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

    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 (October 28)

    1834

    Henry H. Sibley arrives at St. Peters (Mendota), completing a journey on horseback from Prairie du Chien.

    1919

    Congress passes the Volstead Act, setting in motion the prohibition of liquor sales nationwide. Andrew J. Volstead, congressman from Minnesota, had introduced the bill.

    1949

    President Harry S. Truman appoints Eugenie Moore Anderson of Red Wing as ambassador to Denmark, making her the United States' first woman ambassador.

    1990

    Popular candidate Jon Grunseth withdraws from the gubernatorial race. Grunseth had been affected by incumbent Rudy Perpich's mud-slinging campaign, but his candidacy was ultimately destroyed by accusations of sexual impropriety. Grunseth's withdrawal opens the door for Arne H. Carlson, state auditor, to run on the Republican ticket. Public disgust with the entire campaign helps Carlson win, and he proves to be a popular governor.

    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.