184-403: The history of the U.S. state of Minnesota is shaped by its original Native American residents, European exploration and settlement , and the emergence of industries made possible by the state's natural resources. Early economic growth was based on fur trading, logging, milling and farming, and later through railroads and iron mining. The earliest known settlers followed herds of large game to
368-418: A palisade erected around the encampment on Pike Island, just below the fort, to protect native people from the soldiers and settlers. Conditions there were poor and between 125 and 300 died of disease. Around 400 Dakota men were tried after the war. 303 were sentenced to death, but Abraham Lincoln reviewed the convictions and approved 39 of the death sentences. In December 1862, 38 of them were hanged, this
552-467: A Dakota tribe in 1680. While with the tribe, they came across and named the Falls of Saint Anthony . Soon, Du Lhut was able to obtain through negotiation the release of Hennepin's party. Hennepin returned to Europe and wrote a book, Description of Louisiana , published in 1683, about his travels; many portions, including the part about Saint Anthony Falls, were strongly embellished. As an example, he described
736-471: A difficult time writing a state constitution. A constitutional convention was assembled in July 1857, but Republicans and Democrats were deeply divided. In fact, they formed two separate constitutional conventions and drafted two separate constitutions. Eventually, the two groups formed a conference committee and worked out a common constitution. The divisions continued, though, because Republicans refused to sign
920-497: A diverse population in terms of age, birthplace, ancestry, and socioeconomic status, with a well-educated populace and a median household income around $ 77,000. Minnesota's racial demographics have significantly diversified since its early settlement period. As of 2020, according to U.S. census data, the white population had fallen to 77.5% from over 98% in the early to mid-20th century. Concurrently, other racial populations have markedly increased. The Black population has risen to 7%,
1104-417: A document that had Democratic signatures on it, and vice versa. One copy of the constitution was written on white paper and signed only by Republicans, while the other copy was written on blue-tinged paper and signed by Democrats. These copies were signed on August 29, 1857. An election was called on October 13, 1857, where Minnesota residents would vote to approve or disapprove the constitution. The constitution
1288-735: A geological survey of the Minnesota River Valley and wrote an account, entitled A Canoe Voyage up the Minnay Sotor . Joseph Nicollet scouted the area in the late 1830s, exploring and mapping the Upper Mississippi River basin, the St. Croix River , and the land between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers . He and John C. Frémont left their mark in the southwest part of the state, carving their names in
1472-465: A good site for future mills. Since the land on the west side was still part of the military reservation, Stevens made a deal with Fort Snelling's commander. Stevens would provide free ferry service across the river in exchange for a tract of 160 acres (0.65 km) at the head of the falls. Stevens received the claim and built a house, the first house in Minneapolis, in 1850. In 1854, Stevens platted
1656-477: A group of Ojibwa headed by Ozaawindib ("Yellow Head") to a lake in northern Minnesota. Schoolcraft named it Lake Itasca , combining the Latin words ver itas ("truth") and ca put ("head"). The native name for the lake was Omashkooz , meaning elk . Other explorers of the area include Zebulon Pike in 1806, Major Stephen Long in 1817, and George William Featherstonhaugh in 1835. Featherstonhaugh conducted
1840-580: A population of 429,954 in the 2020 census. Saint Paul is smaller with a population of 311,527 in 2020. Minneapolis-Saint Paul are the core of the MPLS metropolitan area with a population of 3,690,261 as of 2020, with a total state population of 5,706,494. Henry Hastings Sibley built the first stone house in the Minnesota Territory in Mendota in 1838, along with other limestone buildings used by
2024-456: A population shift from rural areas to cities. The Great Depression brought layoffs in mining and tension in labor relations, but New Deal programs helped the state. After World War II, Minnesota became known for technology, fueled by early computer companies Sperry Rand , Control Data , and Cray . The Twin Cities also became a regional center for the arts, with cultural institutions such as
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#17327823998632208-433: A shoemaker from Massachusetts, visited the area in 1767 as part of another expedition. He and the rest of the exploration party were only able to stay for a relatively short period, due to a lack of supplies. They headed back east to Fort Michilimackinac , where Carver wrote journals about the trip, though others would later claim the stories were largely plagiarized . The stories were published in 1778, but Carver died before
2392-547: A staple crop in the region, and corn farther to the south. Within a few hundred years, the Mississippian culture reached into the southeast portion of the state, and large villages were formed. The Dakota Native American culture may have descended from some of the peoples of the Mississippian culture. When Europeans first started exploring Minnesota, the region was inhabited primarily by tribes of Dakota , with
2576-616: A state containing both prairie and forest lands. The state was bounded on the south by Iowa, on the east by Wisconsin, on the north by Canada, and on the west by the Red River of the North and the Bois de Sioux River , Lake Traverse , Big Stone Lake , and then a line extending due south to the Iowa border. Rice made this motion based on Minnesota's population growth. At the time, tensions between
2760-485: A study by professors at the University of Minnesota Duluth , Lake Superior may have warmed faster than its surrounding area. Summer surface temperatures in the lake appeared to have increased by about 4.5 °F (2.5 °C) between 1979 and 2007, compared with an approximately 2.7 °F (1.5 °C) increase in the surrounding average air temperature. The increase in the lake's surface temperature may be related to
2944-416: A sunken body will bloat it with gas, causing it to float to the surface after a few days. But Lake Superior's water is cold enough year-round to inhibit bacterial growth , and bodies tend to sink and never resurface. Joe MacInnis reported that in July 1994, explorer Frederick Shannon's Expedition 94 to the wreck of Edmund Fitzgerald discovered a man's body near the port side of her pilothouse, not far from
3128-499: A third of the state forested . Nearly all Minnesota's prairies and oak savannas have been fragmented by farming, grazing, logging, and suburban development. While loss of habitat has affected native animals such as the pine marten , elk , woodland caribou , and bison , others like whitetail deer and bobcat thrive. Minnesota has the nation's largest population of timber wolves outside Alaska, and supports healthy populations of black bears , moose , and gophers . Located on
3312-716: A vast wilderness of pine and spruce trees mixed with patchy stands of birch and poplar . Much of Minnesota's northern forest has undergone logging, leaving only a few patches of old growth forest today in areas such as the Chippewa National Forest and the Superior National Forest , where the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness has some 400,000 acres (162,000 ha) of unlogged land. Although logging continues, regrowth and replanting keep about
3496-522: Is brackish . Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,700 square miles (82,103 km ), which is approximately the size of South Carolina or Austria . It has a maximum length of 350 statute miles (560 km ; 300 nmi ) and maximum breadth of 160 statute miles (257 km; 139 nmi). Its average depth is 80.5 fathoms (483 ft; 147 m) with a maximum depth of 222.17 fathoms (1,333 ft; 406 m). Lake Superior contains 2,900 cubic miles (12,100 km ) of water. There
3680-521: Is ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Ojibwe Gichigami ("Ojibwe's Great Sea") or ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓈᐯ ᑭᒋᑲᒥ Anishinaabe Gichigami (" Anishinaabe 's Great Sea"). The 1878 dictionary by Father Frederic Baraga , the first one written for the Ojibway language, gives the Ojibwe name as Otchipwe-kitchi-gami (a transliteration of Ojibwe Gichigami ). In the 17th century, the first French explorers approached the great inland sea by way of
3864-447: Is 600 feet (183 m) above sea level . Until approximately 1887, the natural hydraulic conveyance through the St. Marys River rapids determined the outflow from Lake Superior. By 1921, development in support of transportation and hydroelectric power resulted in gates, locks, power canals and other control structures completely spanning St. Marys rapids. The regulating structure is known as
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#17327823998634048-416: Is Bloomington's Mall of America . Minnesota is one of 45 U.S. states with its own lottery ; its games include multi-jurisdiction draws , in-house draws, and other games. Lake Superior Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest freshwater lake by volume , holding 10% of the world's surface fresh water. Located in central North America, it
