Catalog
Ramsey County History – Winter 2003: “Growing Up In St Paul: Diamonds, Gravel Roads, and a Little Chevrolet—The Life and Times of a Venture Capitalist”
Alan R. (Buddy) RuvelsonGrowing Up In St Paul: Diamonds, Gravel Roads, and a Little Chevrolet—The Life and Times of a Venture Capitalist Author: Alan R. (Buddy) Ruvelson This article begins with the author’s family background and the arrival of his great grandfather in St. Paul in the 1870s, where he lived at…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2003: “A Flourishing Fur Trade Industry and the US Army Corps of Engineers Centre Building”
Matt PearcyA Flourishing Fur Trade Industry and the US Army Corps of Engineers Centre Building Author: Matt Pearcy This is the story of a building at 333 Sibley, designed by the famous architect Clarence Johnston. It was initially constructed for Gordon and Ferguson, an important fur trading company. They had…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Growing Up In St Paul: Seeing, Talking to, Calling on Sprits: Grandma Minda’s Adventures in Spiritualism”
Joanne EnglundGrowing Up In St Paul: Seeing, Talking to, Calling on Sprits: Grandma Minda’s Adventures in Spiritualism Author: Joanne Englund This is the story of Minda Sands, a Scandinavian woman as remembered and written by her granddaughter. Minda and her husband bought a lot on Edmund Street between Albert and…
Ramsey County History – Winter 2002: “Crises and Panics and Mergers and Failures: St. Paul’s Struggling Banks and How They Survived Their First 75 Years”
G. Richard SladeCrises and Panics and Mergers and Failures: St. Paul’s Struggling Banks and How They Survived Their First 75 Years Author: G. Richard Slade This article examines some of the banking history of St. Paul with a close look at how several businesses successfully dealt with tough economic times.
Ramsey County History – Winter 2002: “Tubal Cain in New Brighton: The Harris Forge and Rolling Mill Company”
Leo J. HarrisTubal Cain in New Brighton: The Harris Forge and Rolling Mill Company Author: Leo J. Harris Abraham and Mark Harris were immigrant brothers from Russia. They founded Harris Forge and Rolling Mill, and, by 1891, it had more than 200 workers. It was one of the earliest concerns that…
Ramsey County History – Fall 1998: “Banker and Philanthropist Richard C. Lilly: The Man Who Led Two Lives”
Virginia Brainard KunzBanker and Philanthropist Richard C. Lilly: The Man Who Led Two Lives Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz Richard Lilly began work on a road crew at age fifteen, after his father was disabled in an accident. By age thirty-three, in 1918, he was president of St. Paul’s second-largest bank. In 1929,…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1998: “Westminster Junction and Its Tunnels—An 1880s ‘Highway Intersection’ for the Railroads”
Andrew J. SchmidtWestminster Junction and Its Tunnels—An 1880s ‘Highway Intersection’ for the Railroads Author: Andrew J. Schmidt Modern cities do a remarkable job of hiding infrastructure below ground. This article describes the below-ground engineering of railroad access to St. Paul through the Trout Brook corridor. Too narrow to…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1995: “From Iceboxes to Freezers: The Story of the Seeger Refrigerator Company”
James B. BellFrom Iceboxes to Freezers: The Story of the Seeger Refrigerator Company Author: James B. Bell Though the name is little known outside St. Paul, no company was more important to the spread of the home refrigerator than Seeger. Founded in St. Paul in 1902, it made iceboxes, then refrigerators, under…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1992: “A Nationwide Sense of Crisis: The 1922 Shopmen’s Strike in St. Paul and the Northwest”
W. Thomas WhiteA Nationwide Sense of Crisis: The 1922 Shopmen’s Strike in St. Paul and the Northwest Author: W. Thomas White The 1922 rail strike was the most severe since 1894. Workers endured the loss of a wildcat strike in 1920, then a series of wage reductions. On July 1 some 400,000…