Catalog
Ramsey County History Spring 2024
Paul Nelson, Drew Ross, Wendy Rossi, Meredith CummingsVolume 59, Number 2: Spring 2024 Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Spring 2024 Articles in this issue: The Fraud of the Century Author: Paul Nelson According to author Paul Nelson, “The human desire for wealth without risk and the capacity for self-delusion make an…
Decisions, Destiny, and Dreams: Plympton’s Reserve, St. Paul’s Founding, and Desnoyer’s New Bridge Square
Drew M. RossThe Desnoyer Halfway House located on the St. Anthony Falls-St. Paul Road attracted soldiers from Fort Snelling, residents from growing villages along the Mississippi, and tourists traveling to the area to glimpse the cascading St. Anthony Falls. Courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. By Drew M. Ross To see this…
A Life on the Middle West’s Never-Ending Frontier
Reviewer: Meredith CummingsA Life on the Middle West’s Never-Ending Frontier Willard L. “Sandy” Boyd Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2019 394 pages; hard cover; 22 b&w photos; $35 A Life on the Middle West’s Never Ending Frontier is a well-written and sometimes humorous and self-deprecating memoir by St. Paul native…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2012: “The Little Engine That Did: The ‘Iron Walker’ and Its Inaugural Run”
Dave RiehleThe Little Engine That Did: The “Iron Walker” and Its Inaugural Run Author: Dave Riehle The focus of this article is the inaugural run of the William Crooks, also known as the “Iron Walker,” the first railroad locomotive to operate in Minnesota. It made its debut running from St.
Ramsey County History – Spring 2012: “St. Paul’s Beaux-Arts Libraries: Philanthropic Architecture in a Local Context”
Lauren M. FreeseSt. Paul’s Beaux-Arts Libraries: Philanthropic Architecture in a Local Context Author: Lauren M. Freese In 1917, Saint Paul City Architect Charles Hausler designed three libraries in St. Paul. They are the St. Anthony Park Free Public Library; the Riverview Free Public Library (West Side); and the Arlington Hills Free…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2004: “Spring Wagons and No Roads: A Gibbs Daughter Remembers a Pioneer Family’s Sunday as a ‘Serious Undertaking’”
Lillie Gibbs LeVesconteSpring Wagons and No Roads: A Gibbs Daughter Remembers a Pioneer Family’s Sunday as a ‘Serious Undertaking’ Author: Lillie Gibbs LeVesconte This is a reminiscence of the youngest daughter of Heman and Jane Gibbs. She recalls that getting to church services was no easy task in the 1870s. It…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1992: “Growing Up in St. Paul: Years of Depression, Gangsters, Good Schools”
Willard L. BoydGrowing Up in St. Paul: Years of Depression, Gangsters, Good Schools Author: Willard L. (Sandy) Boyd The author grew up in idyllic St. Anthony Park in the 1920s and ’30s. Memory lane is fully occupied: Guttersen School, the farm campus, John Dillinger, the Midtown Theater, and Murray High School. The author…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1970: “St. Anthony Park: The History of a Small Town Within a City”
Fredric SteinhauserSt. Anthony Park: The History Of A Small Town Within A City Author: Fredric Steinhauser A history of the development of this St. Paul neighborhood. Gov. William Marshall and landscape architect Horace Cleveland played key roles in its early development, as did investors from Wisconsin and Virginia, the University…
Ramsey County History – Spring 1969: “Forgotten Pioneers: Dr. John H. Murphy”
Ramsey County Historical SocietyForgotten Pioneers: Dr. John H. Murphy Dr. John Henry Murphy (1826–1894) was “virtually the first formally trained doctor to settle in what is now the Twin Cities.” He and wife, Adelaide, the daughter of Ramsey County pioneer Benjamin Hoyt, settled in St. Anthony in 1849. He served in the…