4232-614: Is a 72-mile-long (116 km) corridor along the Mississippi River through the Minneapolis–St. Paul Metropolitan Area connecting a variety of sites of historic, cultural, and geologic interest. Saint Paul , in east-central Minnesota along the banks of the Mississippi River, has been Minnesota's capital city since 1849, first as capital of the Territory of Minnesota , and then as the state capital since 1858. Saint Paul
4416-489: Is a designated scenic road system connecting all of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River. Lake Superior's size reduces the severity of the seasons of its humid continental climate (more typically seen in locations like Nova Scotia ). The water surface's slow reaction to temperature changes, seasonally ranging between 32 and 55 °F (0–13 °C) around 1970, helps to moderate surrounding air temperatures in
4600-821: Is adjacent to Minnesota's most populous city, Minneapolis; they and their suburbs are collectively known as the Twin Cities metropolitan area , the country's 16th-largest metropolitan area and home to about 55% of the state's population. The remainder of the state is known as " Greater Minnesota " or "Outstate Minnesota". The state has 17 cities with populations above 50,000 as of the 2010 census. In descending order of population, they are Minneapolis , Saint Paul , Rochester , Duluth , Bloomington , Brooklyn Park , Plymouth , Saint Cloud , Woodbury , Eagan , Maple Grove , Coon Rapids , Eden Prairie , Minnetonka , Burnsville , Apple Valley , Blaine , and Lakeville . Of these, only Rochester, Duluth, and Saint Cloud are outside
4784-449: Is an unusual record of environmental nitrogen buildup. It may relate to anthropogenic alternations to the regional nitrogen cycle , but researchers are still unsure of the causes of this change to the lake's ecology. As for other Great Lakes fish, populations have also been affected by the accidental or intentional introduction of foreign species such as the sea lamprey and Eurasian ruffe . Accidental introductions have occurred in part by
4968-433: Is depicted on the state seal . In the late 1650s, Pierre Esprit Radisson and Médard des Groseilliers , while following the southern shore of Lake Superior (which would become northern Wisconsin), were probably the first Europeans to meet Dakota Native Americans . The north shore of the lake was explored in the 1660s. Among the first to do this was Claude Allouez , a missionary on Madeline Island . He made an early map of
5152-484: Is enough water in Lake Superior to cover the entire land mass of North and South America to a depth of 30 centimetres (12 in). The shoreline of the lake stretches 2,726 miles (4,387 km) (including islands). The lake boasts a very small ratio (1.55) of catchment area to surface area, which indicates minimal terrestrial influence. American limnologist J. Val Klump was the first person to reach
5336-924: Is fed by more than 200 rivers, including the Nipigon River , the St. Louis River , the Pigeon River , the Pic River , the White River , the Michipicoten River , the Bois Brule River and the Kaministiquia River . The lake's outlet at St. Marys River has a relatively steep gradient with rapids. The Soo Locks enable ships to bypass the rapids and to overcome the 25-foot (8 m) height difference between Lakes Superior and Huron. The lake's average surface elevation
5520-516: Is home to 11 federally recognized Native American reservations (seven Ojibwe, four Dakota), and its culture, demographics, and religious landscape reflect Scandinavian and German influence. This heritage continues to affect the state's racial demographics, making it one of the country's least diverse states, but in recent decades, Minnesota has become more multicultural, due to both larger domestic migration and immigration from Latin America, Asia,
5704-532: Is known as the Driftless Zone for its absence of glacial drift . Much of the remainder of the state has 50 feet (15 m) or more of glacial till left behind as the last glaciers retreated. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago. Its flatbed now is the fertile Red River valley, and its outflow, glacial River Warren , carved the valley of the Minnesota River and
History of Minnesota - Misplaced Pages Continue
5888-548: Is now a historic site operated by the Minnesota Historical Society . Fort Snelling was largely responsible for the establishment of the city of Minneapolis . The fort garrison built roads, planted crops, and built a grist mill and a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls . Later, Franklin Steele came to Fort Snelling as the post sutler . He established interests in lumbering and operated the ferries serving
6072-592: Is the Ard Godfrey house, built in 1848, and lived in by Ard and Harriet Godfrey. The house of John H. Stevens , the first house on the west bank in Minneapolis, was moved several times, finally to Minnehaha Park in south Minneapolis in 1896. On August 26, 1848, shortly after Wisconsin was admitted to the Union, a convention of sixty-one met in Stillwater to petition Congress to create a Minnesota Territory from
6256-469: Is the deepest lake in the United States and deeper than Lake Superior, Crater Lake's elevation is higher and consequently its deepest point is 4,229 feet (1,289 m) above sea level.) While the temperature of the surface of Lake Superior varies seasonally, the temperature below 110 fathoms (660 ft; 200 m) is an almost constant 39 °F (4 °C). This variation in temperature makes
6440-408: Is the largest at 962,700 acres (389,600 ha; 3,896 km ) and deepest (at 1,290 ft (390 m)) body of water in the state. Minnesota has 6,564 natural rivers and streams that cumulatively flow for 69,000 miles (111,000 km). The Mississippi River begins its journey from its headwaters at Lake Itasca and crosses the Iowa border 680 miles (1,090 km) downstream. It is joined by
6624-517: Is the largest mass execution in United States history. In early 1863, Ramsey resigned as governor to become the Federal Indian Commissioner . His successor, Governor Henry Swift , raised the bounty to $ 200/scalp. A total of $ 325 was paid out to four people collecting bounties, including for Little Crow who was killed in July 1863. Upon becoming Indian Commissioner, Ramsey set out to get Ojibwe lands too. In 1863 he negotiated
6808-580: Is the northernmost and westernmost of the Great Lakes of North America , straddling the Canada–United States border with the Canadian province of Ontario to the north and east and the U.S. states of Minnesota to the west and Michigan and Wisconsin to the south. It drains into Lake Huron via St. Marys River , then through the lower Great Lakes to the St. Lawrence River and ultimately
6992-608: The 1st Minnesota Infantry Regiment were the first soldiers offered to fight for the Union Army . Minnesota had more than 24,000 troops serve in the Civil War, about one-seventh of the state's population in 1860. Nearly 3,000 lost their lives to battlefield wounds or disease. The 1st Minnesota changed the course of the decisive Battle of Gettysburg . Desperate to make time for reinforcements to arrive, on Gettysburg 's second day, July 2, 1863, General Winfield Scott Hancock sent
7176-695: The American Fur Company , which bought animal pelts at that location from 1825 to 1853. Another area of early economic development in Minnesota was the logging industry. Loggers found the white pine especially valuable, and it was plentiful in the northeastern section of the state and in the St. Croix River valley. Before railroads, lumbermen relied mostly on river transportation to bring logs to market, which made Minnesota's timber resources attractive. Towns like Pine City , Marine on St. Croix and Stillwater became important lumber centers fed by
7360-729: The Baudette Fire of 1910 and the Cloquet Fire of 1918. Saint Anthony, on the east bank of the Mississippi River later became part of Minneapolis, and was an important lumber milling center supplied by the Rum River . In 1848, businessman Franklin Steele built the first private sawmill on the Saint Anthony Falls, and more sawmills quickly followed. The oldest wood-frame home still standing in Saint Anthony
7544-658: The Fauk , Sauk , and Missouria ). The economy of these tribes was chiefly based on hunter-gatherer activities. There was also a small group of Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) Native Americans near Long Prairie , who later moved to a reservation in Blue Earth County in 1855. At some early point, the Missouria moved south into what is now Missouri, the Menominee ceded much of their westernmost lands and withdrew closer to
History of Minnesota - Misplaced Pages Continue
7728-639: The Grand Island National Recreation Area ) in Michigan. The larger cities on Lake Superior include the twin ports of Duluth, Minnesota , and Superior, Wisconsin ; Thunder Bay , Ontario; Marquette, Michigan ; and the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan , and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario . Duluth-Superior , at the western end of Lake Superior, is the most inland point on the Saint Lawrence Seaway and
