Catalog
March of the Governors, Governor #13, David Marston Clough
Paul Nelson and Matt WrightDavid Marston Clough was a lumber baron and politician who served as Minnesota’s Republican governor from 1895 to 1899. Born in New Hampshire in 1846, he moved with his family to Spencer Brook Township, Minnesota, in 1857. He was successful in the lumber business and moved into politics,…
March of the Governors, Governor #12, Knute Nelson
Paul Nelson and Tyler TaylorKnute Nelson (1843-1923) spent two years as governor of Minnesota on his way to becoming a representative in the US Senate, where he served for twenty-eight years. Nelson was the first prominent Scandinavian-American politician in Minnesota and in the United States. He immigrated from Voss, Norway, to…
March of the Governors, Governor #11, William Merriam
Tom O'Connell and Paul NelsonWilliam Merriam (1849-1931) was the first Minnesota governor born into wealth and the first to break an unwritten code of the Minnesota Republican Party when he wrested the party’s nomination from the incumbent governor, Andrew McGill, in 1888. He proved a much better vote-getter than McGill (that…
March of the Governors, Governor #10, Andrew McGill
Paul Nelson and Tom OConnellAndrew McGill (1840-1905), our tenth governor, served one tumultuous term in office after thirteen years as state insurance commissioner. Because of divisions in the Republican Party and the strength of his main opponent, Alonzo Ames, he won by only 2,600 votes in the election of 1886. After…
The March of Governors, Governor #9, Lucius F. Hubbard
Paul Nelson and Fred JohnsonPossessing little more than a drive to be a success, 21-year-old Lucius F. Hubbard reached Red Wing in spring 1857. Unimposing in size and stature, the clean-shaven, boyish New York-born newcomer appeared a long shot to make it on the rugged Minnesota frontier. But by age thirty,…
March of the Governors, Governor #8, John Pillsbury
Paul Nelson and Tom O'ConnellJohn Pillsbury, a Republican, served three terms as governor of Minnesota from January 1876 to January 1882. An immigrant from New Hampshire, Pillsbury made a fortune in the grain milling business in the company that still carries his name. He also had a strong commitment to public…
Ramsey County History – Fall 2021: “Tikkun Olam: Jewish Women Serving Their St. Paul Community”
Kate Dietrick, Gabrielle Horner, and Janet KampfTikkun Olam: Jewish Women Serving Their St. Paul Community Author: Kate Dietrick, Gabrielle Horner, and Janet Kampf Question: How do we go about repairing the troubled world in which we live—in which we’ve always lived? Answer: With the help and creativity of one determined person at a time. In this article,…
The March of Governors, Governor #7, Cushman Davis
Paul Nelson and Ken PetersonMinnesota’s seventh governor, Cushman Davis, served only one term from 1874 to 1876 during which most of the state recovered from the Panic of 1873. Highlights of his time in office include amending the state’s constitution to allow women to vote in school board elections and serve on the…
The March of the Governors, Special Edition, The US Dakota War of 1862
Paul Nelson, Sydney Beane, Mary Lethert Wingerd, and Rebekah CoffmanThe US Dakota War of 1862 was a unique event in Minnesota history. In his book, Massacre in Minnesota, the eminent historian Gary Clayton Anderson calls it “the most violent ethnic conflict in American history.” It was a calamity that we Minnesotans are still trying to deal with…