Formation | 1849 |
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Headquarters | Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S. |
Website | www |
The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a nonprofit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota Constitution. It is headquartered in the Minnesota History Center in downtown Saint Paul.
Although its focus is on Minnesota history, it is not constrained by it. Its work on the North American fur trade has been recognized in Canada as well. [1]
MNHS holds a collection of nearly 550,000 books, 37,000 maps, 250,000 photographs, 225,000 historical artifacts, [2] 950,000 archaeological items, [3] 38,000 cubic feet (1,100 m3) of manuscripts, [4] 45,000 cubic feet (1,300 m3) of government records, 5,500 paintings, prints and drawings; and 1,300 moving image items.[ citation needed ]
MNopedia: The Minnesota Encyclopedia, since 2011 an online "resource for reliable information about significant people, places, events, and things in Minnesota history", that is funded through a Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund grant and administered by the Minnesota Historical Society. [5] The Minnesota Historical Society Press (MNHS Press) publishes books on the history and culture of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest with the goal of advancing research, supporting education, and sharing diverse perspectives on Minnesota history. [6] MNHS Press is the oldest publishing company in the state of Minnesota and the largest historical society press in the nation, with more than 500 books in print. MNHS Press also produces the quarterly magazine, Minnesota History (journal).
The Minnesota Historical Society was established on October 20, 1849, as the fifth act of the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. [7] : 294 The Society was established earlier than was common for historical societies in other states. As Territorial Governor, Alexander Ramsey recommended saving every newspaper published in the Minnesota Territory. Ramsey stated "the preservation by a community, of materials for the composition of its history, when a future time shall require it to be written, is a task not without its uses; and, when early commenced, easily accomplished." [7] : 295 Charles K. Smith, the first Secretary of the Minnesota Territory, drew up the act and following the Society's charter, Smith and 18 other incorporators formally organized the Society on November 15, 1849. [7] : 296
Upon organization, the Society had no headquarters. The Society initially used the Territorial Secretary's office, hotel rooms, and store lofts. In 1855, the Society was granted a room in the Minnesota State Capitol. Enabled by an 1856 amendment to the Society's charter allowing the Society to own unlimited property, the Society began a capital campaign to fund the construction of its own building. [7] : 299 .
Daniel A. Robertson, former editor and proprietor of the Minnesota Democrat served as chairman of the building committee. Robertson raised $1,500 via the sale of sixty-two lifetime memberships to the Society in order to fund the acquisition of two lots to serve as the site of a building to house the society. On the expectation that fundraising would continue at a similar place, plans were made to begin a two-year building construction [7] : 300 On June 24, 1856, the Society held a gala with invitations sent to scientific and literary guests from across the nation to celebrate the laying of the cornerstone of the building. The gala was reported in the Pioneer and Democrat as the "grandest gala day in the history of our city". Two weeks later, the building committee had exhausted their funds and passed a resolution to assess annual members five dollars in order to pay for the protection of the building foundation against winter frosts at the cost of $100. [7] : 301 The society approved a search for an architect who could draft a structure that could be built for $15,000 or less. Following the protection of the foundation, work on the building ceased as the Panic of 1857 resulted in the impoverishment of many formerly wealthy Minnesotans. [7] : 301
The Society would continue to operate out of the Capitol until the Minnesota State Legislature appropriated $500,000 for the construction of a fireproof historical building via an act passed in 1913 and amended in 1915. The building was completed in 1917 and the Society finished the process of moving its collections on March 1, 1918. [7] : 317 The building currently serves as the Minnesota Judicial Center. [8] The Society moved to its current location, the Minnesota History Center, in 1992.