7912-530: The Guthrie Theater , Minnesota Orchestra , and Walker Art Center . The oldest known human remains in Minnesota, dating back about 9,000 years ago, were discovered near Browns Valley in 1933. "Browns Valley Man" was found with tools of the Clovis and Folsom types. Some of the earliest evidence of a sustained presence in the area comes from a site known as Bradbury Brook near Mille Lacs Lake which
8096-570: The Horn of Africa , and the Middle East. The state has the nation's largest population of Somali Americans and second-largest Hmong community . Minnesota's standard of living and level of education are among the highest in the U.S., and it is ranked among the best states in metrics such as employment, median income, safety, and governance. The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota name for
8280-710: The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 provided the tribes with a mechanism of self-government. This gave Natives a greater voice within the state and promoted more respect for tribal customs because religious ceremonies and native languages were no longer suppressed. After World War II, industrial development quickened. New technology increased farm productivity through automation of feedlots for hogs and cattle, machine milking at dairy farms, and raising chickens in large buildings. Planting became more specialized, with hybridization of corn and wheat, and farm machinery such as tractors and combines became
8464-705: The Jeffers Petroglyphs site in southwest Minnesota. The exposed Sioux Quartzite rock is dotted with several thousand petroglyphs thought to date to the Late Archaic Period (3000 BC to 1000 BC) . Around 700 BC, burial mounds were first created, and the practice continued until the arrival of Europeans, when 10,000 to 11,000 such mounds dotted the state. The Hopewell burial mounds in Saint Paul are protected from invasive modern tourism. Archaeologists believe native peoples discovered
8648-563: The Lower Sioux Agency , Fort Ridgely , Birch Coulee , and Wood Lake punctuated a six-week war, which ended with the trial of 425 Indians for their participation in the war. Of this number, 303 were convicted and sentenced to death. Bishop Henry Benjamin Whipple pled to President Abraham Lincoln for clemency, and the death sentences of all but 39 Sioux were reduced to prison terms. On December 26, 1862, 38 Sioux were hanged in
8832-515: The Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, known as the "Twin Cities", which is Minnesota's main political , economic , and cultural hub and the 16th-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. Other minor metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas include Duluth , Mankato , Moorhead , Rochester , and St. Cloud . Minnesota, which gets its name from the Dakota language , has been inhabited by various Native Americans since
9016-500: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources . The Chippewa and Superior national forests comprise 5.5 million acres (22,000 km ). The Superior National Forest in the northeast contains the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness , which encompasses over a million acres (4,000 km ) and a thousand lakes. To its west is Voyageurs National Park . The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (MNRRA)
9200-526: The Minnesota River at Fort Snelling, by the St. Croix River near Hastings , by the Chippewa River at Wabasha , and by many smaller streams. The Red River drains the northwest part of the state northward toward Canada's Hudson Bay. Approximately 10.6 million acres (4,300,000 ha; 43,000 km ) of wetlands are within Minnesota's borders, the most of any state outside Alaska. Minnesota has four ecological provinces: prairie parkland, in
9384-659: The Minnesota River , which got its name from one of two words in Dakota: " mní sóta ", which means "clear blue water", or " Mníssota ", which means "cloudy water". Early explorers interpreted the Dakota name for the Minnesota River in different ways, and four spellings of the state's name were considered before settling on "Minnesota" in 1849, when the Territory of Minnesota was formed. Dakota people demonstrated
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#17327823998639568-681: The Mississippi Flyway , Minnesota hosts migratory waterfowl such as geese and ducks , and game birds such as grouse , pheasants , and turkeys . It is home to birds of prey , including the largest number of breeding pairs of bald eagles in the lower 48 states as of 2007, red-tailed hawks , and snowy owls . Hawk Ridge is one of the premier birdwatching sites in North America. The lakes teem with sport fish such as walleye , bass , muskellunge , and northern pike , while brook , brown , and rainbow trout populate streams in
9752-614: The Ojibwa (sometimes called Chippewa, or Anishinaabe) beginning to migrate westward into the state around 1700. (Other sources suggest the Ojibwe reached Minnesota by 1620 or earlier.) There were also the Chiwere Ioway in the southwest, and possibly the Menominee in some parts of the southeast as well as other tribes which could have been either Algonquian or Chiwere to the northeast, alongside Lake Superior (possibilities include
9936-695: The Ottawa River and Lake Huron; they referred to their discovery as le lac supérieur (the upper lake, i.e., above Lake Huron). Some 17th-century Jesuit missionaries referred to it as Lac Tracy (for Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy ). After taking control of the region from the French in the 1760s following their defeat in the French and Indian War , the British anglicized the lake's name to Superior , "on account of its being superior in magnitude to any of
10120-491: The Treaty of Old Crossing , whereby the Ojibwe ceded all their land in northern Minnesota and moved to reservations. Logging, farming, and railroads were mainstays of Minnesota's early economy. The sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls and logging centers of Pine City , Marine on St. Croix , Stillwater , and Winona processed vast quantities of timber. These cities were on rivers that were ideal for transportation. St. Anthony Falls
10304-809: The Upper Mississippi Valley . Long recorded his experiences of the expedition in a journal, which was first published as Voyage in a Six-Oared Skiff to the Falls of St. Anthony , by the Minnesota Historical Society in 1860. In 1822 the Earl of Selkirk acquired a controlling interest in the Hudson's Bay Company . Through the Company he acquired 116,000 square miles (300,000 km) of land that today (2021) make up Manitoba and
10488-400: The Whitefish Point Underwater Preserve . Storms that claimed multiple ships include the Mataafa Storm in November 1905 and the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 . Wreckage of SS Cyprus —a 420-foot (130 m) ore carrier that sank on October 11, 1907, during a Lake Superior storm in 77 fathoms (460 ft or 140 m) of water—was located in August 2007. Built in Lorain, Ohio , Cyprus
10672-412: The Woodland period of the 11th century BCE. Between roughly 200 and 500 CE, two areas of the indigenous Hopewell tradition emerged: the Laurel complex in the north, and Trempealeau Hopewell in the Mississippi River Valley in the south. The Upper Mississippian culture , consisting of the Oneota people and other Siouan speakers, emerged around 1000 CE and lasted through the arrival of Europeans in
10856-513: The catlinite deposit at Pipestone over 3,000 years ago. Word of its existence spread and a quarry developed that was sacred ground to the native peoples across a vast area. When the French Voyageurs arrived in the region in the 1600s they learned of the quarry in their bartering with the indigenous peoples. In 1858, the same year Minnesota became a state, the Yankton Sioux Tribe signed the Yankton Treaty in which they gave up their lands in western Minnesota and South Dakota . However, section 8 of
11040-474: The pipestone quarries near Winnewissa Falls (an area now part of Pipestone National Monument , in Pipestone County ). Henry Wadsworth Longfellow never explored the state, but he did help to make it popular. In 1855 he published The Song of Hiawatha , which contains references to many places in Minnesota. The story is based on Ojibwa legends carried back east by other explorers and traders (particularly those collected by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft ). All of
11224-462: The 17th and 18th centuries. 19th-century European settlers, especially Scandinavians, established Protestant denominations, particularly Lutheranism . Catholicism also continued to be significant due to Irish immigrants, and the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis serves a substantial Catholic community. The 20th and 21st centuries witnessed growth in other Christian denominations and non-Christian religions due to further immigration, leading to
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#173278239986311408-403: The 17th century. French explorers and missionaries were the earliest Europeans to enter the region, encountering the Dakota , Ojibwe , and various Anishinaabe tribes. Much of what is now Minnesota formed part of the vast French holding of Louisiana , which the United States purchased in 1803. After several territorial reorganizations, the Minnesota Territory was admitted to the Union as
