January 1
1878 - An unusually mild winter day, with a steamboat excursion
on the Mississippi River from St. Paul to Fort Snelling. The passengers
crowded the decks of the Aunt Betsey clad in linen dusters and
carrying palm-leaf fans. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by
Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 2
1872 - The Academcy of Music opened in Minneapolis is an upstairs theater located at the corner of Washington and Hennepin avenues. For a decade it housed all the city's better attractions. The building burned to the ground on Christmas Day, 1884. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 3
1848 - A ladies' sewing circle, called the "St. Paul Circle of Industry," was formed to raise money for a schoolhouse. The building was completed the next August and replaced the mud-chinked log hovel in which the teacher, Harriet Bishop, had opened her school the year before. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 3
1905 - The legislature convened for the first time in the new Capitol. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 4
1854 - The Minnesota Territorial Agricultural Society held its first meeting at the Capitol at St. Paul on this and the following day. In spite of bad weather, this meeting was well attended, with delegates coming from Benton, Chisago, Dakota, Hennepin, Nicollet, Pembina, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties. An act of the legislature in 1860 gave the society, thereafter known as the Minnesota State Agricultural Society, the powers of a corporate body. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 4
1874 - The Catholic Industrial School was incorporated. It
opened in St. Paul under the supervision of the Franciscan Brothers
in the spring of 1877 on the shores of Lake Menith (now drained)
and the site of the present University of St. Thomas campus. It
moved to Clontarf in 1879, and was sold to the Federal Government
in 1897. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St.
Paul: 1949)
January 5
1805 - Joseph Renshaw Brown was born in Harford County, Maryland.
When 14, he came to Minnesota with the troops that built Fort
Snelling, and remained in Minnesota after his discharge in 1825.
He founded and laid out the towns of Dahkotah and Henderson. Brown
County and Brown's Valley in Traverse county are named for him.
He died in 1870. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson,
St. Paul: 1949)
January 5
1892 - Classes in mining and metallurgy began at the University
of Minnesota. Prof. William R. Appleby was appointed to teach
courses. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St.
Paul: 1949)
January 6
1853 - "A public subscription fund has been started
to provide money for building a road to Traverse des Sioux.
Capt. Dodd requests us to say that he has obtained a subscription
of $400.00 for said road, and that he is going to put it through
by daylight. He has left the subscription paper at Mr. Larpenteur's,
where gentlement are politely requested to put down. (Minnesota
Pioneer, St. Paul, from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson,
St. Paul: 1949)
January 7
1816 - Stephen Miller was born at Carroll, Pennsylvania.
Coming to Minnesota ar age 42 for his health, he fought in the
Civil War, and returned to become a governor (1864-1865). He died
in 1881. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St.
Paul: 1949)
January 7
1825 - Fort Snelling received its name. Previously it had
been called Fort St. Anthony for neighboring St. Anthony Falls.
General Winfield Scott inspected it in 1824, and recommended that
it be name in compliment to Col. Joseiah Snelling under whose
supervision it was erected. (From The Minnesota Book of Days,
by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 7
1878 - The "Blizzard of '73" struck the western
border of Minnesota and swept over the southern half of the state.
It took a toll of 70 lives.
January 8
1875 - St. Olaf College opened at Northfield as St. Olaf's
School in an old public school building. The institution had been
incorporate the prior November. The college had its beginning
in 1869 as a private academy in the parsonage of Rev. B.J. Muus
at Holden. (From The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St.
Paul: 1949)
January 9
1840 - The Wisconsin Territorial Legislature created St.
Croix County, which embraced the part of Minnesota lying east
of the Mississippi. The county seat was located at Dahkotah, a
townsite laid out by Joseph R. Brown in the northern part of the
present city of Stillwater. Brown was also elected to represent
the new county in the Wisconsin legislature. (Adapted from The
Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 10
1925 - The northwestern part of Minnesota was named Arrowhead
Country, the winner of a nation-wide contest sponsored by the
Northeastern Minnesota Civic and Commerce Association of Duluth.
(Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St.
Paul: 1949)
January 12
1816 - Willis Arnold Gorman was born in Flemingsburg, Kentucky.
In 1853 he was appointed governor of the Minnesota Territory.
When Civil Was broke out, he served first as colonel of the First
Minnesota Regiment, and later as a brigadier general. He died
in 1876. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson,
St. Paul: 1949)
January 12
1876 - The Minnesota Forestry Association was formed. At
one time it had a membership of 10,000 and is credited with fostering
many laws to protect Minnesota forest resources and game lands.
