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Ramsey County History – Spring 1967: “Time, Luck, Stamina—Pioneers Needed Them All When Seeking a Farm”

Ramsey County Historical Society

Time, Luck, Stamina—Pioneers Needed Them All When Seeking a Farm Coates P. Bull of St. Paul, age ninety-three, recalls the story of how his parents came to Minneapolis in 1857, found and bought farm land at what became 50th Street and France Avenue in Edina, and began farm…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1966: “Forgotten Pioneers: Justus Ramsey”

Ramsey County Historical Society

Forgotten Pioneers: Justus Ramsey Justus Ramsey (1823–1881) was Alexander Ramsey’s brother. He came to St. Paul in the late 1840s, engaged in various business ventures, served in the Minnesota Legislature, and was carrying the treaty payment to the Dakota when the US Dakota War of 1862 broke out.

Ramsey County History – Fall 1965: “The Story of White Bear Lake: Hardship and Struggle in a Rugged Wilderness”

Nancy L. Woolworth

The Story of White Bear Lake: Hardship and Struggle in a Rugged Wilderness Author: Nancy L. Woolworth This article covers the town’s first fourteen years, 1849–1862. The first settler in 1849, the official opening for claims in 1850, James Goodhue’s stories of a land boom, the first…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1964: “Little Canada—Heritage from the French”

Margaret Whitney Wall

Little Canada—Heritage from the French Author: Margaret Whitney Wall Most of St. Paul’s first settlers were French Canadians. Two of them, Benjamin and Genevieve Gervais, sold their downtown St. Paul land and claims in 1844 and moved north, near the lake that became Lake Gervais. Other French…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1964: “Sod Shanty on the Prairie: Story of a Pioneer Farmer”

William L. Cavert

Sod Shanty on the Prairie: Story of a Pioneer Farmer Author: William L. Cavert A brief recounting of some basic facts about the Gibbs family and their house and farm. Heman and Jane Gibbs came to St. Paul in April 1849 and quickly moved onto the 160 acres in…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1964: “‘. . . Conclude It My Duty to Enlist & Therefore Enlisted…:’ The Diary of a Civil War Soldier”

Hal E. McWethy

‘. . . Conclude It My Duty to Enlist & Therefore Enlisted…:’ The Diary of a Civil War Soldier Author: Hal E. McWethy Newell Burch joined the Union army in August of 1862 in Jamestown, New York. Slightly wounded at Chancellorsville and captured at Gettysburg, he spent…