11592-485: The 1880s and established small communities near Granite Falls , Morton , Prior Lake , and Red Wing . When the United States entered the First World War , Minnesota's National Guard was activated for federal service. To fill that void the State created the Minnesota Home Guard . The 16th Battalion was the first African American unit formed by the State of Minnesota. Companies A, B, and band were formed in St. Paul while C and D Companies came from Minneapolis. Because of
11776-429: The 19th century, the northeastern portion of the state was a part of the Northwest Territory , then the Illinois Territory , then the Michigan Territory , and finally the Wisconsin Territory . The western and southern areas of the state, although theoretically part of the Wisconsin Territory from its creation in 1836, were not formally organized until 1838, when they became part of the Iowa Territory . Fort Snelling
11960-422: The 262 members of 1st Minnesota to halt a Confederate assault. They succeeded in capturing a Confederate flag and held the line for the Union, but all but 47 of them were killed, wounded, or captured. The regiment lost 17 more facing Pickett's Charge to end the battle the next day. Lt. Col. William F. Fox wrote that "the percentage of loss in the First Minnesota, Gibbon's Division [is] without an equal in
12144-404: The 32nd state in 1858. Minnesota's official motto, L'Étoile du Nord ("The Star of the North") is the only state motto in French . This phrase was adopted shortly after statehood and reflects both the state's early French explorers and its position as the northernmost state in the contiguous U.S. As part of the American frontier , Minnesota attracted settlers and homesteaders from across
12328-486: The Asian population to 5.3%, and those identifying as two or more races to 6.1%. In the 2017 American Community Survey , 5.1% of Minnesota's population were of Hispanic or Latino origin (of any race): Mexican (3.5%), Puerto Rican (0.2%), Cuban (0.1%), and other Hispanic or Latino origin (1.2%). The ancestry groups claimed by more than 5% of the population were German (33.8%), Norwegian (15.3%), Irish (10.5%), Swedish (8.1%), and English (5.4%). Minnesota has
12512-416: The Atlantic Ocean. The Ojibwe name for the lake is gichi-gami (in syllabics : ᑭᒋᑲᒥ , pronounced gitchi-gami or kitchi-gami in different dialects), meaning "great sea". Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote this name as " Gitche Gumee " in the poem The Song of Hiawatha , as did Gordon Lightfoot in his song " The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald ". According to other sources, the full Ojibwe name
12696-400: The Compensating Works and is operated according to a regulation plan known as Plan 1977-A. Water levels, including diversions of water from the Hudson Bay watershed, are regulated by the International Lake Superior Board of Control , which was established in 1914 by the International Joint Commission . Lake Superior's water level was at a new record low in September 2007, slightly less than
12880-413: The Dakota people, and dislocated the Mdewakanton from their homelands along Mille Lacs Lake . Explorers such as Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut , Father Louis Hennepin , Jonathan Carver , Henry Schoolcraft , and Joseph Nicollet mapped the state. The region was part of Spanish Louisiana from 1762 to 1802. The portion of the state east of the Mississippi River became part of the United States at
13064-405: The Dakota were destitute, even starving because of the loss of habitat of huntable game. Dakota had signed the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux and Treaty of Mendota in 1851. They were given a strip of land of 10 miles (16 km) north and south of the Minnesota River , but were later forced to sell the northern half. In 1862, crop failures left the Dakota with food shortages, and government money
13248-526: The Hudson's Bay Company name. Many towns around the lake are current or former mining areas, or engaged in processing or shipping. Today, tourism is another significant industry: the sparsely populated Lake Superior country, with its rugged shorelines and wilderness, attracts vacationers and adventurers. Lake Superior has been an important link in the Great Lakes Waterway , providing a route for
13432-612: The Midcontinent Rift, and there are several amethyst mines in the Thunder Bay area. Lava erupted from the rift and formed the black basalt rock of Michipicoten Island, Black Bay Peninsula, and St. Ignace Island . In the most recent geological history, during the Wisconsin glaciation 10,000 years ago, ice covered the region at a thickness of 1.25 miles (2 km). The land contours familiar today were carved by
13616-674: The Minnesota River valley. In the weeks that followed, Dakota warriors killed hundreds of settlers, causing thousands to flee the area. The six-week war ended with the defeat of the eastern Dakota and 2,000 in custody, who were eventually exiled to the Crow Creek Reservation by the Great Sioux Reservation in Dakota Territory . The remaining 4,500 to 5,000 Dakota mostly fled the state into Rupert's Land . As many as 800 settlers were killed during
13800-780: The Minnesota State Demographic Center, Minnesota had a population of about 5.7 million in 2020, making it the 22nd-most populous U.S. state. Its fertility rate in 2021 was slightly below the replacement rate at 1.75, but the state has seen growth over the past century through more births than deaths, and significant immigration. A destination for European immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, primarily from Scandinavia , Germany , and Ireland , it now attracts people from Latin America , primarily Mexico ; East Africa , particularly Somalis and Ethiopians ; and South and Southeast Asia , especially Hmong , Vietnamese , and Indians . The state has
13984-474: The Minnesota and Mississippi rivers to create a military reservation. The construction of Fort Snelling followed between 1819 and 1825. Its soldiers built a grist mill and a sawmill at Saint Anthony Falls , which were harbingers of the water-powered industries around which Minneapolis later grew. Meanwhile, squatters, government officials, and others had settled near the fort; in 1839 the army forced them off military lands, and most moved downriver, just outside
14168-508: The Minnesota statehood bill was delayed. After that, Northerners feared that Minnesota's Democratic delegation would support slavery in Kansas. Finally, after the Kansas question was settled and after Congress decided how many representatives Minnesota would get in the House of Representatives, the bill passed. The eastern half of the Minnesota Territory, under the boundaries defined by Rice, became
14352-612: The Red River Colony in the 1820s, they entered United States territory along the Red River Valley, going south to Fort Snelling. The region had been occupied by Métis people , the children of voyageurs and Native Americans, since the middle of the 17th century. Several efforts were made to find the source of the Mississippi River . The true source was found in 1832 when Henry Schoolcraft was guided by
14536-581: The St. Croix River, while Winona became an important lumber market because of its proximity to farms that were developing in the south of the state. The unregulated logging practices of the time and a severe drought took their toll in 1894, when the Great Hinckley Fire ravaged 480 square miles (1,200 km) in the Hinckley and Sandstone areas of Pine County , killing over 400 residents. The combination of logging and drought struck again in
14720-636: The Territory: Mendota/Fort Snelling to Wabasha, Point Douglas to Fort Ripley/Crow River Indian Agency, Mendota/Fort Snelling to the Missouri River, Point Douglas to Superior, and Fort Ripley Road to Long Prairie Indian Agency. The populations of Saint Paul and Saint Anthony swelled. Henry M. Rice (D), who replaced Sibley as the territorial delegate in 1853, worked in Congress to promote Minnesota interests. He lobbied for
14904-678: The Twin Cities metropolitan area, which became the Metropolitan Council in 1967. In 1971, under Governor Wendell Anderson , a series of legislation called the "Minnesota Miracle" led to a broad reform in financing of Minnesota public schools and local governments that created a fairer distribution in taxation and education. Two postwar Minnesota governors, former dentist Rudy Perpich and former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura , attracted national attention for their unconventional manner, but both enjoyed some popularity within
15088-487: The Twin Cities metropolitan area. Minnesota's population continues to grow, primarily in the urban centers. The populations of metropolitan Sherburne and Scott counties doubled between 1980 and 2000, while 40 of the state's 87 counties lost residents over the same period. The United States Navy has recognized multiple Minnesota communities . According to the United States Census Bureau and
15272-485: The U.S. government and the eastern Dakota and Ojibwe gradually forced the natives off their lands and onto reservations . As conditions deteriorated for the eastern Dakota, tensions rose, leading to the Dakota War of 1862 . The conflict was ignited when four young Dakota men killed a family of white settlers on August 17. That night, a faction of Little Crow 's eastern Dakota decided to try to drive all settlers out of