The work of the association was gradually assumed by state agencies
and civic and sportsmen's groups, and on 16 October 1948, the
state's oldest conservation organization voted to disband. (Adapted
from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 12
1888 - A blizzard raged through the afternoon and evening,
taking a toll of 109 lived in western Minnesota. (Adapted from
The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 13
1893 - The old St. Louis Hotel in Duluth was destroyed by
fire. This historic hostelry, built in 1882 on the southeast corner
of Fourth Avenue West and Superior Street, was the scene of joyous
meetings during the heyday of early port development following
the discovery of iron ore on the Mesabi and Vermilion ranges.
The "new St. Louis Hotel" was formerly the Brighton,
built in 1887. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy
Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 13
1944 - The U.S. cruiser Duluth was launched at Newport News,
Virginia, and was christened by Mrs. Edward H. Hatch, wife of
the Duluth mayor. It was commissioned 18 September 1944, and joined
Task Force 58 in the Pacific theater of war on 27 May 1945. (Adapted
from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 14
1846 - Stillwater got its first post office.
January 14
1886 - The cornerstone of the first ice palace in the United
States was laid in St. Paul on this day, in Central Park, as part
of the Winter Carnival festivities. It was 140 feet long, 120
feet wide, and 100 feet high, with more than 20,000 blocks of
ice required for its construction. The Winter Carnival remains
a favorite winter activity in St. Paul, even in 1996. (Adapted
from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 15
1851 - James M. Goodhue, frontier newspaper editor, and Joseph
Cooper, brother of frontier judge David Cooper, was fought with
knives and pistols. Goodhue had called the judge a "miserable
drunkard, who habitually gets so drunk as to feel upward for the
ground....a beast....an ass, stuffed with arrogance, self conceit,
and a ridiculous affectation of dignity." Both duelists received
wounds that needed medical attention. Goodhue was stabbed, and
Cooper was shot. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by
Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 15
1921 - The St. Paul Hiking Club's first jaunt began at the
end of the Rondo-Maria streetcar line to the Highwood School.
Thirty-five took part. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days,
by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 16
1874 - Willmar village, Kandiyohi County, was incorporated.
Willmar township, platted in 1869, was named for Leon Willmar,
a Belgian who was the agent for the European bondholders of the
St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company. Willmar adopted a city
charter in 1901. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by
Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 17
1934 - Edward G. Bremer was kidnaped by the Barker-Karpis
gang and held for 3 weeks. The "snatch" took place at
the intersection of Goodrich and Lexington Avenues in St. Paul,
and the place of hiding was Bensenville, Illinois. Ransom of $200,000
was paid, one of the largest amounts to that date. By 1936 the
kidnapers had been brought to trial in St. Paul and convicted.
(Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St.
Paul: 1949)
January 18
1849 - Senator Stephan A. Douglas of Illinois introduced
a bill in Congress for the organization of the Minnesota Territory.
The bill became law March 3, 1849. (Adapted from The Minnesota
Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 18
1887 - John L. Sullivan fought Patsey Cardiff at the Washington
Rink, Minneapolis, in a six-round match which was called a draw.
Sullivan sustained a broken arm in the first round. (Adapted from
The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 19
1836 - The Lake Harriet Mission School for the Sioux was
opened. A day and boarding school, it was founded on the southwest
shore of Lake Harriet by Rev. Jedediah D. Stevens, with six Indian
children as pupils. It was one of the earliest expeiments in education
within the boundaries of the present state of Minnesota. (Adapted
from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 19
1886 - The Aurora Ski Club in Red Wing was founded, one of
the oldest organizations devoted to this sport in the U.S. It
was formed by a group of Norwegian sportsmen under the leadership
of Christ Boxrud, who was the first president. (Adapted from The
Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 20
1857 - Martin McLeod, pioneer, expressed his views on the
boundaries of the proposed state. "I know the West and the
utter worthlessness of a great portion of it toward the Missouri.
I also know and have travelled in the Lake Superior region in
many directions. We want the Minerals, Pines, Fisheries and the
outlet to the great inland sea. We do not want the muddy and turbulent
Missouri with its still more dark and turbulent tribes its gravelly
hills, its sterile prairies without a tree." The present
western boundary echoes McLeod's opinion. (Adapted from The Minnesota
Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 20
1880 - The first telephone communication between St. Paul and
Minneapolis took place. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of
Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 20
1896 - Calamity Jane, famous western character, was place on public
view at the Palace Museum in Minneapolis. (Adapted from The
Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 21
1844 - Jacob Vradenburg Brower was form in York, Michigan.
He came to Minnesota in 1860, and became a leading citizen as
soldier, editor, and public office holder. In the 1880s he explored
and surveyed the headwaters of the Mississippi River, and publicized
its beauty. That was a major factor in securing its establishment
as a state park. Brower died in 1905. (Adapted from The Minnesota
Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 22
1819 - Morton Smith Wilkinson was born in New York State.
He came to Stillwater in 1847, and is generally credited with
being the first practicing attorny in Minnesota. He served his
adoped state in Congress as Senator and Representative. He died
in 1894.(Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson,
St. Paul: 1949)
January 22
1857 - A group of five Benedictine monks secured from the
territorial legislature a charter constituting the Order of St.
