As a fur trader and translator — and one of the first Black men born in present-day Minnesota — George Bonga moved between many different worlds
Around 1802, George Bonga was born to an African American father and his Ojibwe wife.
Eric W. Weber
E. A. Webb may not have been a successful farmer, but he found big success publishing The Farmer
Founded in 1882, the Farmer grew from a small publication to a large magazine with a circulation of over 175,000.
September 1862: Besieged at Birch Coulee
The Battle of Birch Coulee, fought between September 2 and 3, 1862, was the worst defeat the United States suffered and the Dakotas’ most successful engagement during the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
Casualty of the automobile: Wildwood Amusement Park in White Bear Lake
First built by the St. Paul and White Bear Railroad in 1889, Wildwood Amusement Park was designed to attract visitors to take the newly built streetcar line to White Bear Lake.
February 21, 1921: School safety patrol debuts in St. Paul
The school safety patrol was first implemented in St. Paul in 1921, one of the earliest in the country.
Over 100 years of winter fun with the St. Paul Curling Club
The St. Paul Curling Club is one of the largest curling clubs in the United States.
Peas, corn and beyond: Minnesota’s Green Giant company was a canned food pioneer
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 was last 19th century flour mill in use in Minnesota
Before burning to the ground in 2011, the Swany White Flour Mill was the last remaining 19th century mill in use in Minnesota.
Treaty of Traverse des Sioux ceded millions of acres from Dakota to U.S.
The treaty opened twenty-four million acres of land to immigration. For the Dakota, it marked another step in their increasing marginalization in land that was their home.
The relocation of Hibbing, 1919-1921
From 1919-1921, the people of Hibbing moved nearly two hundred structures, including several large buildings, two miles south to make way for a growing open pit mine.
Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association fought for women’s right to vote
From 1881 to 1920, the Minnesota Woman Suffrage Association worked hard to force the Minnesota legislature to recognize their right to vote.
