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Ramsey County History – Spring 1979: “A Grandson Describes: The O’Briens’ House on George Street”

George A. Rea

A Grandson Describes: The O’Briens’ House on George Street Author: George A. Rea The author remembers his grandparents, Patrick and Fannie O’Brien, and their big house (still standing) at 255 George Street. Initially they lived on Irvine Park, but grandfather “decided to move the day a neighbor’s bantam chickens…

Ramsey County History – Spring/Summer 1975: “James J. Hill: A Search for the Man Behind the Legend”

Virginia Brainard Kunz

James J. Hill: A Search for the Man Behind the Legend Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz Late in his life James J. Hill remarked, “I’ve made my mark on the surface of the earth and they [the U.S. Supreme Court] can’t wipe it out.” He knew he’d been a titan.

Ramsey County History – Spring/Summer 1975: “How St. Paul Came to Lose the “Red River War””

Dennis Hoffa

How St. Paul Came to Lose the “Red River War” Author: Dennis Hoffa The Selkirk or Red River Colony, later Winnipeg, so far from St. Paul, was a vital source of commerce and wealth in the city’s first few decades. Starting in 1844, the ox carts trundled south laden…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1973: “Highland–Groveland–Macalester Park: The Old Reserve Township”

Donald Empson

Highland–Groveland–Macalester Park: The Old Reserve Township Author: Donald Empson Settlement and development of the southwest corner of the city, bounded by Marshall Avenue on the north, Dale Street on the east, and the Mississippi everywhere else. The first permanent settler was William Finn in 1848. Formal land sales…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1972: “Brave Men in Their Motor Machines–And the 1918 Forest Fire”

Arnold L. Luukkonen

Brave Men in Their Motor Machines–And the 1918 Forest Fire Author: Arnold L. Luukkonen The Minnesota Home Guard was created in 1917 to replace the Minnesota National Guard, which had been federalized for World War I. One of its components was the Motor Corps, made up of volunteers who…

Ramsey County History – Fall 1971: “Boats, Carts, Rails, Roads—The Trailways of History”

Ramsey County Historical Society

Boats, Carts, Rails, Roads—The Trailways of History Descriptions of three early, and vital, St. Paul transportation hubs and tracks: the Lower Landing, the crossroads of the Old Military Road and the Ox Cart Trail, and the Red River Ox Cart Trail. The first was the city’s main steamboat landing, the…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1970: “To Stillwater, Hastings, White Bear Lake – St. Paul’s Yellow Trolleys Rocked, Rumbled Through a Colorful Era”

Virginia Brainerd Kunz

To Stillwater, Hastings, White Bear Lake—St. Paul’s Yellow Trolleys Rocked, Rumbled Through a Colorful Era Author: Virginia Brainard Kunz A summary history of street railway service in St. Paul, from 1872 to 1953. PDF of Kunz article PDF of Trolley photo essay…

Ramsey County History – Spring 1970: “St. Anthony Park: The History of a Small Town Within a City”

Fredric Steinhauser

St. 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 – Fall 1966: “‘Reminiscences of a Lady in the Vicinity of St. Paul:’ A Sioux Medicine Dance and a Perilous Journey”

Ellen Rice Hollinshead

‘Reminiscences of a Lady in the Vicinity of St. Paul:’ A Sioux Medicine Dance and a Perilous Journey Author: Ellen Rice Hollinshead This is an 1892 reminiscence written by the daughter of Edmund Rice and the niece of Henry M. Rice about her experiences in early Minnesota.