Minnesota History Guide

Before European settlement, Minnesota was populated by the Anishinaabe, the Dakota, and other Native Americans. The first Europeans were French fur traders that arrived in the 1600s. Late that century, the Ojibwe Indians migrated westward to Minnesota, causing tensions with the Sioux. Explorers such as Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, Father Louis Hennepin, Jonathan Carver, Henry Schoolcraft, and Joseph Nicollet, among others, mapped out the state.

In 1762, France gave all the land west of the Mississippi River to Spain. However, Spain did little to explore or settle the region and France continued fur trading. At the end of the French and Indian War in 1763, Britain controlled all land east of the Mississippi River, including eastern Minnesota.

The U.S. acquired eastern Minnesota from Great Britain after the Revolutionary War and 20 years later bought the western part from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Much of the region was explored by U.S. Army lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike before the northern strip of Minnesota bordering Canada was ceded by Britain in 1818. The construction of Fort Snelling followed between 1819 and 1825. Its soldiers built a grist mill and a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls, the first of the water-powered industries around which the city of Minneapolis later grew. Meanwhile, squatters, government officials, and tourists had settled near the fort. In 1839, the Army forced them to move down-river, and they settled in the area that became St. Paul. Minnesota Territory was formed on March 3, 1849.

Minnesota became the 32nd state on May 11, 1858, with St. Paul as the state capital. The Civil War began two years later and Minnesota became the first state to offer troops for the Union armies. During this time, the Indians angry from lack of food went to war against Minnesota. With many of the men gone to fight for the Union, federal troops had to come help stop the war.

In 1917, Minnesota sent wheat and iron ore to help soldiers fighting in World War I. The following year, a huge forest fire killed more than 400 people and destroyed $25 million in property. Minnesotans formed the Farmer-Labor party to help farmers and factory workers.

Minnesota's economy was hard-hit by the Great Depression, resulting in lower prices for farmers, layoffs among iron miners, and labor unrest. 70% of ironworkers were left without jobs. Compounding the adversity, western Minnesota and the Dakotas were hit by drought from 1931 to 1935.

After World War II, industrial development quickened. New technology increased farm productivity through automation of feedlots for hogs and cattle, machine milking at dairy farms, and raising chickens in large buildings. Planting became more specialized with hybridization of corn and wheat, and the use of farm machinery such as tractors and combines became the norm.

The state is rich in natural resources. A few square miles of land in the north in the Mesabi, Cuyuna, and Vermilion ranges produce more than 75% of the nation's iron ore. The state's farms rank high in yields of corn, wheat, rye, alfalfa, and sugar beets. Other leading farm products include butter, eggs, milk, potatoes, green peas, barley, soybeans, oats, and livestock.

Minnesota's factories produce non-electrical machinery, fabricated metals, flour-mill products, plastics, electronic computers, scientific instruments, and processed foods. The state is also a leader in the printing and paper-products industries.

Minneapolis is the trade center of the Midwest, and the headquarters of the world's largest super-computer and grain distributor. St. Paul is the nation's biggest publisher of calendars and law books. These "twin cities" are the nation's third-largest trucking center. Duluth has the nation's largest inland harbor and now handles a significant amount of foreign trade. Rochester is home to the Mayo Clinic, a world-famous medical center.

Minnesota Famous People

• Charles Bender (1883 - 1954) The first pitcher in baseball to win six World Series games; born in Crow Wing County.
• Patty Berg (1918 - ) One of the greatest female golfers ever, founded the U.S. Ladies' Professional Golfers' Association; born in Minneapolis.
• William O. Douglas (1898 - 1980) The Longest-serving U.S. Supreme Court Justice; born in Maine.
• Bob Dylan (1941 - ) Songwriter and singer whose songs of protest made him a hero to the civil-rights and student movements of the 1960s; born in Hibbing
• F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940) Author famous for his characters and sense of style as in The Great Gatsby; born in St. Paul.
• Judy Garland (1922 - 1969) Singer and Actress most famous for her role as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; born in Grand Rapids.
• J. Paul Getty (1892 - 1976) Richest man in the world when he died; born in Minneapolis.
• Hubert H. Humphrey (1911 - 1978), U. S. senator and vice president of the U. S. (1965 - 1969); Democratic candidate for president, 1968; Minnesota Senator.
• Garrison Keillor (1942 - ) Author and host of "A Prairie Home Companion"; born in Anoka.
• Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951) The first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature, he wrote of small town life such as Main Street; born in Sauk Centre.
• John Madden (1936 - ) Emmy Award winning sport analyst and commentator and former coach of the Oakland Raiders; born in Austin. .
• Charles H. Mayo (1865 - 1939) and William J. Mayo (1861 - 1939) Physicians who founded the Mayo Clinic in Rochester.
• Walter Frederick Mondale (1928 - ) 42d vice-president of the United States (1977 - 1980); Democratic candidate for president of the United States in 1984.
• Eugene McCarthy (1916 - ) U.S. Senator from Minnesota. Professor, author, and poet; born in Watkins.
• Roger Maris (1934 - 1985) Baseball player that while playing for the Yankees made history hitting 61 home runs in a single season; born in Hibbing.
• John S. Pillsbury (1827 - 1901) A leader in flour milling, he helped found the family company in Minneapolis in 1872; three-time Republican governor of Minnesota (1876 - 1882).
• Winona Ryder (1971  - ) Actress named after her birthplace, Winona, known in movies The Age of Innocence and The Crucible.
• Charles Schulz (1922 - 2000) Cartoonist that created the strip Peanuts about Charlie Brown; born in Minneapolis.
• Richard W. Sears (1863 - 1914) Founder of the Sears, Roebuck and Company; born in Stewartville.
• DeWitt Wallace (1889 - 1981) Founder of the Reader's Digest magazine; born in St. Paul.