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

Vietnamese Community of Minnesota

A nonprofit organization active since 1981

Vietnamese Community of Minnesota

Paul Bunyan Canoe Derby

A 450-mile race that took place on the Mississippi River between 1940 and 1960

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Minnesota Lynx

The women's basketball team that won four WNBA championship titles in six years.

Two basketball players stand side by side, clasping two of their hands together.

Virginia and Rainy Lake Company

The Minnesota firm that became the world's largest white pine lumber company overnight

A four-story sawmill with a green roof, red walls, and pairs of windows across the horizontal access. People are in the foreground.

Fort Ridgely

A US military base in Nicollet County that operated between 1853 and 1867

View of Fort Ridgey with stone foundation ruins in the foreground, a one-story building with two doors and six windows in the middleground next to a stone pillar, and a grey sky in the background.

Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ (Bassett Creek)

A waterway that flows through nine Minnesota cities

Creek with bright green foliage on either side and a blue sky with clouds above.

Stewart, Jacob Henry (1829–1884)

A doctor, mayor, congressman, and Civil War veteran

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Peterson Bluebird Nest Box

A conservation success story that started in Brooklyn Center

A field showing grass and trees in different shades of green. Three orange butterflies alight on stalks of flowers in the foreground.

Recently Added Articles

A woman in a blue button-up shirt and cardigan walks through a hallway with lobbyists surrounding her and a cameraman at the left of the image.
Creator: Tom Weber
First Published: May 11, 2026
In January of 2012, Susan Allen became the first Native American woman elected to serve in the Minnesota Legislature and the first openly queer/Two Spirit Native woman elected to any state ...
A golden-colored fish with black stripes on its back floats against a pure white background.
First Published: April 22, 2026
On the opening day of Minnesota’s fishing season in 1965, the Minnesota Legislature selected walleye as the state’s official fish. While walleyes are neither the state’s biggest fish nor ...

This Day in Minnesota History (May 13)

1956

Elvis Presley performs at the Minneapolis Auditorium for a crowd of 3,000.

1824

General Winfield Scott arrives to inspect Fort St. Anthony. Impressed with what he sees, he suggests that the fort be renamed Fort Snelling for Colonel Josiah Snelling, supervisor of its construction.

1858

The survey for a road from St. Cloud to Breckenridge begins, following the East Plains trail of the Red River carts. The road later became Highway 52.

History Near You

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