The Minnesota Historical Society operates 31 historic sites and museums, 26 of which are open to the public. MNHS manages 16 sites directly and 7 in partnerships where the society maintains the resources and provides funding. 6 sites are being held for preservation but are closed to public access, and five are self-guided sites with interpretive signage. [9] [3] Seven of the sites are National Historic Landmarks and 16 others are on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Seven sites lie within Minnesota state parks, and three are elements of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. [10]
Site name | Image | Location | Era of features | Year added to MNHS | Management [3] | Remarks |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alexander Ramsey House | St. Paul | 1872–1964 | 1964 | Direct | Home of Minnesota governor and U.S. Congressman Alexander Ramsey with original furnishings. [11] NRHP | |
Birch Coulee Battlefield | Morton | September 2, 1862 | 1976 | Self-guided | Site of the Battle of Birch Coulee, the deadliest battle for U.S. troops in the Dakota War of 1862. [12] NRHP. | |
Charles Lindbergh House and Museum | Charles A. Lindbergh State Park | 1906–1920 | 1969 | Direct | House of U.S. Congressman Charles August Lindbergh and his son, aviator Charles Lindbergh. [13] National Historic Landmark [14] | |
Comstock House | Moorhead | 1882 | 1964 | Partnership | Restored home of U.S. Congressman and businessman Solomon Comstock with its original furnishings. [15] NRHP | |
Folsom House | Taylors Falls | 1854–1968 | 1968 | Partnership | Restored home of businessman, politician, and historian W.H.C. Folsom with its original furnishings. [16] NRHP contributing property | |
Forest History Center | Grand Rapids | 1900–1934 | 1975 | Direct | Recreated logging camp and exhibits on humankind's relationship with Minnesota's forests. [17] | |
Fort Renville | Lac qui Parle State Park | 1822–1846 | 1973 [18] | Preservation | Location of a fur trading post established by Joseph Renville. [19] | |
Fort Ridgely | Fort Ridgely State Park | 1853–1867 | 1969 | Self-guided | Fort built to keep the peace around a Dakota reservation, but attacked twice during the Dakota War of 1862. [20] NRHP | |
Grand Mound | International Falls | 200 BCE–1400 | 1970 | Preservation | Five burial mounds include the largest prehistoric structure remaining in the Upper Midwest, 25 feet (7.6 m) high and 100 feet (30 m) in diameter. [21] National Historic Landmark [22] | |
Harkin Store | New Ulm | 1870–1901 | 1973 | Direct | General store first built in the 1870s with much of the original inventory still on display. [23] NRHP | |
Historic Forestville | Forestville Mystery Cave State Park | 1853–1899 | 1978 | Direct | The remains of the once-bustling 19th century town of Forestville, which became a ghost town after the railroad passed it by. [24] NRHP | |
Historic Fort Snelling | Fort Snelling State Park | 1820–1946 | 1969 | Direct | Portions of the fort have been restored to their original frontier appearance, while later additions served as barracks for soldiers training during World War II. [25] A National Historic Landmark [26] and part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. [10] | |
James J. Hill House | St. Paul | 1891–1921 | 1978 | Direct | Mansion of railroad magnate James J. Hill. [27] National Historic Landmark [28] | |
Jeffers Petroglyphs | Jeffers | 3000 BCE–1750 | 1966 | Direct | Exposed rocks bear ancient Native American petroglyphs. [29] NRHP | |
Lac qui Parle Mission | Montevideo | 1835–1854 | 1973 [18] | Partnership | Reconstructed wooden church where missionaries worked to convert the Dakota. [30] NRHP | |
Lower Sioux Agency | Lower Sioux Indian Reservation | 1853– | 1967 | Partnership | Museum depicting the lives of Dakota people before and after the Dakota War of 1862. [31] NRHP | |
Marine Mill | Marine on St. Croix | 1839–1895 | 1972 | Self Guided | Ruins of Minnesota's first commercial sawmill. [32] NRHP | |
Mill City Museum | Minneapolis | 1874–1965 | 2002 | Direct | Museum of the flour milling industry that built Minneapolis, within the ruins of the Washburn "A" Mill, [33] a National Historic Landmark. [34] Part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. [10] | |
Mille Lacs Indian Museum | Mille Lacs Indian Reservation | Prehistory–present | 1959 | Direct | Museum of the history and culture of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. [35] | |
Minnehaha Depot | Minneapolis | 1875–1963 | 1964 | Partnership | Former train station near Minnehaha Falls with "gingerbread" Victorian architecture. Operated by the Minnesota Transportation Museum. [36] | |
Minnesota History Center | St. Paul | Prehistory–present | Direct | Minnesota Historical Society's headquarters, with permanent exhibits about Minnesota, changing exhibits about national history, and a library. [37] | ||
Minnesota State Capitol | St. Paul | 1905–present | 1969 | Direct | Tours and exhibits of the state's seat of government. [38] NRHP | |
Morrison Mounds | Battle Lake | 690 BCE [39] | 1968 [21] | Preservation | Includes the oldest burial mound in Minnesota. [40] NRHP | |
Oliver Kelley Farm | Elk River | 1850–1901 | 1961 | Direct | Frontier farmstead of Oliver Hudson Kelley, one of the founders of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. [41] National Historic Landmark [42] | |
Sibley Historic Site | Mendota | 1838–1910 | 1996 | Partnership | Homes of Henry Hastings Sibley, Minnesota's first state governor, and fur trader Jean-Baptiste Faribault. [43] NRHP and part of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. [10] | |
Snake River Fur Post | Pine City | 1804 | 1965 | Direct | Recreated North West Company trading post and Ojibwe encampment. [44] NRHP | |
Split Rock Lighthouse | Split Rock Lighthouse State Park | 1910–1969 | 1976 | Direct | Clifftop lighthouse on Lake Superior restored to its 1920s appearance. [45] National Historic Landmark [22] | |
Stumne Mounds | Pine City | 1968 [21] | Preservation | Group of linear burial mounds near the Snake River. [39] NRHP | ||
Traverse des Sioux | St. Peter | Prehistory–1869 | 1981 | Self Guided | Site of a river ford, the signing of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, and a former town. [46] NRHP | |
Upper Sioux Agency | Upper Sioux Agency State Park | 1854–1862 | 1969 [47] | Preservation | Location of a federal agency established to convert Dakotas to a Euro-American farming lifestyle, but destroyed in the Dakota War of 1862. [19] NRHP | |
W.W. Mayo House | Le Sueur | 1859– | 1970 | Partnership | Home built by William Worrall Mayo, founder of the Mayo Clinic, and later home of Carson Nesbit Cosgrove, founder of the Green Giant food company. [48] NRHP |
These publications are described in more detail in an online format (without the downloadable document formats available above), at the MHC's own Digital History Books page (Retrieved November 24, 2012)
Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anthony, but it was renamed Fort Snelling once its construction was completed in 1825.