Benedict, a body corporate and politic with authority to establish
"St. John's Seminary." This was the beginning of St.
John's University at Collegeville, the oldest Catholic education
institution of higher learning in Minnesota. (Adapted from The
Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 23
1855 - The wire suspension bridge between Minneapolis and
Nicollet Island was opened, the first bridge over the main channel
of the Mississippi River. Built at a cost of $36,000, it was looked
upon as a remarkable structural engineering feat. The opening
day celebration featured a mile-long parade. Tolls were 5¢
for foot passengers, 25¢ for teams, 10¢ for cows, and
2¢ per head for sheep and pigs. (Adapted from The Minnesota
Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 24
1865 - The First National Bank of Minneapolis started business,
with $50,000 capital. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days,
by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 25
1867 - The Mansion House, hostelry which stood on the corner
of Wabasha and First Streets, burned. Nicolas Pottgieser was the
proprietor. Volunteer firement attacked the blaze with confidence
because they had just purchased a new Silsby Steam Fire Engine
from Seneca Falls, New york, but despite their efforts the building
bured to the ground. Some miscreant had cut the hose. It was St.
Paul's fifteenth hotel hire in 15 years. Soon after, volunteer
first companies were abandoned and the city adopted a paid fire
department. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson,
St. Paul: 1949)
January 25
1886 - The great six-day bicycle race for the Chamionship
of American began at the Washington Rink, Minneapolis. (Adapted
from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
January 26
1836 - Lucius Frederick Hubbard was born in Troy, New York.
He came to Minneapolis in 1857, estalbished the Red Wing Republican
and was its editor until 1861 when he enlisted as a private in
the 5th Minnesota Infantry. He was governor from 1882 to 1887.
He died in Minneapolis in 1913. Hubbard County in named for him.
(Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by Roy Swanson, St.
Paul: 1949)
October 2
1981 - Named "Inflation Day" because the Metrodome
roof was raised for the first time. It has deflated several times
under a heavy load of snow.
October 16
1948 - After a decade of little activity, Minnesota's first
conservation organization voted to disband. Formed in 1876, the
Minnesota Forestry Association once had a member of 10,000. As
its work was taken over by state agencies and other groups, its
useful life ended. (Adapted from The Minnesota Book of Days, by
Roy Swanson, St. Paul: 1949)
November 7
1965 - Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy, was born in
Minneapolis, although he did not appear on camera until 1966.
Pillsbury calls him the "most famous spokescritter"
of all. (Pillsbury Company)
November 11
1941 - The Armistice Day blizzard claimed 59 lives in southern
Minnesota.
May 11
1858 - Minnesota became the 32nd state in the Union.
April 19
1842 - Josephine Olivier Pharibo (Faribault), daughter
of Olivier Pharibo and Henriette Manegre, was baptized by Father
Augustine Ravoux at Lac qui Parle.
February 11
1922 - Jacob Muller, book binder for West Publishing
company in St. Paul died. West Publishing is still a major publisher
of law books.
August 18
1862 - Captain Marsh indicated in his journal that "We
found the Negro Taylor's body." There was at least one band
of Indians operating in the area, and most settlers living between
where the body was found toward Fort Ridgley got there successfully.
September 12
1858 - Alvina Lavenroth was the first person to be buried
in Elmhurst Cemetery, in Ramsey County.
September 23
1869 - August W. Ost married Wilhelmina Wauke in Steele County.
December 15
1888 - Frederick Iltis, administrator of the estate of Fabian Happ, received $15.00 from Chaska Township (Carver County) for repayment of expenses.
January 7
1996 "Montgomery (Monkey) Ward, a St. Paul Midway district feature for more than 70 years, has fallen. The end came just after 8 a.m. in sub zero temperatures. Experts said that Ward had suffered for years from complications attributed to changing social and retail patterns. The exact cause of death was listed as implosion." Thus reads the obituary for the tallest poured concrete structure in the world in the Midway Como Monitor, January 1996. Part of a million square foot warehouse and catalog distribution center, the building made way for redevelopment of the shopping center.