15456-579: The U.S. government had opened much of Minnesota to settlement, so Fort Snelling no longer was a frontier outpost. It served as a training center for soldiers during the American Civil War and later as the headquarters for the Department of Dakota. A portion has been designated as Fort Snelling National Cemetery where over 160,000 are interred. During World War II, the fort served as a training center for nearly 300,000 inductees. Fort Snelling
15640-456: The US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race. Once primarily a producer of raw materials, Minnesota's economy has transformed to emphasize finished products and services. Perhaps the most significant characteristic of the economy is its diversity;
15824-456: The United States' first shot of World War II . Like other U.S. States, Minnesota contributed to the war effort. The United States Navy gave Cargill shipbuilding contracts after seeing their ability to build ships and barges for transporting grain. From facilities in Savage, Minnesota on the south bank of the Minnesota River, Cargill launched 18 refueling ships and 4 towboats for the war. After
16008-486: The Upper Mississippi downstream from Fort Snelling . Minnesota is geologically quiet today; it experiences earthquakes infrequently, most of them minor. The state's high point is Eagle Mountain at 2,301 feet (701 m), which is only 13 miles (21 km) away from the low point of 601 feet (183 m) at the shore of Lake Superior. Notwithstanding dramatic local differences in elevation, much of
16192-483: The advance and retreat of the ice sheet . The retreat left gravel, sand, clay and boulder deposits. Glacial meltwaters gathered in the Superior basin creating Lake Minong , a precursor to Lake Superior. Without the immense weight of the ice, the land rebounded , and a drainage outlet formed at Sault Ste. Marie, becoming today's St. Mary's River. The first people came to the Lake Superior region 10,000 years ago after
16376-528: The area and began trading with the local tribes. Du Lhut explored the western area of Lake Superior, near his namesake, the city of Duluth, and areas south of there. He helped to arrange a peace treaty between the Dakota and Ojibwa tribes in 1679. Father Louis Hennepin , with companions Michel Aco and Antoine Auguelle (a.k.a. Picard Du Gay), headed north from the area of modern Illinois after coming into that area with an exploration party headed by René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle . They were captured by
16560-591: The area in 1671. Around this time, the Ojibwa Native Americans reached Minnesota as part of a westward migration. Having come from a region around Maine, they had experience dealing with European traders. They sold furs and purchased guns. Tensions rose between the Ojibwa and Dakota in the ensuing years. In 1671, France signed a treaty with a number of tribes to allow trade. Shortly thereafter, French trader Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut , arrived in
16744-513: The area that became Minneapolis , while others settled downriver in the area that became Saint Paul . Minnesota's legal identity was created as the Minnesota Territory in 1849, and it became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858. After the chaos of the American Civil War and the Dakota War of 1862 ended, the state's economy grew when its timber and agriculture resources were developed. Railroads attracted immigrants, established
16928-575: The arrival of Europeans, the Anishinaabe made themselves middle-men between the French fur traders and other Native peoples. They soon became the dominant Native American nation in the region: they forced out the Sioux and Fox and won a victory against the Iroquois west of Sault Ste. Marie in 1662. By the mid-18th century, the Ojibwe occupied all of Lake Superior's shores. In the 18th century, as
17112-787: The bigotry the soldiers experienced at enlistment, they insisted their officers be black. When the war ended the Home guard was disbanded, however, there was community support for the 16th being incorporated into the National guard. Instead, in April 1919, the Minnesota Legislature approved the formation of the First Infantry Battalion of the Minnesota Militia. It was segregated and not an official unit of
17296-452: The book earned him much money. Carver County and Carver's Cave ( Wakan Tipi ) are named for him. In 1817, Major Stephen Harriman Long headed a military excursion up the Mississippi River to the Falls of St. Anthony near the confluence with the Minnesota River . As a result of his recommendations, the Army established Fort Snelling to guard against Indian incursions against settlers in
17480-551: The booming fur trade supplied Europe with beaver hats , the Hudson's Bay Company had a virtual monopoly in the region until 1783, when the rival North West Company was formed. The North West Company built forts on Lake Superior at Grand Portage , Fort William , Nipigon, the Pic River, the Michipicoten River, and Sault Ste. Marie. But by 1821, with competition harming the profits of both, the companies merged under
17664-725: The boundary between Minnesota and British North America was not addressed until the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 , which set the U.S.–Canada border at the 49th parallel west of the Lake of the Woods (except for a small chunk of land now dubbed the Northwest Angle ). Border disputes east of Lake of the Woods continued until the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842. During the first half of
17848-429: The city of Minneapolis on the west bank. Later, in 1872, Minneapolis absorbed the city of Saint Anthony. The city of Saint Paul, Minnesota is also a Fort Snelling development. Squatters , mostly from the ill-fated Red River Colony in what is now Manitoba , established a camp near the fort. The commandant of Fort Snelling, Major Joseph Plympton , found their presence problematic because they were using resources that
18032-462: The climate of Minnesota warmed significantly. As large animals such as mammoths became extinct, native people changed their diet. They gathered nuts, berries, and vegetables, and they hunted smaller animals such as deer, bison, and birds. The stone tools found from this era became smaller and more specialized to use these new food sources. They also devised new techniques for catching fish, such as fish hooks, nets, and harpoons. Around 5000 BC, people on
18216-546: The construction of a railroad connecting Saint Paul and Lake Superior, with a link from Saint Paul to the Illinois Central . Another military road would run from Fort Ridgely to South Pass, Nebraska Territory . In December 1856, Henry Mower Rice brought forward two bills in Congress: an enabling act that would allow Minnesota to form a state constitution, and a railroad land grant bill. Rice's enabling act defined
18400-526: The country's 32nd state on May 11, 1858. The western part remained unorganized until its incorporation into the Dakota Territory on March 2, 1861. When news broke in 1861 that Fort Sumter had been fired on, Gov. Ramsey happened to be in Washington, D.C., and rushed to the White House to give President Abraham Lincoln Minnesota's support, being the first Union governor to do so. The soldiers of
18584-480: The country's largest Somali population, and the largest Hmong population per capita. Minnesota also has the largest Norwegian American and Swedish American populations. Since the 1960s, Minnesota's immigrant population has been shaped by its status as a major area for refugee resettlement. As of 2018, Minnesota had the largest refugee population per capita of any state, with 2% of the country's population but 13% of its refugees. The largest groups of refugees over
18768-503: The country. Its growth was initially based on timber, agriculture, and railroad construction. Into the early 20th century, European immigrants arrived in significant numbers, particularly from Scandinavia , Germany, and Central Europe . Many were linked to the failed revolutions of 1848 , which partly influenced the state's development as a center of labor and social activism . Minnesota's rapid industrialization and urbanization precipitated major social, economic, and political changes in
18952-495: The datum. 2019 and 2020 set new high-water records in nearly every month. Historic low water The lake's lowest levels occur in March and April. The normal low-water mark is 0.33 feet (0.10 m) below the datum. In the winter of 1926 Lake Superior reached its lowest recorded level at 1.58 feet (0.48 m) below the datum. Additionally, the entire first half of the year (January to June) included record low months. The low water
19136-401: The decreasing ice cover. Less winter ice cover allows more solar radiation to penetrate and warm the water. If trends continue, Lake Superior, which freezes over completely once every 20 years, could routinely be ice-free by 2040 although more current data through 2021 does not support this trend. Warmer temperatures could lead to more snow in the lake effect snow belts along the shores of
19320-623: The direct ancestors of the Ojibwe and Cree . The people of the Laurel complex (c. 500 BC to AD 500) developed seine net fishing, evidence being found at rivers around Superior such as the Pic and Michipicoten. The people of the Terminal Woodland period were evident in the area from AD 900 to 1650. They were Algonquian peoples who hunted, fished and gathered berries. They used snowshoes , birch bark canoes and conical or domed lodges. At
