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Ramsey County History Podcast #9 – Fall 2017: Gibbs Farm

Paul Nelson

The Gibbs Farm The Gibbs Farm museum preserves remnants of both Indigenous and pioneer life from the mid-nineteenth century, right in the middle of a densely populated urban environment. There, you can find farm buildings from the Gibbs family, an archeological site, recreations of a sod hut,…

Ramsey County History Podcast #8 – Spring 2017: Fort Snelling and the Civil War

Paul Nelson and Steve Osman

Fort 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…

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 – Summer 2015: “Long-Ago Snapshots: When Sitting Bull Was Photographed in St. Paul”

Leo J. Harris

Long-Ago Snapshots: When Sitting Bull Was Photographed in St. Paul Author: Leo J. Harris Sitting Bull, the Hunkpapa Lakota chief, visited St. Paul in 1884 and was photographed at the studio of Alfred Palmquist and Peder Jurgens. This article concentrates on what we know about Sitting Bull’s experience of…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2015: “October 1857: The Kochendorfers Arrive in St. Paul”

Daniel C. Munson

October 1857: The Kochendorfers Arrive in St. Paul Author: Daniel C. Munson Johan and Catherine Kochendorfers were German immigrant farmers in central Illinois who along with their four children moved to Minnesota Territory in 1857. In November of that year, Catherine wrote a long letter in German to her…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2014: “The RCHS Archives and Collections Since 1964”

Mollie Spillman

The RCHS Archives and Collections Since 1964 Author: Mollie Spillman Collections form the foundation of Ramsey County Historical Society’s (RCHS) history and programs. When RCHS was organized in 1949 by Ethel Hall Stewart and others, it first acquired the Gibbs Farm Museum, which opened in 1954, and began to…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2014: “Expanding Our Understanding of the Past: The Sod House and Dakota Kin at the Gibbs Museum”

Priscilla Farnham

Expanding Our Understanding of the Past: The Sod House and Dakota Kin at the Gibbs Museum Author: Priscilla Farnham In this article, Priscilla Farnham, the retired executive director of RCHS (1991–2011) focuses on the history of Gibbs Farm in Falcon Heights, which is owned and operated by Ramsey County…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2014: “‘A Banner with the Strange Device:’ Longfellow and Saint Paul”

Moira F. Harris

“A Banner with the Strange Device:” Longfellow and Saint Paul Author: Moira F. Harris Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is widely known as the poet who wrote “The Song of Hiawatha,” which was inspired by reports of Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Although he never visited Minnesota, Longfellow wrote the poem “Excelsior”…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2012: “Oakland Cemetery Holds Many Caught Up in the US-Dakota War”

Patrick M. Hill

Oakland Cemetery Holds Many Caught Up in the U.S.-Dakota War Author: Patrick M. Hill Many participants of the bloody US Dakota War of 1862 are interred in St. Paul’s Oakland Cemetery. This article summarizes key events of the war, with an emphasis on the experiences of those who are…