April 28
1849 James Madison Goodhue, an intrepid newspaperman, ran off the first number of the Minnesota Pioneer, the first newspaper published in the Minnesota Territory. The day before A. Randall and Company of St. Paul printed the Intelligencer in Cincinnati Ohio for distribution in the Minnesota Territory. The paper didn't make it there until May, and Randall never made it. (Newspapers on the Minnesota Frontier, 1849-1860)
August 27
1852 James Madison Goodhue, publisher of the Minnesota Pioneer, the first newspaper in the Minnesota Territory, died of a fever, probably contracter when he feel from the ferry he and his brother Isaac operated on the Mississippi at St. Paul's lower landing. Goodhue County was named for him. (Newspapers on the Minnesota Frontier, 1849-1860)
December 15
1852 Daniel Robertson, publisher of the Democrat, devoted almost an entire page to an exposι of Sioux treaty "frauds." (Newspapers on the Minnesota Frontier, 1849-1860)
November 18
1855 The first issue of "Die Minnesota Deutsche Zeitung" was published in St. Paul. This German-language weekly was suspended briefly in late 1856, and became the Minnesota Staats-Zeitung in 1858. (Newspapers on the Minnesota Frontier, 1849-1860)
July 10
1858 While numbered Vol. 1, No. 1, the edition of the Norwegian language semimonthly newspaper called "Folkets Rφst" was actually the second issue. The first had been published in October 1857. (Newspapers on the Minnesota Frontier, 1849-1860)
November 7
1857 Red Wing (Goodhue County) saw the first edition of the Swedish-language weekly newspaper "Minnesota Posten." It merged with Hemlandet of Galesburg, Illinois in October of 1858. (Newspapers on the Minnesota Frontier, 1849-1860)
September 17
1977 St. Olaf College beat Carlton College 43-0 in the nation's first metric football game. (Minnesota Trivia)
August 10
1971 Harmon Killebrew hit his 500th career home run. The street running past the old Met Stadium was named in his honor, and now leads to the Mall of America.
November 18
1981 A 10-inch snowfall caused the roof to deflate on the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodrome. Named in honor of a policitian, HHH was mayor of Minneapolis, long-time U.S. Senator from Minnesota and Vice President of the United States.
September 15
1978 More than 33,500 hawks were sighted on Hawk Ridge, near Duluth. The area is geneally considered to be the best place to watch hawks in North America.
July 19
1917 The record high temperature of 114.5 degrees was set in Beardsley.
February 9
1899 Minnesota's record low temperature of 59 degrees below zero was set at Leech Lake Dam, now Federal Dam. (This is air temperature, not counting wind chill. Just ask any Minnesotan what happens when you add the wind!)
January 1
1969 The Coast Guard closed Split Rock Lighthouse on Lake Superior. It is now one of Minnesota's historic sites, and a fascinating spot to visit.
October 27
1849 Nine counties were established for the new Minnesota Territory. They were: Pembina, Mahkanta, Wahnahta, Dahkotah, Wabashaw, Itasca, Benton, Ramsey, and Washington.
December 30
1837 The Wisconsin Territorial Legislature passed an act providing for the taking of a second census, which resulted in the first useful census of present-day Minnesota. It was to be taken during May 1838, and was to include the entire population of the territory, except Indians who were not taxed and Army officers and soldiers. This census has been published in the Minnesota Genealogical Journal, #3.
February 20
1855 Steele County was established and named in honor of Franklin Steele, a prominent pioneer of Minneapolis. He was born 12 May 1813 in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and died 10 September 1880. Among his many accomplishments was his election by the Legislature to serve on the first board of regents of the University of Minnesota.
July 20
1858 Polk County, established this day but not organized until 1872, was named in honor of James Knox Polk, the 11th president of the United States. On 3 March 1849, the penultimate day of his presidential term, he approved the act of Congress which organized the Minnesota Territory.
May 23
1857 Pipestone County was established, but not organized until a quarter-century later. An error in the original act transposed the area with Rock County, an error which had to be corrected by act of the legislature in 1862. Pipestone County now includes the sacred Indian quarry for the red mineral that provided the name.
March 18
1858 Otter Tail County was established. Ottertail City, located mid-county, was an important trading post on the route from Crow Wing to Pembina and the Selkirk settlements during the 1850s. The U.S. Land Office for the area was located there, before it was moved to Alexandria in 1862.
October 31
1881 Battle Lake (Otter Tail County) was first platted. Near the lake a desperate battle was fought between a war party of Ojibwe Indians from Leech Lake against a greater number of Dakota Indians, about 1795. An interesting article was published in the "History of the Ojibways" (MHS Collections, V:336-343, 1885).
May 23
1857 Nobles County was established, and named in honor of William H. Nobles, a member of the Minnesota territorial legislature in 1854 and 1856. The U.S. steamship Nobles was named in honor of this county's Liberty Loan record in World War I, and was launched 23 August 1919.
February 20
1855 Mower County was named in honor of John E. Mower, born 15 September 1815 in Bangor, Maine, and died 11 June 1879 in Arcola, Minnesota. He was an influential lumberman, and served on the council of the territorial legislature.
March 9
1869 Pierz township, Morrison county, was named in honor of Father Francis Xavier Pierz, a Catholic missionary. Born 20 november 1785 in Godic, Carniola, Austria, he came to the U.S. in 1835, served as a missionary to the Ottawa Indians in Michigan, before coming to Minnesota to serve the Ojibways. He returned to Austria in 1873, where he died in 1880.
