This is an original plat of Olmsted County with many handwritten notes and drawings showing early Minnesota settlers, farmers and other town landscape features. This map is the earliest documentation we have found in our collection of the farms, towns, and topography of Olmsted County, Minnesota.
The Bradley House (built in 1855 by Albert Stevens) was sold to J. T. Bradley in 1861. This stagecoach stop, located at the east end, facing north, of the then College Street (now 4th Street) bridge, a block east of Broadway was on the Old Dubuque Trail. A fancy coach met all trains and transported customers and their baggage to the Bradley House.
This photograph by Duluth photographer William Whitesides is taken from Point of Rocks looking east and shows much of downtown Duluth and the hillside.
Hand-drawn land surveys made from 1869-1941 to determine and identify land ownership and/or section boundaries in various parts of Washington County. The volume includes an index on pages 638-641 that lists each township and section and the pages in the volume on which information is provided. A transcript of that list accompanies this document and can be found at the beginning of this document.
Brochure detailing the purpose of the school, academic calendar, expenses associated with the school, admission requirements, graduation requirements, and the model school. The State Normal School, founded in 1869, changed names several times: St. Cloud State Teachers College (1921), St. Cloud State College (1957), and St. Cloud State University (1975).
St. Ansgar's Academy, Board of Trusstees (Carver County, Minnesota)
Date Created:
1863 - 1875
Description:
St. Ansgar's Academy was opened in 1863 at East Union, Carver County, Minnesota, where it remained until 1876. It continued a parochial school founded in 1862 at Red Wing by Rev. Eric Norelius and served primarily as a preparatory secondary school for those wishing to enter teaching or the ministry in immigrant Swedish communities and congregations. It was owned and largely controlled by the Minnesota Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, which nominated members of its board of trustees for approval by the Synod, received annual reports from its principal and its board president, provided financial backing, and had a say in its operation. During its thirteen years at East Union, St. Ansgar's Academy was also known variously as Minnesota Elementar Skola, St. Ansgarii Skola, Minnesota Preparatory School, and sometimes simply as "Swede School". In 1876, the school moved to St. Peter, where it was renamed Gustavus Adolphus College. Written mostly in Swedish, with some entries in Norwegian or a mix of the two languages, by various appointed secretaries, the minutes constitute a single bound volume covering the period in Carver County, August 1863 to May 1875, with the exception of 1865, for which no minutes were entered. It opens with the school's Constitution, which had been adopted at the Augustana Synod meeting in Chicago on June 23, 1863. The minutes include committee reports and reports regarding the Bevens Creek Mill, which operated to support the school. Edi Thorstensson, Librarian and Lutheran Church Archivist, Gustavus Adolphus College, transcribed and translated the minutes in July 2006 for the Minnesota Digital Library.
At the boom, floating timbers chained between piers caught and contained logs for sorting and measuring and rigging into rafts. At one time, the Stillwater boom extended a distance of 9 miles and employed 400 men to sort, scale and raft timber.
Lumber was rafted downstream from Stillwater. Boards were arranged in cribs or heavy crates, each 16 feet wide and 32 feet long. A lumber raft might contain as many as 200 cribs.
Logs were shipped by rail from northern Minnesota to Stillwater and made into rafts. They were then floated down the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers. The rafts usually consisted of 8 to 10 strings of logs fastened side by side, each string measuring 16 across and about 400 feet long. Some of these enormous rafts stretched 4 or 5 acres in size.
A letter from Henry H. Sibley, St. Paul, Minnesota, to Charles Benson, President of the Young Men's Library Association (YMLA), regarding his upcoming speaking engagement in Winona, Minnesota. Sibley's lecture on the "Early Times of Minnesota" took place on the last day in February in 1867 and was sponsored by the YMLA.
Mrs. Alexander Ross (M. J. Ross) wrote this undated letter from Kingston to her cousin. She mentions her family and their health. The top portion of this letter is missing.
Ashley C. Riggs kept a ledger book journal from 1852-1873. The earliest entries are from Cold Spring (Stearns County), Minnesota and Watab (Benton County), Minnesota. The ledger's earliest entries record his activiites as an Indian Agent for the Winnnebago Indians for the years 1852-1853. The second portion of the ledger is Riggs' diary which documents his activities in and around Monticello, Minnesota for the years 1864-1873. Riggs was a key figure in the development of the Minnesota Territory and early Monticello, Minnesota community when he laid claim in 1854 to a piece of land on the Mississippi River. He built othe first ferry to shuttle people across the River. In 1861 he enlisted in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Records of children admitted to the orphanage between May 1865 and November 1885. Entries are loosely chronological and include child's name and date of admission. Some entries include child's age and reason for admission. Separate entries give information on dismissal dates and reasons.
