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Ramsey County History Spring 2025

Andrea Swensson, Chia Youyee Vang, PhD, Janice R. Quick, Pete Boulay

Ramsey County History Spring 2025 Volume 60, No. 2: Spring 2025 Chia Youyee Vang, PhD, Janice R. Quick, Pete Boulay Link to download PDF of full Ramsey County History Spring 2025 Articles in this issue: Reflections from the 1.5 Generation Fifty Years of Hmong Lives in Ramsey County…

A History of Drive-in Movie Theaters in Ramsey County

Pete Boulay

The Rose sat at the corner of Snelling Avenue and County Road C in Roseville from 1948 to 1979, and was Ramsey County’s first drive-in movie theater. Photo by Robert Murphy. “First Show at Dusk” By Pete Boulay To see this complete magazine article with endnotes and additional images,…

March of the Governors, Governor #36: Rudy Perpich Part II

Paul Nelson and Anne Field

Part II: Following his gubernatorial defeat in 1978, Rudy Perpich (1928-1995) spent a few years in Vienna, Austria, working as a trade representative for Control Data Corporation, but it wasn’t long before he began planning another run for the state’s highest role. Voters remembered him fondly and ushered him back…

Ramsey County History Summer 2023

Kristina Her, John H. Guthmann, Heidi Heller, John Lindley, Dave Beal, Lowell Benson, Don Hall, Jay Pfaender, and Chad Roberts

Volume 58, Number 2: Summer 2023 Link to download PDF of RCHS Summer 2023 Magazine Articles in this Issue: Hmong Foodways in Ramsey County Author: Kristina Her Growing Up at Fort Snelling: Honoring the First Regiment of…

Ramsey County History Summer 2023 – ERA

Dave Beal, Lowell Benson, Don Hall, Jay Pfaender, and Chad Roberts

Volume 58, Number 2: Summer 2023 Honoring WWII Codebreakers and the Founding of Engineering Research Associates Authors: Dave Beal, Lowell Benson, Don Hall, Jay Pfaender, and Chad Roberts Several years ago, Jay Pfaender, a St. Paul businessman and member of the Ramsey County Historical Society Editorial Board, introduced…

History Revealed: Nature’s Crossroads

George Vrtis and Christopher W. Wells

Nature’s Crossroads: The Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota: A Wide-Ranging Environmental and Historical Study of the Evolution of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul Area With George Vrtis and Christopher W. Wells History Revealed Series Program Date: Thursday, June 22, 2023 YouTube Video In…

Ramsey County History Spring 2023 – People Mover

Matt Goff

Volume 58, Number 1: Spring 2023 A Slow Track to Nowhere St. Paul’s Downtown People Mover Author: Matt Goff In 1976, the federal government selected St. Paul as one of four US demonstration cities, along with Cleveland, Houston, and Los Angeles, to receive funding for a…

Ramsey County History – Summer 2007: “Minneapolis and St. Paul Stumble: Henry Ford Wins the Struggle for the High Dam “

Brian McMahon

Minneapolis and St. Paul Stumble: Henry Ford Wins the Struggle for the High Dam  Author: Brian McMahon There were two early Ford plants in the Twin Cities—one in Minneapolis and another on University Avenue in St. Paul. Henry Ford was a big promoter of hydroelectric power; consequently, he wanted…

Ramsey County History – Winter 2007: “‘If It Can Be Manufactured from Wood, We Can Make It:’ A History of the Villaume Family and the Company They Built”

Steve Trimble

“If It Can Be Manufactured from Wood, We Can Make It:” A History of the Villaume Family and the Company They Built Author: Steve Trimble In 1847, Joseph Villaume, a Frenchman, arrived in St. Paul, and his two nephews joined him in 1873. One of them, Eugene, landed a…