February 23
1856 Meeker County was named in honor of Bradley B. Meeker, of Minneapolis, who was an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1849 to 1853. He presided at the first term of court on the site of Minneapolis, which was held in the old government grist mill on the west side of the river below the falls on 20 August 1849.
October 17
1825 William Rainey Marshall, governor of Minnesota from 1866-1870, was born near Columbia, Missouri. He came to St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, in 1847, and in 1849 to Minnesota. He was commissioned in August 1862 as Lt. Col. of the 7th Minnesota Regiment, where he led troops during the Dakota War of 1862. He died in Pasadena, California on 8 January 1896.
March 1
1856 Lake County was established, and received its name because of its location on Lake Superior.
February 26
1883 Hubbard County was established, and named in honor of Lucius Frederick Hubbard, governor of Minnesota from 1882-1887. Born 26 January 1836 in Troy, N.Y., he came to Minnesota in 1857, established the "Red Wing Republican" and was its editor until 1861. He enlisted as a private in the 5th Minnesota Regiment in December 1861, and within a year was promoted to be its colonel. He died 5 February 1913.
March 2
1866 The city of Minneapolis was incorporated, with the first election of officers held 19 Feburary 1867. Col. John H. Stevens had built the first house on the west side of the Mississippi in 1849-1850. The earliest announcement and recommendation of the name was brought by Charles Hoag to the editor of the St. Anthony Express on 5 November 1852.
July 30
1877 Erdahl township, Grant County, was named in remembrance of a district in Norway, from which some of the early settlers had come. The railway village of Erdahl was platted in October 1877.
April 3
1866 Alden township (Freeborn County), which had been settled in 1858, was organized. The railway village was platted in 1869, and the track was completed 1 January 1870. The village was incorporated in 1879.
March 5
1853 Fillmore County was established and named for Millard Fillmore, President of the U.S. who retired from office on the day before the county was established.
May 11
1858 Amherst township (Fillmore County) was organized and named by one of its pioneer colonists E.P. Eddy. Eddy's thought was to honor the place where his wife had been born, Amherst, Lorain Co., Ohio, where her father Henry Onstine, had lived before leading the group to Minnesota.
August 20
1860 Jean Baptiste Faribault died at the home of his daughter in Faribault, Rice County. Faribault was born at Berthier, Quebec in 1774, and came to Minnesota in 1803. He traded in the Dakota Indians for the greater part of his life. He also lent his name to Faribault County, which was established 20 February 1855.
October 27
1849 Dakota County was established and named for the Dakota people, meaning an alliance or league. While sometimes called 'Sioux,' this is a contraction of Nadouesioux, meaning 'snake' or 'enemy.' The word Dakota implies friendship or brotherly love.
October 7
1819 Ann Eliza Brainerd, daughter of Lawrence Brainerd, was born in St. Albans, Vt. She married John Gregory Smith, governor of Vermont. Both had their names immortalized in Minnesota towns - she for Brainerd, the site where the Northern Pacific crossed the Mississippi, and he for Gregory Park in that city and by Gregory station and village in Morrison County.
March 17
1828 Michael Cook was born in Morris County, N.J. He came to Minnesota in 1855, settling in Faribault. In 1862 he was mustered into the 10th Minnesota Regiment, and was appointed major. He was mortally wounded in the battle of Nashville. Cook county, established 9 March 1874, was named in his honor.
August 8
1915 Lucien W. Wetherby of Minneapolis was the first Minnesota man to die on a European battlefield in World War I. In April 1915 he enlisted in the Australian Infantry. He was killed at Gallipoli and now lies buried within sound of the Aegean Sea.
October 15
1880 The "winter of the deep snow" began with a blizzard that caused at least 6 deaths and a considerable loss of livestock.
March 8
1892 Blizzard conditions with high winds created such high drifts in Duluth that residents left their homes through 2nd story windows.
December 5
1950 Lasting through the 8th, the Twin Cities received over 25 inches of snow in 24 hours, and Duluth got a record 35.2".
October 13
1991 Replacing the 1975 blizzard as the "most severe of the 20th century," Roseville received 30" of snow, and Duluth almost 37". Four persons died, and Minnesota harvest yields were destroyed.
April 18
1820 The first recorded tornado in Minnesota occurred at Fort Snelling, damaging the barracks roof. No injuries were reported.
July 3
1879 Nine deaths and 30 serious injuries were caused by a tornado at Belle Creek, Burnside and Vasa in Goodhue County.
September 8
1884 A tornado caused nine deaths and more than $4 million in damages. It passed through Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington Counties before going into Wisconsin.
July 13
1890 High winds capsized the excursion steamer 'Sea Wing' on Lake Pepin. More than half of the 179 on board were killed. A separate storm killed six on Lake Gervais in Ramsey County.
