Catalog
March of the Governors, Governor #10, Andrew McGill
Paul Nelson and Tom OConnellAndrew McGill (1840-1905), our tenth governor, served one tumultuous term in office after thirteen years as state insurance commissioner. Because of divisions in the Republican Party and the strength of his main opponent, Alonzo Ames, he won by only 2,600 votes in the election of 1886. After…
The March of Governors, Governor #9, Lucius F. Hubbard
Paul Nelson and Fred JohnsonPossessing little more than a drive to be a success, 21-year-old Lucius F. Hubbard reached Red Wing in spring 1857. Unimposing in size and stature, the clean-shaven, boyish New York-born newcomer appeared a long shot to make it on the rugged Minnesota frontier. But by age thirty,…
March of the Governors, Governor #8, John Pillsbury
Paul Nelson and Tom O'ConnellJohn Pillsbury, a Republican, served three terms as governor of Minnesota from January 1876 to January 1882. An immigrant from New Hampshire, Pillsbury made a fortune in the grain milling business in the company that still carries his name. He also had a strong commitment to public…
The March of Governors, Governor #7, Cushman Davis
Paul Nelson and Ken PetersonMinnesota’s seventh governor, Cushman Davis, served only one term from 1874 to 1876 during which most of the state recovered from the Panic of 1873. Highlights of his time in office include amending the state’s constitution to allow women to vote in school board elections and serve on the…
The March of the Governors, Special Edition, The US Dakota War of 1862
Paul Nelson, Sydney Beane, Mary Lethert Wingerd, and Rebekah CoffmanThe US Dakota War of 1862 was a unique event in Minnesota history. In his book, Massacre in Minnesota, the eminent historian Gary Clayton Anderson calls it “the most violent ethnic conflict in American history.” It was a calamity that we Minnesotans are still trying to deal with…
The March of Governors, Governor #6, Horace Austin
Paul Nelson and Ken PetersonThe second of four Minnesota governors from St. Peter, Horace Austin, was the state’s first governor to directly confront the increased power of railroads, the state’s most powerful business force. Noted for being honest and straight forward, Austin succeeded in regulating their rates after being reelected in 1871…
March of the Governors, Governor #5, William Rainey Marshall
Paul Nelson and Tom O'ConnellWilliam Rainey Marshall could be said to occupy a prominent place in Minnesota’s list of founding fathers. He played a leading role in many of the seminal events that shaped the state’s early history. A strong opponent of slavery, he chaired the founding meeting of Minnesota’s Republican…
March of the Governors, Governor #4, Stephen Miller
Paul Nelson, Matt Wright, and Rebekah CoffmanStephen Miller moved to Minnesota in middle age from Pennsylvania, several years after his friend Alexander Ramsey had moved to the state. He immediately involved himself in politics in St. Cloud. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he was named lieutenant colonel of the First Minnesota…
March of the Governors, Governor #3, Henry Swift
Paul Nelson and Matt WrightHenry Swift came to Minnesota from Ohio as a young man, eventually settling in St. Peter. He was elected to the state senate and saw combat in the US Dakota War of 1862 at the Battles of New Ulm. The next year, because of Lieutenant Governor Ignatius…