The first volume of Randolph M. Probstfield’s personal journals, which he wrote in a ledger book. Probstfield began writing this volume in the 186? when he lived in Georgetown, Minnesota, and worked as a Hudson’s Bay Company Agent. Probstfield mixed his accounting records with information on daily events. The first few pages of this volume contain undated ledger accounts of trade at the Georgetown post. The 1875 date first occurs when Probstfield inserted information on the daily activities of the family farm near Moorhead, Minnesota. These accounts discuss weather, agriculture, visitors, household expenses and many other details of family life.
A hand written letter from Wendell Phillips to the Young Men's Library Association, dated March 22, stating he will not be able to fulfill his speaking engagement in Winona, Minnesota scheduled for April 19, 1867. Phillips was supposed to appear as a part of the Young Men's Library Association Course of Lectures for 1867.
Eight page photograph album documenting the life of the Peck family of St. James, Minnesota. Images include portraits of the various Peck family members, as well as views of buildings in and around St. James. Buildings depicted include the St. James High School, the creamery and the Watonwan County Courthouse. There is an early image of the Mount Hope Cemetery. Also included are a number of images documenting the activities of the members of the local Grand Army of the Republic Post and Drum Corps.
Small handbill listing seven requirements and four prohibitions of the Baldwin school. There is a space for a signature, showing the student "assents to the above requirements and prohibitions."
Portrait photograph of J. A. Kiester. Kiester was an early settler-lawyer, member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and Minnesota State Senate. He was also an Episcopalian, Freemason and Faribault County historian.
Signatures of attorneys registered to practice law in the State of Minnesota. Names were verified and biographical data obtained from Minnesota Biographies (MHS 1912), Legislators Past and Present (website), State Board of Law Examiners register (1891-1921), Minnesota birth and death certificates indexes, Minnesota court system websites, published alumni directories of the University of Minnesota law school and the St. Paul College of Law, Minnesota Legal History Project (website), the Minnesota Historical Society's online catalog (PALS), and a variety of miscellaneous sources.
Publication detailing the establishment, evolution, and expansion of the state university system and all of its schools. The minutes detail the growth of the schools, campuses, hiring and the resignations of faculty, staff, and school presidents, finances of the systems and schools, curriculum, purchase and expansion of physical campus, including property and buildings, and the establishment of the St. Cloud Normal School, Mankato Normal School, Winona Normal School, Moorhead Normal School, and the Duluth Normal School.
Libretto of the play Esther, composed by William B. Bradbury, words written and arranged by C.M. Cady, and conducted by A.M. Benham. Libretto was printed for the Minneapolis Musical Union's production, and lists the performers. Includes advertisements.
Contributing Institution:
Hennepin County Library, James K. Hosmer Special Collections Library
R.B. McLean came to Superior, Wisconsin, in June of 1854 on the schooner "Algonquin." McLean recollects several trips along Lake Superior's North Shore, both before and after the 1854 Treaty of LaPointe, searching for veins of copper. He discusses early settlers on the North Shore, the first election in St. Louis County in 1855, the first mail route from Superior to Grand Portage (which McLean delivered), and the first cabins built in Duluth in the winter of 1854-55.
Morgan May's handwritten farm journal from February 9, 1861, through April 14, 1871. Morgan May, a farmer from England, was the first settler in the part of Washington County, Minnesota, now known as May Township. His journal provides a detailed record of the day-to-day operation of a large commerical farm including entries about the weather, crops, livestock, farm hands, implement and household purchases, barn construction, wages, travel and visitors as well as personal comments.
Keyes, D. W.; Young Men's Library Association, Winona, Minnesota
Date Created:
1867-01 - 1867-05
Description:
A season ticket to the Young Men's Library Association Course of Lectures, from January 1 to May 1, 1867, in Winona, Minnesota. The ticket admits one lady and gentleman. Featured speakers include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Professor Edward Youmans, Theodore Tilton, General Henry H. Sibley, Frederick Douglass, Wendell Phillips, and Petroleum V. Nasby.
Keyes, D. W.; Mitchell, William B., 1832-1900; Benson, Charles; Young Men's Library Association, Winona, Minnesota
Date Created:
1867
Description:
Newspaper clippings that advertise the Young Men's Library Association Course of Lectures for 1867 in Winona, Minnesota. Scheduled to appear were Ralph Waldo Emerson, Professor Edward Youmans, Theodore Tilton, General Henry Sibley, Frederick Douglass, and Wendell Phillips.