magazine was published, a pamphlet called Minnesota History Collections was put together; this material has since been republished as books.
Kaplan says high demand for the material led the Minnesota Historical Society to put the quarterly online.
“We would get requests from all over the world, not just from Minnesota,” she says, noting that American Indian topics are probably the most often requested materials, along with the Civil War, labor history, and oddball topics like the history of the Southdale Mall. Interest in history is highly suggestible and is influenced by movements in pop culture, books, films, anniversaries, and even topics covered in current issues of the magazine.
The History Center’s “Greatest Generation” exhibit, which opens May 23, will likely inspire a flurry of new research into the post-WWII years, Kaplan predicts.
The archive excludes the most recent issues, going back five years, although those issues are still available for purchase.
“I’m not sure if we’ll see an uptick in subscriptions or more cross-purchases of books as people delve into topics online, or maybe we’ll lose some business,” says Kaplan. “If so, oh well. This material is here for everyone to use, and now it’ll be easier to do that.”
