Catalog
Ramsey County History – Fall 2014: “Expanding Our Understanding of the Past: The Sod House and Dakota Kin at the Gibbs Museum”
Priscilla FarnhamExpanding Our Understanding of the Past: The Sod House and Dakota Kin at the Gibbs Museum Author: Priscilla Farnham In this article, Priscilla Farnham, the retired executive director of RCHS (1991–2011) focuses on the history of Gibbs Farm in Falcon Heights, which is owned and operated by Ramsey County…
Ramsey County History Podcast #3 – Fall 2014: The German Friend; MNopedia
Paul Nelson, John Larson, and Molly HuberThe German Friend; MNopedia Part 1: What can an anti-Nazi writer and intellectual, exiled in the United States, do for his beloved Germany? Nearly eighty years ago, Prince Hubertus zu Lowenstein visited St. Paul and met Hamline University student John Larson. A lifelong friendship and flood of…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2014: “The Stork Family in St. Paul, 1914–1916”
Rebecca A. MavencampThe Stork Family in St. Paul, 1914–1916 Author: Rebecca A. Mavencamp William E. and Grace C. Stork moved to St. Paul from western Minnesota in 1903 along with their children, Florence C. and Norman Clinton. They built a home in the western part of the city near the Mississippi…
Ramsey County History: Summer 2014: “The History of the Mississippi River Boulevard”
Donald L. EmpsonThe History of the Mississippi River Boulevard Author: Donald L. Empson In 1872, the Saint Paul City Council decided to build public parks in the city, and soon, thereafter, hired landscape architect Horace W. S. Cleveland to prepare a plan for where this should be done. One park that…
Ramsey County History – Summer 2014: “‘A Banner with the Strange Device:’ Longfellow and Saint Paul”
Moira F. Harris“A Banner with the Strange Device:” Longfellow and Saint Paul Author: Moira F. Harris Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is widely known as the poet who wrote “The Song of Hiawatha,” which was inspired by reports of Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis. Although he never visited Minnesota, Longfellow wrote the poem “Excelsior”…
Ramsey County History Podcast #2 – Summer 2014: Minnesota’s Oldest Murder Mystery; Life in Old Swede Hollow
Paul Nelson, Gary Bruggemann, and Steve TrimbleMinnesota’s Oldest Murder Mystery; Life in Old Swede Hollow Part 1: Edward Phelan was one of St. Paul’s very first settlers. Was he also a murderer? In September 1839, the body of Phelan’s cabin-mate, John Hays, was found floating in the Mississippi River. He had been beaten…
Ramsey County History Podcast #1 – Spring 2014: The Saga of I-35; East Side Freedom Library
Paul Nelson, John Milton, and Peter RachleffThe Saga of I-35; East Side Freedom Library Part 1: John Milton tells the story of how citizen opposition delayed for many years the completion of Interstate Highway 35 through St. Paul. Part 2: Labor historian Peter Rachleff describes how he and his partner Beth Cleary plan…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2014: “Neither Posters Nor Stamps: Poster Stamp Advertising in St. Paul”
Leo J. HarrisNeither Posters Nor Stamps: Poster Stamp Advertising in St. Paul Author: Leo J. Harris Poster stamps are neither posters nor stamps. They are printed in sheets of various sizes, then gummed, and perforated. In the early 1900s, “poster stamps” became a form of collectible advertising that were attached to…
Ramsey County History – Spring 2014: “The Birth of the Ramsey County Fair”
James LindnerThe Birth of the Ramsey County Fair Author: James Lindner The person credited with the concept of the original county fair is Elkanah Watson, of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who, in 1810, started the Berkshire County Fair. Watson wanted to promote ways to improve farm productivity through education, “personal ambition,” and…