Topics
    Category
    Era
    banner_logo
    MNHS

    MNopedia

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

    Samatar, Hussein (1964–2013)

    The entrepreneur and community leader who founded the African Development Center in Minneapolis in 2002

    Learn More
    Hussein_Samatar_2010_Hero

    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.

    Recently Added Articles

    Three-quarters head-and-shoulders view of a woman with her hair parted on the side.

    Jeffrey, Laura (1915–2003)

    Creator: Karen Sieber
    First Published: October 21, 2026
    Laura Jeffrey’s influence in St. Paul can be felt beyond her role as one of the city’s first Black librarians. The Macalester College graduate was also deeply involved in African American ...
    Person
    1920–1945 (Great Depression and World War II)
    1945–1989 (Post-World War II United States)
    African Americans
    Education
    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
    See All Recently Added Articles

    This Day in Minnesota History (November 08)

    1890

    The Grand Opera House in Minneapolis hosts the first American performance of the English translation of Donizetti's opera Anna Bolena.

    1898

    The Kensington Runestone is discovered on Olof Ohman's farm, near Alexandria. The stone tells of a group of Vikings who traveled to Minnesota in 1362, but its authenticity has long been the subject of debate.

    1926

    The old Mendota bridge to Fort Snelling opens and is dedicated to the men of the 151st Field Artillery who had been killed in World War I.

    1932

    Minnesota citizens are allowed to vote for all nine of the state's congressional seats because the legislature had failed to reapportion the districts following the census of 1930.

    2016

    Ilhan Omar is elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. A Somali immigrant to Minnesota, she is the first Somali American and Muslim woman to serve in the state legislature. In 2018, she became the first Somali American elected to the United States Congress.

    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.