Ramsey County History – Winter 2020: “Ramsey County’s ‘Boy Problem:’ Snapshots of Boys Totem Town”

Ramsey County’s “Boy Problem” Snapshots of Boys Totem Town
Author: Bobbie Scott

When Boys Totem Town, a detention home on St. Paul’s east side, closed its doors in 2019, administrators, teachers, judges, and several men who once spent time there as boys, gathered to remember. The facility opened in 1913 with the goal of helping those who had gone astray through guidance, education, and mandatory chores that included farm work in the fresh Minnesota air. There was a Boy Scout troop, recreational activities, and hope that these young men could straighten up and make lives for themselves. Author Bobbie Scott poured through court documents, newspaper articles, grand jury reports, and staff minutes to assemble these “snapshots” of Totem Town. Over a century, the facility celebrated certain successes but also faced many challenges. Eventually, it became apparent that what might have worked in the best interest of the boys in 1915 no longer worked in 2015, and so staff, correction officers, judges, and community members joined together to begin to revamp the county’s juvenile justice system.
PDF of B. Scott article