19504-687: The end of the American Revolutionary War , when the Second Treaty of Paris was signed. Land west of the Mississippi was acquired with the Louisiana Purchase , though the Hudson's Bay Company disputed the Red River Valley until the Treaty of 1818 , when the border on the 49th parallel was agreed upon. In 1805, Zebulon Pike bargained with Native Americans to acquire land at the confluence of
19688-667: The establishment of Buddhist , Hmong folk religion , Muslim , and Hindu communities, as well as a sizable Jewish community. A growing number of people identify as non-religious , in line with national trends. As of 2014, 74% of Minnesotans identified as Christian, 5% belonged to non-Christian faiths, and 20% identified as religiously unaffiliated, according to the Pew Research Center. The Spanish, Cushite, Beja, Somali, Miao, Hmong, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Amharic, Karen, and Niger-Congo languages are spoken in Minnesota. ( NH = Non-Hispanic ) Note:
19872-535: The falls as having a drop of 50 to 60 feet (15–18 m), when they were really only about 16 feet (4.9 m). Pierre-Charles Le Sueur explored the Minnesota River to the Blue Earth area around 1700. He thought the blue earth was a source of copper, and he told stories about the possibility of mineral wealth, but there actually was no copper in it. Explorers searching for the fabled Northwest Passage and large inland seas in North America continued to pass through
20056-456: The far northeast to 160 days in southeast Minnesota near the Mississippi River. Average temperatures range from 37 to 49 °F (3 to 9 °C). Average summer dewpoints range from about 58 °F (14 °C) in the south to about 48 °F (9 °C) in the north. Average annual precipitation ranges from 19 to 35 inches (48 to 89 cm). Droughts occur every 10 to 50 years. Minnesota has been affected by climate change and warmed over
20240-491: The farm economy, and brought goods to market. The power provided by St. Anthony Falls spurred the growth of Minneapolis, and the innovative milling methods gave it the title of the "milling capital of the world". New industry came from iron ore, discovered in the north, mined relatively easily from open pits , and shipped to Great Lakes steel mills from the ports at Duluth and Two Harbors . Economic development and social changes led to an expanded role for state government and
20424-559: The floor of the primordial ocean ; the remains of this volcanic rock formed the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota. The roots of these volcanic mountains and the action of Precambrian seas formed the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Since a period of volcanism 1.1 billion years ago, Minnesota's geological activity has been more subdued, with no volcanism or mountain formation, but with repeated incursions of
20608-435: The flour mills powered by St. Anthony Falls . Although less than 1% of the population is now employed in the agricultural sector, it remains a major part of the state's economy, ranking sixth in the nation in the value of products sold. The state is the nation's largest producer of sugar beets , sweet corn , and peas for processing, and farm-raised turkeys . Minnesota is also a large producer of corn and soybeans, and has
20792-668: The fort and elsewhere in territories where slavery was prohibited. After Emerson's death, the Scotts argued that since they had lived in free territory, they were no longer slaves. The U.S. Supreme Court sided against the Scotts in Dred Scott v. Sandford . Dred Scott Field, located just a short distance away in Bloomington , is named in memory of Fort Snelling's significance in one of the most important legal decisions in U.S. history. By 1851, treaties between Native American tribes and
20976-419: The fort from St. Paul and Mendota. When the Ojibwe signed a treaty ceding lands in 1837, Steele staked a claim to land on the east side of the Mississippi River adjacent to Saint Anthony Falls. In 1848, he built a sawmill at the falls, and the community of Saint Anthony developed along the east side of the falls. Steele told one of his employees, John H. Stevens , that land on the west side of the falls would make
21160-413: The fort required; timber, firewood and grazing lands around the fort. Plympton banned lumbering and evicted the squatters from the military reservation. As a result, they moved four miles downstream on the Mississippi River to Fountain cave. This location was not quite far enough for Plympton, so the squatters were forced out again. Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant , established a moonshine trade there with both
21344-432: The industry. In 2016 the state produced 60% of the country's usable iron ore. The mining boom created the port of Duluth, which continues to be important for shipping ore, coal, and agricultural products. The manufacturing sector now includes technology and biomedical firms, in addition to the older food processors and heavy industry. The nation's first indoor shopping mall was Edina's Southdale Center , and its largest
21528-556: The isolated Northwest Angle in Lake of the Woods County is the only part of the 48 contiguous states north of the 49th parallel . The state is part of the U.S. region known as the Upper Midwest and part of North America's Great Lakes region . It shares a Lake Superior water border with Michigan and a land and water border with Wisconsin to the east. Iowa is to the south, North Dakota and South Dakota are to
21712-470: The lake seasonally stratified . Twice per year, however, the water column reaches a uniform temperature of 39 °F (4 °C) from top to bottom, and the lake waters thoroughly mix. This feature makes the lake dimictic . Because of its volume, Lake Superior has a retention time of 191 years. Annual storms on Lake Superior regularly feature wave heights of over 20 feet (6 m). Waves well over 30 feet (9 m) have been recorded. Lake Superior
21896-800: The lake, especially in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan . Two recent consecutive winters (2013–2014 and 2014–2015) brought high ice coverage to the Great Lakes, and on March 6, 2014, overall ice coverage peaked at 92.5%, the second-highest in recorded history. Lake Superior's ice coverage further beat 2014's record in 2019, reaching 95% coverage. The largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale in Michigan. Isle Royale contains several lakes, some of which also contain islands. Other well-known islands include Madeline Island in Wisconsin, Michipicoten Island in Ontario, and Grand Island (the location of
22080-530: The lake. With 78 crewmembers dead, their sinking marked the largest loss of life on Lake Superior to date. SS Edmund Fitzgerald is the last ship that sank in Lake Superior, 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi) from Whitefish Point in a storm on November 10, 1975. The wreck was immortalized by Gordon Lightfoot in his ballad "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald " . All 29 crew members died, and no bodies were recovered. Edmund Fitzgerald
22264-571: The lakes on that vast continent". Lake Superior empties into Lake Huron via the St. Marys River and the Soo Locks (Sault Ste. Marie locks). Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by area and the third largest in volume, behind Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Tanganyika in East Africa . The Caspian Sea , while larger than Lake Superior in both surface area and volume,
22448-517: The land east of the Mississippi River was granted to the United States by the Second Treaty of Paris , which in 1783 ended the American Revolution . This included what would become modern-day Saint Paul but only part of Minneapolis, along with the northeast, north-central, and east-central portions of the future state. The western portion of the state was part of Spanish Louisiana since the Treaty of Fontainebleau (1762) . The wording of
22632-404: The largest mass execution in the United States. Many of the remaining Dakota Indians, including non-combatants were confined in a prison camp at Pike Island over the winter of 1862–1863, where between 125 and 300 died of disease. They were later exiled to the Crow Creek Reservation , and then to a reservation near Niobrara, Nebraska . A small number of Dakota Indians returned to Minnesota in
22816-513: The largest privately owned company in the United States, and Carlson Companies , the parent company of Radisson Hotels . Minnesota's per capita personal income in 2019 was $ 58,834, the thirteenth-highest in the nation. Its 2019 median household income was $ 74,593, ranking thirteenth in the U.S. and fifth among the 36 states not on the Atlantic coast. Minnesota's earliest industries were fur trading and agriculture. Minneapolis grew around
23000-615: The late 19th and early 20th centuries; the state was at the forefront of labor rights , women's suffrage , and political reform. Consequently, Minnesota is relatively unique among Midwestern states in being a reliable base for the Democratic Party , having voted for every Democratic presidential nominee since 1976, longer than any other U.S. state. Since the late 20th century, Minnesota's economy has diversified away from traditional industries such as agriculture and resource extraction to services, finance, and health care. Minnesota
