Gibbs Farm will be closed for public tours on Saturday, August 8th due to a private event.

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60 Stories of Maplewood History

Reviewer: John M. Lindley

60 Stories of Maplewood History Bob Jensen, editor, with Pete Boulay, Nicole DeGuzman, Elaine Ekstedt, Virginia Gaynor, Frank Gilbertson, Brenda Rudberg, Chris Soutter, and Mike Steinmetz Maplewood, MN: Maplewood Area Historical Society, 2017 125 pages; Softcover; photos and maps; $15.00; order at www.Maplewood Historical Society.org Over the years, Ramsey County History has tried…

Fort Snelling and the Civil War

Stephen E. Osman

Over one hundred fifty years ago, our state offered the first volunteers to defend the Union in the fight against slavery. Every Minnesota soldier passed through historic Fort Snelling to the fighting. Using detailed research and first-hand accounts, Stephen E. Osman’s new book, Fort Snelling and the Civil War, tells…

Ramsey County History – Documentary: University Avenue: One Street, A Thousand Dreams

Ramsey County Historical Society and Twin Cities Public Television

University Avenue: One Street, A Thousand Dreams Documentary Project & Exhibit A collaboration between Peter Myers, Ramsey County Historical Society, and Twin Cities Public Television. DVD available through RCHS for $25.00 This fun and informative traveling exhibit is available for rent through RCHS. Contact…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2016: “The Slaveholders of Payne-Phalen”

Christopher P. Lehman

The Slaveholders of Payne-Phalen Author: Christopher P. Lehman The year 2016 is the 160th anniversary of the purchase of the eastern part of St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood by three southerners from Anne Arundel County, Maryland. Two of them—William Sprigg Hall and Harwood Iglehart—owned slaves in Maryland, and the latter…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2015: “Robert C. Minor: Steward on James J. Hill’s Private Railway Car”

Eileen R. McCormack

Robert C. Minor: Steward on James J. Hill’s Private Railway Car Author: Eileen R. McCormack An African American who was the steward on James J. Hill’s private railway car (the A-18) for more than twenty years and was one the small number of Black employees of the Great Northern,…

Ramsey County History Podcast #1 – Spring 2014: The Saga of I-35; East Side Freedom Library

Paul Nelson, John Milton, and Peter Rachleff

The Saga of I-35; East Side Freedom Library Part 1: John Milton tells the story of how citizen opposition delayed for many years the completion of Interstate Highway 35 through St. Paul. Part 2: Labor historian Peter Rachleff describes how he and his partner Beth Cleary plan…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2012: “Community Health with a Heart: The History of Open Cities Health Center”

Katie Jaeger

Community Health with a Heart: The History of Open Cities Health Center Author: Katie Jaeger The Open Cities Health Center (OCHC) in St. Paul got its start in 1967 when a group of the city’s residents opened one of Minnesota’s first medical clinics dedicated to helping people of color.

Ramsey County History – Fall 2011: “A Different Sesquicentennial: Remembering Fredrick McGhee”

Paul D. Nelson

A Different Sesquicentennial: Remembering Fredrick McGhee Author: Paul D. Nelson On October 28, 2011, Author Paul Nelson paused to reflect that Fredrick McGhee (1861–1912) was born on that date 150 years ago. Nelson remembered him that day because he admired the man so much, and because, as his biographer,…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2011: “Growing Up in St. Paul: The Rondo Years, 1948–1950”

Susanne Sebesta Heimbuch

Growing Up in St. Paul: The Rondo Years, 1948–1950 Author: Susanne Sebesta Heimbuch The author describes her years growing up in the Ramsey Hill district in the late 1940s. The neighborhood was a mix of whites and Blacks, as she recalls it, but was known as Cornmeal Rondo and was…