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Ramsey County History – Winter 2005: “Union Park in the 1880s—Band Concerts, Balloon Ascensions Once Lured 10,000 People in a Single Day”

Minnesota Junior Pioneers

Union Park in the 1880s—Band Concerts, Balloon Ascensions Once Lured 10,000 People in a Single Day Author: Minnesota Junior Pioneers In 1880, the Milwaukee Short Line Railroad opened up development in today’s Macalester, Groveland, and Merriam Park neighborhoods, then on the outskirts of St. Paul. Union Park, as it…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2004: “Hamline University and its Royal Refugee: The Prince and the Pearl of Great Price”

John W. Larson

Hamline University and its Royal Refugee: The Prince and the Pearl of Great Price Author: John W. Larson The author, a Hamline University graduate, recalls the impact of World War II  on the university’s students and the visit of a royal refugee from Germany. Larson, raised in a working-class…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2004: “The Rondo Oral History Project Kathryn Coram Gagnon: Operettas, Dances, Parties, and a Growing Love of Music”

Kate Cavett

The Rondo Oral History Project Kathryn Coram Gagnon: Operettas, Dances, Parties, and a Growing Love of Music  Interview by Kate Cavett Based on oral history interviews, this is the story of Kathryn Coram Gagnon, an African-American woman who grew up in St. Paul’s old Rondo neighborhood. The interview…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2004: “The Life and Death of Central Park—A Small Part of the Past Illuminated”

Paul D. Nelson

The Life and Death of Central Park—A Small Part of the Past Illuminated Author: Paul D. Nelson The Central Park story begins in 1884. It was a time of city expansion, and the affluent and powerful residents in an area near today’s State Capitol wanted a park to buffer…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2003: “The Volunteer Hook and Ladder Company”

Virginia Brainard Kunz

The Volunteer Hook and Ladder Company Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz This is a short article on Wilson Farrell’s Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company, which was established in 1854. Like other groups of this type, its members were elected and had to buy their own ladders, buckets, and rope. Arson,…

Ramsey County History – Spring 2003: “Sitting Bull and His 1884 Visit to St. Paul: ‘A Shady Pair’ and an ‘Attempt on His Life’”

Mark Diedrich, adapted by Paul D. Nelson

Sitting Bull and His 1884 Visit to St. Paul: ‘A Shady Pair’ and an ‘Attempt on His Life’ Authors: Mark Diedrich, adapted by Paul D. Nelson Sitting Bull, a symbol of Native American resistance, once came to St. Paul, an event not well covered in local newspapers. The Lakota…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Lost Neighborhood: Borup’s Addition and the Prosperous Pioneer African Americans Who Owned Homes There”

David Riehle

Lost Neighborhood: Borup’s Addition and the Prosperous Pioneer African Americans Who Owned Homes There Author: David Riehle The story of a vanished neighborhood populated, though not exclusively, by pioneer African Americans, many of whom arrived around the time of the Civil War. This nineteenth-century community was located in Borup’s…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “Fur Trader, Banker, Danish Vice Consul: This Was the Borup of Borup’s Addition”

Virginia Brainard Kunz

Fur Trader, Banker, Danish Vice Consul: This Was the Borup of Borup’s Addition Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz A short biographical sketch of Danish-born Charles William Wulff Borup, a man with a medical degree. He came to the Midwest in 1835 as an agent for the American Fur Company and…

Ramsey County History – Fall 2002: “St. Gaudens’ New York Eagle: Rescue and Restoration of St. Paul’s First Outdoor Sculpture, Icon of Its Past”

Christine Podas-Larson

St. Gaudens’ New York Eagle: Rescue and Restoration of St. Paul’s First Outdoor Sculpture, Icon of Its Past Author: Christine Podas-Larson The New York Eagle is one of St. Paul’s most famed outdoor sculptures. It became a fixture in downtown in 1887 when the New York Life Insurance Company…