23184-751: The lowest depth of Lake Superior on July 30, 1985, as part of a scientific expedition, which at 122 fathoms 1 foot (733 ft or 223 m) below sea level is the second-lowest spot in the continental interior of the United States and the third-lowest spot in the interior of the North American continent after Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada (1,503 ft or 458 m below sea level) and Iliamna Lake in Alaska 942 ft or 287 m. (Though Crater Lake
23368-524: The military reservation, to the area that became St. Paul. Minnesota was part of several territorial organizations between acquisition and statehood. From 1812 to 1821 it was part of the Territory of Missouri that corresponded with much of the Louisiana Purchase. It was briefly an unorganized territory ( 1821–1834 ) and was later consolidated with Wisconsin, Iowa and half the Dakotas to form
23552-438: The most food cooperatives per capita in the United States. Forestry remains strong, including logging , pulpwood processing and paper production, and forest products manufacturing. Minnesota was famous for its soft-ore mines, which produced a significant portion of the world's iron ore for more than a century. Although the high-grade ore is now depleted, taconite mining continues, using processes developed locally to save
23736-703: The most frequently mined. Notable production includes gold from the Hemlo mine near Marathon , copper from the Keweenaw Peninsula and the Mamainse Point Formation , iron from the Gogebic Range , silver at Silver Islet , and uranium at Theano Point. The mountains steadily eroded, depositing layers of sediments that compacted and became limestone , dolomite , taconite and the shale at Kakabeka Falls . The continental crust
23920-490: The most inland port in the world. Among the scenic places on the lake are Apostle Islands National Lakeshore , Brockway Mountain Drive on the Keweenaw Peninsula , Isle Royale National Park , Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park , Pukaskwa National Park , Lake Superior Provincial Park , Grand Island National Recreation Area, Sleeping Giant (Ontario) and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore . The Great Lakes Circle Tour
24104-533: The mouth of the Michipicoten River, nine layers of encampments have been discovered. Most of the Pukaskwa Pits were likely made during this time. The Anishinaabe people (an ethnic grouping including the Ojibwe/Chippewa ) have inhabited the Lake Superior region for over five hundred years and were preceded by the Dakota , Meskwaki (Fox) , Menominee , Nipigon, Noquet and Gros Ventres . After
24288-468: The name "St. Paul's Landing", and by 1846, when a post office was opened, the area was known as St. Paul. Before white settlement, the Mdewakanton Sioux knew the area as Im-in-i-ja Ska , meaning "White Rock", which describes the sandstone bluffs adjacent to Carver's Cave. Minneapolis and Saint Paul are collectively known as the Twin Cities . Minneapolis is the largest city in Minnesota, with
24472-455: The name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it mní sóta . Many places in the state have similar Dakota names, such as Minnehaha Falls ("curling water" or waterfall), Minneiska ("white water"), Minneota ("much water"), Minnetonka ("big water"), Minnetrista ("crooked water"), and Minneapolis, a hybrid word combining Dakota mní ("water") and - polis ( Greek for "city"). The state seal features
24656-650: The norm. University of Minnesota professor Norman Borlaug contributed to these developments as part of the Green Revolution . Increased mobility enabled more specialized jobs. Minnesota became a center of technology after World War II. Engineering Research Associates was formed in 1946 to develop computers for the United States Navy . It later merged with Remington Rand , and then became Sperry Rand . William Norris left Sperry in 1957 to form Control Data Corporation (CDC). Cray Research
24840-716: The northern and the southern United States were growing, in a series of conflicts that eventually resulted in the American Civil War. There was little debate in the United States House of Representatives , but when Stephen A. Douglas introduced the bill in the United States Senate , it caused a firestorm of debate. Northerners saw their chance to add two senators to the side of the free states , while Southerners were sure that they would lose power. Many senators offered polite arguments that
25024-545: The northern portions of North Dakota and Minnesota. Until 1818 the Red River Valley was considered part of British North America , and several colonization plans were mounted to the region, such as the Red River Colony . The boundary where the Red River crossed the 49th parallel was not marked until 1823, when Long returned to the region to conduct another survey expedition. When several hundred settlers abandoned
25208-976: The open door, "fully clothed, wearing an orange life jacket, and lying face down in the sediment". In February 2024 it was announced that wreckage from the Arlington was discovered from a sinking in 1940. More than 80 species of fish have been found in Lake Superior. Species native to the lake include banded killifish , bloater , brook trout , burbot , cisco , lake sturgeon , lake trout , lake whitefish , longnose sucker , muskellunge , northern pike , pumpkinseed , rock bass , round whitefish , smallmouth bass , walleye , white sucker and yellow perch . In addition, many fish species have been either intentionally or accidentally introduced to Lake Superior: Atlantic salmon , brown trout , carp , chinook salmon , coho salmon , freshwater drum , pink salmon , rainbow smelt , rainbow trout , round goby , ruffe , sea lamprey and white perch . Lake Superior has fewer dissolved nutrients relative to its water volume than
25392-439: The organizers of Wisconsin from including Saint Paul and Saint Anthony Falls. The Minnesota Territory was established from the lands remaining from Iowa Territory and Wisconsin Territory on March 3, 1849. The Minnesota Territory extended far into what is now North Dakota and South Dakota, to the Missouri River . There was a dispute over the shape of the state to be carved out of Minnesota Territory. An alternate proposal that
25576-514: The other Great Lakes and so is less productive in terms of fish populations and is an oligotrophic lake . This is a result of the underdeveloped soils found in its relatively small watershed. It is also a reflection of relatively small human population and small amount of agriculture in its watershed. However, nitrate concentrations in the lake have been continuously rising for more than a century. They are still much lower than levels considered dangerous to human health; but this steady, long-term rise
25760-500: The other Great Lakes began sailing in 1816. Ice closes the lake shipping from mid-January to late March. Exact dates for the shipping season vary each year, depending on weather conditions that form and break the ice. The southern shore of Lake Superior between Grand Marais, Michigan , and Whitefish Point is known as the " Graveyard of the Great Lakes "; more ships have been lost around the Whitefish Point area than any other part of Lake Superior. These shipwrecks are now protected by
25944-515: The past decades have been Hmongs, Somalis, Ethiopians, and Vietnamese; other major refugee groups that have recently been settling in Minnesota include Burmese, Liberians, Ecuadorians, Congolese, Russians, and Ukrainians. Minnesota also receives large numbers of non-refugee immigrants, primarily from Mexico, India, China, Korea, and Canada. Minnesota's religious landscape is also diverse, having evolved significantly over its history. The area's first Christian influence came from Catholic missionaries in
26128-600: The past few years. Rising temperatures have affected natural habitats and many species that live in them. For example, the lakes' water is warming, which affects fish populations: trout, a cold-water fish, is losing its habitat, while the habitat of bass, a warm-water fish, is growing. Minnesota's first state park, Itasca State Park , was established in 1891, and is the source of the Mississippi River. Today Minnesota has 72 state parks and recreation areas, 58 state forests covering about four million acres (16,000 km ), and numerous state wildlife preserves, all managed by
26312-528: The phrase Mni Sóta Makoce ("the land where the water reflects the skies"), the Dakota name for the larger region. When Europeans arrived in North America, the Dakota people lived in what is now Minnesota. The first Europeans to enter the region were French voyageurs , fur traders who arrived in the 17th century. They used the Grand Portage to access trapping and trading areas further into Minnesota. The Anishinaabe (also known as Ojibwe or Chippewa ) were migrating into Minnesota, causing tensions with
26496-403: The population was too sparse and that statehood was premature. Senator John Burton Thompson of Kentucky, in particular, argued that new states would cost the government too much for roads, canals, forts, and lighthouses. Although Thompson and 21 other senators voted against statehood, the enabling act was passed on February 26, 1857. After the enabling act was passed, territorial legislators had
