Catalog
RCHS/TPT Film – North Star: Civil War Stories
RCHS and TPTNorth Star Civil War Stories Ramsey County Historical Society is proud to partner with TPT-Twin Cities PBS to produce a ground-breaking new documentary, North Star: Civil War Stories, which uncovers hidden details of African-American men from Minnesota involved in the Civil War. Using emerging research and scholarship, North Star: Civil War…
The Crusade for Forgotten Souls: Reforming Minnesota’s Mental Institutions, 1946–1954
Reviewer: Gary GleasonThe Crusade for Forgotten Souls: Reforming Minnesota’s Mental Institutions, 1946–1954 Susan Bartlett Foote Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2018 312 pages; soft cover; photos; $22.95 Susan Bartlett Foote has written an impressive book that combines a great story and exhaustive research about the early years of social…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2017: “Can America Be Bombed? The St. Paul Science Museum’s Answer”
Brian McMahonCan America Be Bombed? The St. Paul Science Museum’s Answer Author: Brian McMahon In the spring of 1941, the St. Paul Science Museum (predecessor to today’s Science Museum of Minnesota) opened an exhibit provocatively titled “Can America Be Bombed?” The museum’s president, Charles Lesley Ames, was alarmed…
Our Minnesota State Capitol: From Groundbreaking through Restoration
Reviewer: Alan K. LathropOur Minnesota State Capitol: From Groundbreaking through Restoration Author: Denis P. Gardner Foreword by Former Governor Mark Dayton St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2017 104 pages; softcover; 70 color and b&w illustrations; $19.95 With the brilliant restoration of the State Capitol building in St.
Ramsey County History Podcast #8 – Spring 2017: Fort Snelling and the Civil War
Paul Nelson and Steve OsmanFort Snelling and the Civil War The Euro-American phase of Minnesota history begins with Fort Snelling, starting in 1820. The fort’s busiest period was 1861-1865 — with the Civil War and the US Dakota War of 1862. All of the soldiers headed south to fight for the…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2017: “William T. Francis, at Home and Abroad”
Paul D. NelsonWilliam T. Francis, at Home and Abroad Author: Paul D. Nelson William T. (Billy) and Nellie Francis were a “Golden Couple” in Ramsey County in the 1920s. They were good-looking, intelligent, talented, ambitious, and successful. Then they went to Africa, and things went terribly wrong. This article presents the…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2017: “The US Army’s Air Service Mechanics School in St. Paul’s Midway, 1917–1918”
Roger BergersonThe US Army’s Air Service Mechanics School in St. Paul’s Midway, 1917–1918 Author: Roger Bergerson When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, it pledged to develop an air force that would sweep German planes from the skies over Europe. Aircraft manufacture and pilot training began…
60 Stories of Maplewood History
Reviewer: John M. Lindley60 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…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2016: “‘Production for Victory:’ The Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant in World War II”
Brian McMahon‘Production for Victory:’ The Ford Twin Cities Assembly Plant in World War II Author: Brian McMahon Henry Ford was actively antiwar and anti-union in the 1930s. Thus, when war came to the United States in late 1941, the Ford Motor Company was barred from bidding on defense-related contracts. Eventually,…