This Day in Minnesota History

August 2, 1873

The Canadian government negotiates with Canadian First Nations on US territory when the lieutenant governor of Manitoba meets with 1,000 Indigenous people at Harrison's Creek in the Northwest Angle.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 29, 1856

Missionary Stephen R. Riggs and a group of Dakota at the Upper Sioux Agency in Yellow Medicine County form the "Hazelwood Republic," a system of self-government. The republic has a president, secretary, and judges, and its members saved lives during the US–Dakota War of 1862.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 29, 1827

John S. Pillsbury is born in Sutton, New Hampshire, in 1827. After arriving in Minnesota in the 1850s, he eventually found success and wealth in the flour-milling trade. He served as the state's eighth governor, arranging for the state to repay bondholders for the $5 million loan, which the railroads had defaulted on in 1858, and using his own funds to support operations at the state penitentiary, which the legislature had neglected to include in the budget.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 30, 1805

Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike receives orders to seek the headwaters of the Mississippi River and to find a location for a fort somewhere on the upper reaches of the river. Pike did not locate the source of the river, but he did choose a site for what became Fort Snelling.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 31, 1928

The St. Paul Southern Electric Railway ends fourteen years of service between St. Paul and Hastings.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 31, 1873

Amherst Wilder signs his will, donating $2.5 million to help the needy in St. Paul. Born July 7, 1828, in Lewis, New York, Wilder moved to St. Paul in 1859 and soon found his fortune in various business ventures, including railroads, steamers, banks, real estate, and merchandising. He died November 11, 1894.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 31, 1866

Major Gouverneur Kemble Warren opens the first St. Paul office of the Army Corps of Engineers. Warren's duties include bridging the Mississippi River and installing a shipping channel from St. Louis to the Falls of St. Anthony (Owamniyomni).

This Day in Minnesota History

July 28, 1861

John A. Johnson, Minnesota's first homegrown governor, is born in St. Peter. A Horatio Alger success story, Johnson overcame poverty to become editor of the St. Peter Herald. A popular figure statewide, he was elected governor in 1905, and his oratorical skills attracted nationwide attention. He died in office on September 21, 1909, cutting short plans to make him the Democratic Party's presidential nominee in 1912.

This Day in Minnesota History

June 10, 1922

Frances Gumm, later known as actress and singer Judy Garland, is born in Grand Rapids. She died in London on June 23, 1969.

This Day in Minnesota History

July 29, 1927

Beardsley sets a state record for high temperature: 114 degrees. Moorhead equaled it on July 6, 1936.

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