April 30
1967 Nine tornadoes struck southern Minnesota, especially Waseca, Owatonna and Albert Lea. There were 13 deaths and losses of $5 million.
June 14
1981 From Edina to Roseville, by way of downtown Minneapolis, this tornade swept through injuring 83 and killing one, with $47 million in damages, $35 million in Roseville alone.
May 10
1953 Hollandale in Freeborn County had 6 casualties and $35,000 in damages. In Fillmore County, 2 people were killed and property worth $500,000 was destroyed.
September 8
1815 Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial governor of Minnesota was born near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. A Whig, he served from 1 June 1849 - 15 May 1853. He died in St. Paul on 22 April 1902.
February 20
1811 Henry Hastings Sibley, the first Minnesota State governor, was born in Detroit, Michigan. He was a Democrat, who served from 24 May 1858 - 2 January 1860. He died in St. Paul on 13 February 1891.
February 2
1843 Knute Nelson, the 12th Governor of Minnesota, was borm in Evanger, Voss, Norway. He was the first foreign born governor in the state. He died 28 April 1923 at Alexandria, Minnesota.
July 28
1861 John Albert Johnson, the 16th Governor of Minnesota, was born in St. Peter, Minnesota. He was the first governor to be born within the state. A Democrat, he served from 4 January 1905 - 21 September 1909.
May 9
1918 Orville Lothrop Freeman, 29th Governor of Minnesota, was borm in Minneapolis. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, he later served in the U.S. Cabinet.
April 13
1907 Harold Edward Stassen, Republican and 25th Governor, was born near South St. Paul. He was only 32 at the beginning of his term, the youngest person ever elected. He continues his interest in politics.
August 6
1853 The first meeting of the Blue Earth County Board of Commissioners was held at Mankato. The county was split into two election districts, one called the Mankato precinct and the other Babcock's Mill precinct. Henry Jackson, Edwin How and Jacob Guenther were appointed judges of elected for the Mankato precinct, and R. Butters, C.C. Mack and Philander P. Humphrey were named for Babcock's Mill precinct. J.W. Babcock, Ephraim Cole and Jacob Guenther were elected county commissioners the first elective board.
February 14
1852 The town site company for Mankato was organized in St. Paul by P.K. Johnson, Henry Jackson, John S. Hinckley, Daniel A. Robertson, Samuel Leech, J.C> Ramsey, John M. Castner, Robert Kennedy, William Hartshorn and A.S. Brawley. Only the first three settled permanently at Mankato.
August 31
1822 George S. Ruble, the founder of Albert Lea, Freeborn County, was born in Kishacoquillas Valley, Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. 1 February 1849 he married Elethear Humphrey and removed to Rock County, Wisconsin. In 1855 he sold out his interests there and moved to Freeborn County, where he built a saw mill and grist mill. He died 2 July 1886 and was taken to Beloit, Wisconsin, for burial.
June 12
1829 William Constans of St. Paul was born in Diemoringen, Alsace Lorraine, France.
March 17
1887 William Morin of Albert Lea died. At the time of his death, he was the largest land owner in Freeborn County.
February 3
1931 Air mail service was begun between the Twin Cities and Winnipeg.
February 4
1902 Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan. His family moved to Little Falls, Minnesota, where he grew up. That homestead is now a state park. His transatlantic flight was 20 May 1927.
February 8
1915 The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research was incorporated so that it could affiliate with the University of Minnesota.
February 9
1820 Peter Miller Gideon was born in Champaign County, Ohio. He lived on Lake Minnetonka in western Hennepin County, and developed the Wealthy apple (named for his wife) and other varieties of fruit hardy enough to withstand Minnesota winters.
February 11
1888 The Town and Country Club in St. Paul was incorporated. It has the second oldest golf course in the U.S. (The oldest is on Long Island in N.Y.) The club house was designed by the St. Paul architect, Cass Gilbert.
February 12
1895 Governor Clough signed the legislative act designating Lincoln's birthday as a legal holiday in Minnesota. Thus Minnesota claimed to be the first state to so honor the Great Emancipator.
February 13
1906 William Williams was hung in the Ramsey County Jail in St. Paul, the last person to receive capital punishment in the state.
February 14
1819 Edmund Rice was born in Waitsfield, Vermont. He is called the father of the Minnesota railroad system.
February 14
1833 William Watts Folwell was born in Romulus, N.Y. He was the first president of the University of Minnesota, serving from 1869 to 1884. He wrote the comprehensive four-volume work "History of Minnesota."
February 15
1822 Rev. Henry Benjamin Whipple was born in Adams, New York. He came in 1859 as the first Protestant Episcopal bishop for Minnesota, living in Faribault until his death in 1901. He at once began to work for reform of the practices of the U.S. Indian Office.
