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MNopedia

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

Fort Ridgely

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

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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

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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

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

Strutwear Knitting Company Strike

The longest of three major labor disputes in Minneapolis between 1935 and 1936

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Strutwear Knitting Company strike

Hungry Mind (bookstore)

A tiny St. Paul bookshop that grew into a regional favorite with a national reach

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Hungry Mind interior

Bohemian Flats

A resilient immigrant community in Minneapolis that outlasted floods and disease

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Bohemain Flats

Jun Fujita Cabin, Rainy Lake

The North Woods hideaway of an internationally renowned photographer

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A basketball player in a blue uniform jumps toward a basket with a ball in hand. Three players wearing red uniforms surround her.

Minnesota Lynx

Creator: David Sandager
First Published: February 02, 2026
The Minnesota Lynx professional basketball franchise has competed in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) since the 1999 season. The Lynx are the second professional women’s ...
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1980–Present (US in a New Global Age)
Sports and Recreation
Women
Loading lumber onto a rail car via a conveyor belt

Virginia and Rainy Lake Company

Creator: Hayden Nelson
First Published: January 21, 2026
The Virginia and Rainy Lake Company (V&RL) incorporated in 1905 and consisted of three subsidiaries: the Virginia Lumber Company; the Duluth, Virginia, and Rainy Lake Railway; and the ...
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1870–1920 (Development of Industrial US)
Business and Industry
Environment
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This Day in Minnesota History (February 15)

1822

Henry B. Whipple is born in Adams, New York. As Minnesota's first Episcopalian bishop, Whipple worked tirelessly to promote his church in the state. After moving to Faribault in 1852, he built the first Episcopal cathedral in the country, as well as the Shattuck School, Seabury Divinity School, and St. Mary's Hall. He also devoted himself to working with and for Dakota and Ojibwe people, who called him "Straight Tongue." After over 300 Dakota had been sentenced to death for participating in the US–Dakota War of 1862, Whipple interceded with President Abraham Lincoln, who then commuted many of the sentences. Whipple died in Faribault on September 16, 1901.

1870

A groundbreaking ceremony for the Northern Pacific Railroad line is held at Northern Pacific Junction, later called Carlton. The line to the Pacific Ocean, completed on September 8, 1883, with the same spike used to begin construction in Minnesota, is the first single-company transcontinental line.

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