The Minnesota Pioneer to its Patrons | |
---|---|
attributed to either James Goodhue or Lucien Galtier | |
First published in | Minnesota Pioneer |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Subject(s) | Saint Paul, Minnesota |
Genre(s) | Doggerel |
Rhyme scheme | AABB |
Publication date | January 2, 1950 |
Media type | Newspaper |
Lines | 78 |
"The Minnesota Pioneer to its Patrons" is a humorous poem about the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, published in the Minnesota Pioneer on January 2, 1850 (but dated January 1, 1850). It has variously been attributed to the newspaper editor James Goodhue or to Father Lucien Galtier.
From the early 1700s, newspapers had begun to publish new years' proclamations. By the 1800s, they had an established form of summarizing the previous year and looking forward to the year to come. The address given on January 2, 1850, in the Minnesota Pioneer was the first to be given to the newly established Minnesota Territory. The poem outlined the history of the area and the origins of Saint Paul, referencing the prior geographical moniker of "Pig's Eye", and laid out an optimistic view of the future, ending with a reference to the Conversion of Paul the Apostle and the changing of the settlement's name from the "Pig's Eye" to "Saint Paul". [1] It has been described as an "amusing doggerel". [2]
The poem was published without attribution. Father Lucien Galtier is sometimes said to have proclaimed the final phrases at the dedication of the log cabin chapel of Saint Paul on November 1, 1941. [3] The poem in its entirety was often attributed in the decades following publication to the Minnesota Pioneer editor, James Goodhue. [4] [3] [5] [6]
The poem was often cited in the early decades of the twentieth century as a confirmation of the "christening" and "metamorphosis" of the settlement. [7] [8] [9] It was also cited when honoring Father Galtier after his death for his role in naming the city. [5]
Narrated by the "Old Year" of 1849, the poem reflects on the transformation of the small settlement of Pig's Eye into the City of Saint Paul. Describing various struggles in Europe, the narrator expresses thankfulness for America, despite the presidency of Zachary Taylor. [1] The poem celebrates the great growth in commerce along the Mississippi River and, alluding to the conversion of Paul the Apostle, declares the area from Saint Anthony Falls [10] to Pig's Eye Landing [a] to be "converted" from Pig's Eye to Saint Paul.
When the Old Year thawed out last spring,
Quoth he "I must be travelling."
So, on the Highland Mary came,
And for 'up river' booked his name.
Quoth he, this, Captain Atchison,
Is quite a stream we are upon?
As large, says Cap., famillarly,
As rivers often get to be.
Quoth the Old Year, "ere I go down,
I mean to locate me a town—
A town that in the shade will throw
My other town, San Francisco.
In France, they've got things now at rest,
They're poor republicans at best;
They had a flare up, too, at Rome,
That made me wish myself at home.
Give Italy enough of rope—
She'll hang herself or hang the Pope;
And as for Hungary, 'tis quite
A useless thing for her to fight.
Where, flourishing, has ever grown,
A Republic grafted on a throne?
I'm glad, from Europe to get back,
Altho your President 's Old Zach;
And now I want to get away
Up north to escape the cholera.
For vigorous health no climate dare
With Minnesota to compare.
The cities on this river must be three,
Two that are built and one that is to be.
One, is the mart of all the tropics yield;
The cane, the orange and the cotton field;
And sends her ships abroad and boasts
Her trade extended to a thousand coasts:
The other, central for the temperate zone,
Garners the stores that on the plains are grown;
A place where steamboats from all quarters, range,
To meet and speculate, as 'twere on 'change.
The third will be, where rivers confluent flow
From the wide spreading north thro' plains of snow
The mart of all that boundless forests give
To make mankind more comfortably live,
The land of manufacturing industry,
The workshop of the nation it shall be.
Propelled by this wide stream, you'll see
A thousand factories at Saint Anthony:
And the St. Croix a hundred mills shall drive,
And all its smiling villages shall thrive;
But then my town—remember that high bench
With cabins scattered over it, of French?
A man named Henry Jackson's living there
Also a man—why every one knows L. Robar;
Below Ft. Snelling, seven miles or so,
And three above the village of Old Crow?
Pig's Eye? Yes; Pig's Eye! That's the spot!
A very funny name; is't not?
Pig's Eye's the spot, to plant my city on,
To be remembered by, when I am gone.
Pig's Eye, converted thou shalt be, like Saul:
Thy name, henceforth shall be Saint Paul.
When the Wisconsin's wedded to the Fox,
By a canal and solid steamboat locks;
When freighted steamboats leave St. Paul one day
And reach, the next but one, Green Bay,
When locomotives regularly draw
Their freighted trains from distant Pembina
And o'er the bridge, rush, thundering, at St. Paul,
And at Dubuque, to breathe, scarce make a call
But hurry onward to the hot Balize,
By flying farms, plantations, houses, trees-
When from the Cave to Pig's Eye shall extend
A levee lined with steamboats to each end;
When one great city covers all
The ground from Pig's Eye to the Falls,
I then will claim St. Paul for mine,
The child of 1849.
