MINNESOTA

The first thing that comes to mind when Minnesota is discussed is its many beautiful lakes, its wildlife and the greatest food in the world.  Minnesota is the home of numerous Scandanavian settlers, who began arriving in the area around 1851.

One must lament the removal of the earliest residents of this beautiful state, the Dakota Indians, who were the sole occupants of the Minnesota lands from early day.  They were placed in competition for the territory with the Ojibwa Indians, who had been chased from their own lands further east.  In 1679, the French fur traders began arriving in the territory.  The first known was Daniel Greysolon, Sieur Duluth, after whom the city of Duluth was named.  Greysolon claimed the area in the name of Louis XIV.  Shortly after, in 1680, Louis Hennepin of Belgium, a Catholic missionary,  arrived and began exploring the upper Mississippi River.  Hennepin was captured by the Dakota Indians, who took him to an area near present day Minneapolis.  Hennepin was the first white man to see (and name) the Falls of Saint Anthony, a 50-foot waterfall on the Mississippi River.

In 1783, The United States acquired Minnesota from Great Britain as part of the Treaty of Paris and it became a portion of the land included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.  Fort Snelling was founded in 1819 as a military post at the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers.  Minnesota came into United States possession with the Louisiana Purchase .  The area was opened to settlers after treaties were negotiated between the Dakota and Ojibwa Indians.  In 1832, Henry Rowe Schoolcraft discovered the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca.   In 1837, the land between St. Croix and the Mississippi river was ceded by the Sioux and Chippewa tribes.   Although the cost for the territorial purchase was high, the settlement of the area was disappointing. Minnesota became a U. S. Territory in 1849, but was still having Indian troubles.  By 1851 the United States failed to live up to its promises and the Dakota Indians declared was on the United States in 1862.  By the end of the war, more than 500 settlers were left dead and the remaining Dakota were banished from the area.   The Indian uprisings continued and in 1862, thirty-nine Sioux were executed as a result of rebellions.  

Minnesota became the home of Slavs, People from  Lithuania and the Balkans.  More prominent, however, were those settlers from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Canada, Finland, Poland and Russia.  One of the most remarkable historical finds in this area is said to be the Kensington Rune Stone, which records a Viking Visit as far back as the 14th century.  Minnesota achieved official statehood as our 32nd State on 11 May 1858. 

Those searching in Minnesota in the earlier days will find mention of a town called Pig's Eye Landing--this rather unusual name was later changed to the more dignified name of St. Paul.

MINNESOTA RESEARCH LINKS