February 15
1870 The Northern Pacific Railroad broke ground for the beginning of its trans-continental railroad line at a point ½ west of Carlton. Twelve years later the last spike was ceremonious driven at Gold Creek, Montana.
March 4
1911 Two prisoners escaped from the old Stillwater prison in what was the most sensational prison break in Minnesota to that date. Jerry McCarthy exchanged shots with Minneapolis policeman on July 15, and both were killed. On August 12, Peter Juhl was captured on a Selby-Lake streetcare, after fatally wounding Frank Fraser, St. Paul detective.
March 5
1853 The St. Paul Mutual Insurance Company was incorporated. The name was changed to St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company in 1865. It is now part of The St. Paul, a world wide financial organization.
March 6
1857 The Dred Scott Decision was rendered by the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Emerson, an Army surgeon and owner of Scott, took Scott with him to Fort Snelling in May 1836. Scott was there for 2 years. During that time he married Harriet Rovinson, slave of Lawrence Taliaferro, Indian agent at the Fort. After Scott was returned to Missouri, he sued for his freedom on the grounds that he had lived in free territory.
March 7
1882 The Minnesota State Butter and Chees Association was organized at Rochester. In 1885, Minnesota was awarded the grand sweepstakes for the best butter at the World Industrial and Centennial Exposition in New Orleans.
March 8
1920 A boundary dispute between Minnesota and Wisconsin over the location of the line in the Duluth harbor was settled by the U.S. Supreme Court in favor of Minnesota.
March 9
1848 The first temperance society in Minnesota was formed in St. Paul by Harriet Bishop, pioneer school teacher.
March 18
1858 Edward Eggleston, author of the "Hoosier Schoolmaster" and Lizzie Snider were married at St. Peter, where he had a charge as Methodist minister.
March 23
Mrs. Anne Evards Bilansky was hanged in the St. Paul jail yard for the poison murder of her husband. The Pioneer Guards were in attendance. She was the first white person (and the only woman ever) executed in the state of Minnesota.
March 25
1854 John Lind was born in Kanna, Sweden. He became the first governor of Minnesota of Swedish birth and the first Swede in the U.S. to be elected to Congress. He died in 1930.
March 30
1844 The first board was cut in John McKusick's sawmill in Stillwater, beginning a half-century of the prominent lumber economy in that city.
April 8
1897 The Red River flood at Moorhead reached its crest. Over 300 persons were chased from their homes.
April 16
1837 Pierre Bottineau, a mixed blood from the Red River Settlement, reached Fort Snelling after a perilous winter journey of 2 months. He was interested in the promotion of settlement and once held large tracts in the heart of St. Paul and Minneapolis. The site of Osseo was settled by him in 1852. He died in Red Lake Falls in 1895.
April 17
1856 The Pioneer Guards, the first volunteer military company in Minnesota, was organized at St. Paul. It became Company A of the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry when the Civil War came.
April 22
1818 Cadwallader Colden Washburn, Minnesota's pioneer of flour milling, was born in Livermore, Maine.
May 6
1834 Samuel W. and Gideon H. Pond, two young missionaries from Connecticut, arrived at Fort Snelling, marking the beginning of Protestant mission work among the Dakota Indians in southern Minnesota.
May 9
1828 The Fort Snelling post office was established and shown in the post office lists as "Upper Mississippi." Some of the earliest post offices were first listed in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa Territories (Kaposia, Marine Mills, Point Douglas, St. Paul, Stillwater, and Wabasha). A few received a later listing in Dakota Territory (Bad Track, Medary, and Pembina). (Adapted from the "Book of Days," 1949)
May 24
1828 Lt. Col. Zachary Taylor became commandant at Fort Snelling, remaining until July 1829. Twenty years later, as U.S. President, he nominated Minnesota's first territorial officials, including Gov. Alexander Ramsey.
May 24
1841 German-born Dr. Christopher Carli arrived in Stillwater, and becamse the first civilian medical practitioner to permanently settle. He died in 1887.
May 29
1935 The streamliner "Hiawatha" went into service between the Twin Cities and Chicago, beginning a new era in rail travel.
June 5
1859 The 'Anson Northrop' reached the site of Winnipeg, then called Fort Garry, thus beginning steamboating on the Red River. Originally called the 'North Star,' she was build in 1855 for use on the Mississippi above St. Anthony.
June 5
1873 A delegation of German Mennonites from Russia arrived in St. Paul to look over Minnesota as a place of settlement. Later that year, the first groups arrived at Mountain Lake in Cottonwood County.
June 7
1921 The Minnesota Co-operative Creameries Association was incorporated. It is now known as Land O'Lakes.
June 16
1945 The 'Wacissa' was launched, the last Navy tanker built at the Cargill shipyards at Savage. It was the 18th vessel built there.