Pig's Eye, converted, thou shalt be like Saul,
Arise; and be, henceforth—Saint Paul!” [12] [13]
Saint Paul is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center of Minnesota's government. The Minnesota State Capitol and the state government offices all sit on a hill close to the city's downtown district. One of the oldest cities in Minnesota, Saint Paul has several historic neighborhoods and landmarks, such as the Summit Avenue Neighborhood, the James J. Hill House, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul. Like the adjacent city of Minneapolis, Saint Paul is known for its cold, snowy winters and humid summers.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, along with western Wisconsin, eastern Minnesota and Anoka County, Minnesota. The paper's main rival is the Star Tribune, based in neighboring Minneapolis. The Pioneer Press is owned by MediaNews Group, controlled by Alden Global Capital. It no longer includes "St. Paul" as part of its name in either its print or online edition, but its owner still lists the paper's name as the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the paper also calls itself the St. Paul Pioneer Press on its Facebook and Twitter pages. Its URL and digital presence is TwinCities.com.
The Cathedral of Saint Paul is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. It is the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, along with the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis. One of the most distinctive cathedrals in the United States, it sits on Cathedral Hill overlooking downtown Saint Paul and features a distinctive copper-clad dome. It is dedicated to Paul the Apostle, who is also the namesake of the City of Saint Paul. The current building opened in 1915 as the fourth cathedral of the archdiocese to bear this name. On March 25, 2009, it was designated as the National Shrine of the Apostle Paul by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It is the third-largest Catholic cathedral and sixth-largest church in the United States.
Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant was the first official resident of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota. His exploits propelled him to local fame and infamy, with his name briefly adorning the village that became Minnesota's capital city.
The Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or diocese of the Catholic Church in the United States. It is led by an archbishop who administers the archdiocese from the cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. The archbishop has both a cathedral and co-cathedral: the mother church – the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, and the co-cathedral, the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis.
Cray Plaza, located in the Lowertown neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, provides space for working, living, eating, and recreating on one square city block opened in 1986.
Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians or simply the Mississippi Chippewa, are a historical Ojibwa Band inhabiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries in present-day Minnesota.
The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a 72-mile (116 km) and 54,000-acre (22,000 ha) protected corridor along the Mississippi River through Minneapolis–Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey to just downstream of Hastings. This stretch of the upper Mississippi River includes natural, historical, recreational, cultural, scenic, scientific, and economic resources of national significance. This area is the only national park site dedicated exclusively to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is sometimes abbreviated as MNRRA or MISS, the four-letter code the National Park Service assigned to the area. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is classified as one of four national rivers in the United States, and despite its name is technically not one of the 40 national recreation areas.
St. Peter's Catholic Church in Mendota Heights is the oldest church in continuous use in the state of Minnesota.
The Riverview Corridor is a transit corridor connecting Downtown Saint Paul and the Mall of America in Bloomington via the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. The corridor serves an area from the Saint Paul Union Depot to the Mall via a route along West 7th Street, which runs southwest from Downtown Saint Paul. The corridor creates a triangle connecting opposite ends of the Blue Line and Green Line.
Saint Paul is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, the county seat of Ramsey County, and the state capital of Minnesota. The origin and growth of the city were spurred by the proximity of Fort Snelling, the first major United States military installation in the area, as well as by the city's location on the northernmost navigable port of the Upper Mississippi River.
The First National Bank Building is a 417-foot-tall high-rise building in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The building has the tallest connecting skyway in the Twin Cities.
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The territorial era of Minnesota lasted from the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 to Minnesota's achieving statehood in 1858. The Minnesota Territory itself was formed only in 1849 but the area had a rich history well before this. Though there was a long history of European presence in the area before 19th century, it was during the 19th century that the United States began to establish a firm presence in what would become Minnesota.
West Seventh is a neighborhood and city district in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It comprises three smaller neighborhoods: from west to east, the West End, Uppertown, and Irvine Park. The neighborhood lies at the base of Summit Hill and along the Mississippi River's western bluffs, spanning the entire length of West 7th Street. It is also known as Old Fort Road and the Fort Road area. The street follows a historic Native American and fur trader path along the river from downtown Saint Paul to Fort Snelling.
Augustin Ravoux was a French priest and missionary who served in the area preceding Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, in Minnesota.
David Cooper (1821–1877) was an American lawyer and jurist. He served from 1850 to 1853 as an associate justice of the Minnesota (Territory) Supreme Court.
Socrates Nelson was an American businessman, politician, and pioneer who served one term as a Minnesota State Senator from 1859 to 1861. He was a general store owner, lumberman, and real estate speculator and was associated with numerous companies in the insurance and rail industries. He was involved in the establishment of the community of Stillwater, Minnesota and was an early member of the first Independent Order of Odd Fellows lodge in Minnesota. He served on the University of Minnesota's first board of regents before being elected to the Minnesota Senate.
James Madison Goodhue was an American journalist, newspaper editor, and founder of the Minnesota Pioneer, Minnesota's first newspaper, which eventually merged with the Saint Paul Dispatch to become the St. Paul Pioneer Press. He is the namesake of Goodhue County.
The Chapel of Saint Paul, which later served as the first Cathedral of Saint Paul, was a log chapel built in 1840 by Lucien Galtier. It would serve as the first cathedral of the Diocese of Saint Paul from June 1851 to December 1851.