Topics
    Category
    Era
    banner_logo
    MNHS

    MNopedia

    MNopedia — A resource for reliable information about significant people, places, events and things in Minnesota history.

    Red Wing pottery

    A stoneware-making tradition that grew out of Red Wing's clay soil

    Learn More
    Orange salt-and-pepper shakers, a yellow pitcher, and a taupe oil pourer in fluid, round shapes sit against an indigo background.

    Mataafa Storm, 1905

    One of the costliest disasters in the history of Lake Superior

    Learn More
    In a sepia-tinted photograph, a steamship with a central smoke funnel sits in water beside a harbor broken in half.

    Butler, Pierce (1866–1939)

    The first Minnesotan to serve as a justice of the US Supreme Court

    Learn More
    A man wearing a suit jacket and tie sits in a study with a book open on the desk in front of him.

    Forest Fires

    Some of the state's deadliest natural (and not-so-natural) disasters 

    Learn More
    A destroyed structure sits in the foreground next to a standing wooden pole, with charred buildings and fire survivors in the background.

    Commercial Logging, 1838–1949

    An industry that reshaped Minnesota's land, water, and people

    Learn More
    A railroad car sits on a track next to a stack of logs that extends into an obscured vanishing point at the lower left.

    DesJarlait, Patrick (1921–1972)

    A modernist painter who depicted his Red Lake Ojibwe kin in a contemporary style

    Learn More
    Five figures act out the steps of making maple sugar

    Deformed Frogs in Le Sueur County, 1995

    An environmental mystery discovered by Minnesota middle-school students

    Learn More
    Three people carrying fishing nets walk through ankle-deep water (waist-deep in the middleground). There is shoreline at the front-right corner and in the background.

    Minneapolis-Moline Company

    The "whole line" farm-equipment firm that dominated its industry in the mid-twentieth century

    Learn More
    Three-wheeled tractor with a yellow body sitting on green grass in front of a blue sky in the background.

    Recently Added Articles

    A baking dish shaped like the state of Minnesota filled with browned tater tots, with filling visible below them, against a cutting-board background.

    Hotdish

    Creator: Arielle Fields
    First Published: October 15, 2026
    Hotdish is a Minnesota culinary institution. A traditional recipe typically consists of ground meat, a creamed soup, and a vegetable (usually canned), topped with tater tots and baked in an ...
    Thing
    1920–1945 (Great Depression and World War II)
    1945–1989 (Post-World War II United States)
    1980–Present (US in a New Global Age)
    Arts
    A man wearing a red-and-white-striped tie, a blue suit jacket, and a white dress shirt stands in front of a microphone with his hands lifted. An American flag is behind him.

    Samatar, Hussein (1964–2013)

    Creator: Ibrahim Hirsi
    First Published: September 25, 2026
    Hussein Samatar was an entrepreneur, banker, and public servant who advocated for greater access to education for immigrant families. He founded and led the African Development Center, a ...
    Person
    1980–Present (US in a New Global Age)
    Business and Industry
    Immigration
    See All Recently Added Articles

    This Day in Minnesota History (October 20)

    1818

    The northern boundary of the United States is set at the forty-ninth parallel of latitude, extending from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains.

    1849

    The Minnesota Historical Society is incorporated by an act of the territorial legislature, and Alexander Ramsey is elected its first president.

    1896

    Daily mail delivery begins in Cannon City.

    1937

    The brothel of St. Paul's most famous madam, Nina Clifford, is demolished after fifty years of business at 147 Washington Street.

    1995

    The movie Mallrats opens. Filmed at the Eden Prairie mall and directed by independent film sensation Kevin Smith, the movie flops in theaters but develops a cult following.

    Select a New Date

    History Near You

    Choose a location on the map to see history near you.

    Please wait, the pin is being added to the map.

    Find this resource helpful?

    Make a donation to support our work preserving and sharing the places, artifacts and stories that make Minnesota’s history meaningful.