Minnesota locusts of the 1870s

Minnesota locusts of the 1870s

Minnesota locusts (grasshoppers), c.1870s. Photograph by Jacoby's Art Gallery.

Grangers versus Grasshoppers

Grangers versus Grasshoppers

"Grangers versus Grasshoppers, or the irrepressible conflict," carte-de-visite, c.1880.

Locust Egg Map of Minnesota, 1877

Locust Egg Map of Minnesota, 1877

Locust egg map of Minnesota, 1877. Showing the areas where eggs were deposited by the Rocky Mountain locust in 1873, 1874, 1875, and 1876. Author: Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota.

MN90: A 19th Century Grasshopper Disaster

During the 1870s, grasshopper plagues made life miserable for Minnesota's farmers. The insects traveled in swarms so large they darkened the sky, destroying crops and farmers’ livelihoods along the way. Learn more about the government response to the crisis and the lasting damage that was left behind.

Grasshopper Plagues, 1873–1877

On June 12, 1873, farmers in southwestern Minnesota saw what looked like a snowstorm coming towards their fields from the west. What seemed to be snowflakes were in fact grasshoppers. In a matter of hours, knee-high fields of grass and wheat were eaten to the ground by hungry hoppers.

Aerial view, Clarks Grove

Aerial view, Clarks Grove

Aerial view of Clarks Grove, 1972. Photograph by Vincent H. Mart. Clarks Grove became a village because of the business that the creamery attracted.

Dairy Hall, farm campus, St. Paul

Dairy Hall, farm campus, St. Paul

Dairy Hall, University of Minnesota farm campus, St. Paul, c.1910.

Theophilus L. Haecker in his study

Theophilus L. Haecker in his study

Theophilus L. Haecker in his study, c.1900.

Theophilus L. Haecker

Theophilus L. Haecker

Theophilus L. Haecker, c.1866, a dairy science professor at the University of Minnesota who made the Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery famous.

Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery

Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery

Clarks Grove Cooperative Creamery, 1937. Photographer: Everett E. Edwards.

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