July 11
1851 Nancy McClure, daughter of an Army officer and a Dakota woman, and David Faribault, also a mixed blood were married during the negotiations on the treaty ground of Traverse des Sioux.
July 15
1828 Charles Eugene Glandrau was form in New York. He opened a law office in St. Paul in 1853, was one of the first settlers of St. Peter in 1854, and the commander of the volunteer forces that defended New Ulm against the Indians in 1862.
July 18
1851 "The annual caravan from the Selkirk Settlements arrived." Long trains of as many as 500 Red River carts arrived in St. Paul and St. Anthony with furs from the Pembina region and returned with merchandise. The trip took a month or more. The ox-drawn vehicle was made entirely of wood and leather and its ungreased axels gave off a terrifying noise.
July 29
1827 John Sargent Pillsbury was born in Sutton, N.H. He became governor of Minnesota from 1876 - 1882, and regent of the University from 1863 to his death in 1901. With other members of his family, he established the largest milling interests in the world.
August 12
1940 A tractor truck made by the Minneapolis-Moline Power Implement Company receive nationwide attention at the army battle maneuvers at Camp Ripley. Soldiers named it the "jeep."
August 21
1883 A tornade struck Rochester, leaving 35 killed and many injured. The local Catholic sisters' academy was made into an emergency hospital with Dr. Wm. W. Mayo in charge. From this event, Mother Mary Alfred Moes conceived the idea of a permanent hospital and in 1889 St. Mary's Hospital was opened, the beginning of the famous Mayo Clinic.
August 23
1899 St. Paul suburban streetcar service to Stillwater began.
August 25
1937 The U.S. Congress approved an act setting aside more than 100 acres of land for the Pipestone National Monument, including the famous pipestone quarry where the Indians got the red stone for their pipes.
August 27
1941 The Twin Cities Ordnance Plant at New Brighton started operations. The Federal Cartridge Corporation, contractor-operator, produced four billion .30 and .50 caliber rifle and machine gun cartridges before the war ended 4 years later. (Adapted from "The Book of Days")
August 31
1929 The Foshay Tower in Minneapolis was dedicated.
September 3
1884 An attempt was made to assassinate Sitting Bull in the Grand Opera House in St. Paul.
September 4
1839 Basil Gervais was born. He claimed to be the first child born in St. Paul of white parents.
September 4]
1908 Chisholm, mining village in St. Louis County, was almost wholly destroyed by a forest fire.
September 11
1838 John Ireland was born in Burnchurch, Kilkenny County, Ireland. He came to St. Paul in 1852, and was ordained priest in 1861. He was active in promoting Catholic immigration to Minnesota. In 1875 he became bishop and in 1888, archbishop. Archbishop Ireland died in 1918.
September 11
1888 The University of Minnesota Law School was opened, with 32 applicants. Dean William S. Pattee was the sole faculty member.
September 16
1838 James Jerome Hill, the "Empire Builder," was born near Guelph, Ontario. He came to St. Paul in 1856 and worked as a shipping clerk on the levee. He became interested in transportion, and eventually built the Great northern system. He died in 1916.
September 16
1885 Macalester College was formally opened in St. Paul.
September 23
1939 The interstate bridge over the Mississippi River at LaCrosse was dedicated.
October 7
1910 A forest fire swept over the villages of Baudette and Spooner in Lake of the Woods County, taking 29 lives.
October 20
1849 The Minnesota Historical Society was incorporated by the territorial legislature. It is the oldest institution in the state. The society began at once to collect books, manuscripts, newspapers, pictures and other items relating to the history of Minnesota. Now housed at the History Center, MHS's book collection is more than ½ million volumes.
November 28
1905 The lake freighter 'Mataaga' broke up on the shore off Duluth in a violent storm. Part of the crew in the forward cabin were rescued alive the next morning, but 9 men trapped aft were frozen to death.
November 30
1843 Dr. Martha G. Ripley was born in Lowell, Vermont, and came to Minneapolis in 1883. She founded the Maternity Hospital three years later.
December 9
1935 Walter William Liggett, editor of the 'Mid-West American,' was shot down at the rear of his Minneapolis home by sub-machine gun fire from a waiting automobile which sped away.
December 12
1919 The International Institute of St. Paul was organized to serve the foreign-born of the city. Its first home was "Jake's Place," an abandoned saloon. In 1932 it launched the "Festival of Nations," a tradition which survives today.
December 17
1941 The Sister Elizabeth Kenny Institute for the treatment of infantile paralysis was opened in Minnesota. It is now a part of Abbott-Northwestern Hospital.
December 19
1836 Maria Louise Sanford was born in Saybrook, Connecticut. She was was appointed to the faculty of the rhetoric department of the University of Minnesota in 1880, and quickly made her mark as an extraordinary and popular teach. She is the only women named by Dr. Folwell as one of Minnesota's twelve 'Apostles.'