The Minnesota State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Minnesota, in its capital city of Saint Paul. It houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the office of the Attorney General and the office of the Governor. The building also includes a chamber for the Minnesota Supreme Court, although court activities usually take place in the neighboring Minnesota Judicial Center.
Forestville is a ghost town in section 13 of Forestville Township in Fillmore County, Minnesota, United States. The nearest communities are Wykoff, to the northwest, and Preston, to the northeast.
St. Paul's historic Landmark Center, completed in 1902, originally served as the United States Post Office, Courthouse, and Custom House for the state of Minnesota. It was designed by Willoughby J. Edbrooke, who served as Supervising Architect of the U.S. Treasury Department in 1891–92. Edbrooke designed a body of public architecture, much of which, like this structure, was completed after his 1896 death. Landmark Center stands at 75 West Fifth Street in Rice Park and is now an arts and culture center.
Clarence Wesley "Cap" Wigington (1883-1967) was an American architect who grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. After winning three first prizes in charcoal, pencil, and pen and ink at an art competition during the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in 1899, Wigington went on to become a renowned architect across the Midwestern United States, at a time when African-American architects were few. Wigington was the nation's first black municipal architect, serving 34 years as senior designer for the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota's architectural office when the city had an ambitious building program. Sixty of his buildings still stand in St. Paul, with several recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Wigington's architectural legacy is one of the most significant bodies of work by an African-American architect.
The Alexander Ramsey House is a historic house museum in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States; the former residence of Alexander Ramsey, who served as the first governor of Minnesota Territory and the second governor of the state of Minnesota. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. It is also a contributing property to the Irvine Park Historic District.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Dakota County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. Dakota County is located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota, bounded on the northeast side by the Upper Mississippi River and on the northwest by the Minnesota River. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
This list is of the properties and historic districts which are designated on the National Register of Historic Places or that were formerly so designated, in Hennepin County, Minnesota; there are 190 entries as of April 2023. A significant number of these properties are a result of the establishment of Fort Snelling, the development of water power at Saint Anthony Falls, and the thriving city of Minneapolis that developed around the falls. Many historic sites outside the Minneapolis city limits are associated with pioneers who established missions, farms, and schools in areas that are now suburbs in that metropolitan area.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Saint Louis County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Nicollet County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Redwood County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Redwood County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Nobles County, Minnesota. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The locations of National Register properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in an online map.
The Pietenpol Workshop and Garage is a small building in Cherry Grove, Minnesota, United States, where aviation pioneer Bernard Pietenpol designed and built aircraft. The wood-framed structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. The original hangar from Pietenpol Field was moved to Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Bemidji station is a former Great Northern Railway depot in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. It opened in 1913, replacing a wooden structure built in 1898. It was the last depot commissioned by railroad magnate James J. Hill.
The Comstock House is a historic house museum in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. It was built for Solomon Comstock and his family from 1882 to 1883 in a mix of Queen Anne and Eastlake style. Comstock (1842–1933) was one of Moorhead's first settlers and an influential figure in business, politics, civics, and education in the growing city and state.
The Cottonwood County Courthouse is the seat of government for Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States, located in the city of Windom. It has been in continual use since its dedication in 1905. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for its state-level significance in the themes of architecture and art. It was nominated for the neoclassicism expressed throughout the building, from the exterior architecture to the interior design and artwork.
MNopedia: The Minnesota Encyclopedia is a free English-language encyclopedia project from the Minnesota Historical Society. Funded through a Legacy Amendment Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund grant, it is the first online encyclopedia about Minnesota, a "resource for reliable information about significant people, places, events, and things in Minnesota history". Approved by Minnesotans on November 4, 2008, planning took place in 2010, the site was built in 2011 and was online on August 15; initial funding for 2010 and 2011 was $215,000. Many of the articles produced by the encyclopedia are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License as are some of its multimedia files.