St. Paul native John Vachon made a mark with his photographs of the Depression-era Midwest
After getting kicked out of college due to drinking, Vachon found work with the Farm Security Administration.
R.L. Cartwright
Duluth activist Irene Levine Paull advocated for timber workers, the labor movement
For her troubles, she was called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in 1962.
Built to relieve overcrowding at Minnesota’s mental institutions, Fergus Falls State Hospital quickly became overcrowded itself
When the hospital opened its doors, it received two men from the Judge Probate of Otter Tail County. The next day, it received 80 more patients from the St. Peter hospital.
The 1860 Eliza Winston court case illustrates Minnesota’s complicated racial politics
On the one hand, cities such as Minneapolis and St. Anthony were centers of the Midwest’s abolition movement. Yet, many white Minnesota businessmen benefited from trade with Southern slaveholders.
How the Mayo Clinic grew out of a devastating tornado
For residents of Rochester, August 21, 1883, began with oppressive heat and ominous stillness.
In the mid-1800s, Duluth residents wanted a canal so badly that they dug it themselves — by hand
The opening of the Duluth ship canal in 1871 was a historical turning point for the city of Duluth, Minnesota, and the Twin Ports of Duluth and Superior.
Banding together for better butter: Clarks Grove was one of Minnesota’s first cooperative creameries
The Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery used new technology and a well-organized cooperative system. It became a model for the Minnesota dairy industry.
Meet the reporter who blew the lid off exploitation of women by Minnesota’s garment industry
During the time that she lived in the state, Eva McDonald Valesh left a big impression on Minnesota journalism, politics, and labor organizing.
Minnesota’s first medical-device industry: artificial limbs
The milling, logging, farming, and railroad industries that made Minneapolis a prosperous town in the late nineteenth century also cost many men their limbs, if not their lives.
1937 Minnesota timber strikes led to regional leadership role for union
Timber workers’ peaceful organizing won union recognition, higher wages, better conditions, and a central role in regional and national timber worker movements.
Piloting Minnesota lumberjacks’ souls to the sky
Logging northern Minnesota was a difficult job — many loggers blew off steam by drinking, gambling, or visiting brothels. “Sky pilots” tried to save the men’s souls and put them on the road to holiness rather than vice.
Winged menace: The Minnesota grasshopper plagues of 1873-1877
On June 12, 1873, farmers in southwestern Minnesota saw what looked like a snowstorm coming towards their fields from the west.
Handicraft Guild established Minneapolis as national center for Arts and Crafts movement
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.
Never had cholera? Thank the Minnesota State Board of Health
Minnesota established a state board of health in 1872. It was the third such board in the United States.
February 13, 1906: Minnesota’s last legal execution
The botched execution of William Williams caused renewed fervor against the death penalty.
Sister Kenny Institute revolutionized treatment of polio patients
The Sister Kenny Institute was founded in 1942 as a rehabilitation-based treatment center for polio patients.
Northrup, King and Company
With its lavishly illustrated seed catalogs and store displays, Northrup, King and Company became a household name at the turn of the twentieth century.
Mesabi Range Strike, 1907
Tired of ethnic discrimination as well as dangerous working conditions, low wages, and long work days, immigrant iron miners went on strike. It was the first organized strike on the Iron Range.