26680-412: The previous record low in 1926. Water levels recovered within a few days. Historic high water The lake's water level fluctuates from month to month, with the highest lake levels in October and November. The normal high-water mark is 1.17 feet (0.36 m) above the datum (601.1 ft or 183.2 m). In the summer of 1985, Lake Superior reached its highest recorded level at 2.33 feet (0.71 m) above
26864-431: The records of modern warfare". Explaining his role in ordering the First Minnesota in, Hancock is quoted, "There is no more gallant deed recorded in history ..." By the end of the war, Minnesota had raised 11 regiments of infantry , two sharpshooter units, and some cavalry and artillery . During the Civil War, the state faced another crisis as the Dakota War of 1862 broke out. As white settlement pressed in,
27048-443: The region during the last glacial period . They preceded the Anishinaabe , the Dakota , and other Native American inhabitants. Fur traders from France arrived during the 17th century. Europeans moving west during the 19th century drove out most of the Native Americans. Fort Snelling , built to protect United States territorial interests, brought early settlers to the future state. They used Saint Anthony Falls to power sawmills in
27232-413: The region of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and the A'ani were pushed north and west by the Dakota and split into the Gros Ventre and the Arapaho . Later tribes who would inhabit the region include the Assiniboine , who split from the Dakota and returned to Minnesota, but later also moved west as American settlers came to populate the region. The word Minnesota comes from the Dakota phrase Mni Sóta Makoce , which
27416-497: The relative outputs of its business sectors closely match the United States as a whole. Minnesota's economy had a gross domestic product of $ 383 billion in 2019, with 33 of the United States' top 1,000 publicly traded companies by revenue headquartered in Minnesota, including Target , UnitedHealth Group , 3M , General Mills , U.S. Bancorp , Ameriprise , Hormel , Land O' Lakes , SuperValu , Best Buy , and Valspar . Private companies based in Minnesota include Cargill ,
27600-556: The remainder of the Wisconsin and Iowa Territories. The delegate chosen to bring the convention's petition before Congress was Henry Hastings Sibley . Stephen A. Douglas (D) , the chair of the Senate Committee on Territories, drafted the bill authorizing Minnesota Territory . He had envisioned a future for the upper Mississippi valley, so he was motivated to keep the area from being carved up by neighboring territories. In 1846, he prevented Iowa from including Fort Snelling and Saint Anthony Falls within its northern border. In 1847, he kept
27784-489: The retreat of the glaciers in the Last Glacial Period . They are known as the Plano , and they used stone-tipped spears to hunt caribou on the northwestern side of Lake Minong. The Shield Archaic peoples arrived around 5000 BC; evidence of this culture can be found at the eastern and western ends of the Canadian shore. They used bows and arrows, paddled dugout canoes, fished, hunted, mined copper for tools and weapons, and established trading networks. They are believed to be
27968-402: The sea, which left behind multiple strata of sedimentary rock . In more recent times , massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick ravaged the state's landscape and sculpted its terrain. The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago. These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the bedrock . This area
28152-506: The shores of Lake Superior (in Minnesota and portions of what is now Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada) were the first on the continent to begin making metal tools. Pieces of ore with high concentrations of copper were initially pounded into a rough shape, heated to reduce brittleness, pounded again to refine the shape, and reheated. Edges could be made sharp enough to be useful as knives or spear points. Archaeological evidence of Native American presence dates between 2,500 and 5,000 years ago at
28336-406: The short-lived Territory of Michigan (1834–1836). From 1836 to 1848, Minnesota and Iowa were part of the Territory of Wisconsin . From 1838 to 1846, Minnesota west of the Mississippi River was part of the Territory of Iowa . Minnesota east of the Mississippi was part of Wisconsin until 1848. When Iowa gained statehood, western Minnesota was in an Unorganized Territory again. Minnesota Territory
28520-442: The soldiers and Sioux. The settlement got the name "Pig's Eye" when a customer at Parrant's tavern wrote a letter with "Pig's Eye" as the return address. The reply to that letter was delivered directly to the settlement. In 1840, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dubuque sent Father Lucien Galtier as a missionary to the settlement. Galtier built a small log church and dedicated it to Saint Paul . The nearby steamboat landing took on
28704-442: The south, and North Dakota and South Dakota to the west. It is the 12th-largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd-most populous , with around 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is known as the "Land of 10,000 Lakes"; it has 14,420 bodies of fresh water covering at least ten acres each. Roughly a third of the state is forested . Much of the remainder is prairie and farmland. More than 60% of Minnesotans (about 3.8 million) live in
28888-502: The southeast and northeast. Minnesota experiences temperature extremes characteristic of its continental climate , with cold winters and hot summers. The lowest temperature recorded was −60 °F (−51 °C) at Tower on February 2, 1996. The highest was 114 °F (46 °C) at Moorhead on July 6, 1936. Meteorological events include rain, snow, blizzards, thunderstorms, hail, derechos , tornadoes, and high-velocity straight-line winds . The growing season varies from 90 days in
29072-401: The southwestern and western parts of the state; the eastern broadleaf forest ( Big Woods ) in the southeast, extending in a narrowing strip to the state's northwestern part, where it transitions into tallgrass aspen parkland ; and the northern Laurentian mixed forest , a transitional forest between the northern boreal forest and the broadleaf forests to the south. These northern forests are
29256-399: The state guard. Fort Snelling was converted to a rehabilitation hospital for veterans, and treated victims of the 1918 influenza pandemic. Naval reservists of the Minnesota Naval Militia were manning the USS Ward at the entrance of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Sailors on the USS Ward fired at a Japanese minisub attempting to enter the harbor that morning in what is credited as
29440-509: The state is a gently rolling peneplain . Two major drainage divides meet in Minnesota's northeast in rural Hibbing , forming a triple watershed . Precipitation can follow the Mississippi River south to the Gulf of Mexico , the Saint Lawrence Seaway east to the Atlantic Ocean, or the Hudson Bay watershed to the Arctic Ocean. The state's nickname "Land of 10,000 Lakes" is apt, as there are 11,842 Minnesota lakes over 10 acres (4 ha) in size. Minnesota's portion of Lake Superior
29624-404: The state. After a period of mostly divided government during the 21st century, the DFL ( Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party ) gained control of all three branches of Minnesota's government and passed significant reforms in the 2023 legislative session , moving the state in a progressive direction. Minnesota is the second northernmost U.S. state (after Alaska ) and northernmost contiguous state, as
29808-421: The state. In 1721, the French built Fort Beauharnois on Lake Pepin . In 1731, the Grand Portage trail was first traversed by a European, Pierre La Vérendrye . He used a map written down on a piece of birch bark by Ochagach, an Assiniboine guide. The North West Company , which traded in fur and competed with the Hudson's Bay Company , was established along the Grand Portage in 1783–1784. Jonathan Carver ,
29992-413: The summer (cooler with frequent sea breeze formations) and winter, and creates lake-effect snow in colder months. The hills and mountains that border the lake hold moisture and fog, particularly in the fall. The rocks of Lake Superior's northern shore date back to the early history of the earth. During the Precambrian (between 4.5 billion and 540 million years ago) magma forcing its way to
30176-399: The surface created the intrusive granites of the Canadian Shield . These ancient granites can be seen on the North Shore today. It was during the Penokean orogeny , part of the process that created the Great Lakes tectonic zone , that many valuable metals were deposited. The region surrounding the lake has proved to be rich in minerals, with copper , iron , silver , gold and nickel
30360-403: The transportation of iron ore as well as grain and other mined and manufactured materials. Large cargo vessels called lake freighters , as well as smaller ocean-going freighters , transport these commodities across Lake Superior. Shipping was slow to arrive at Lake Superior in the 19th century. The first steamboat to run on the lake was the Independence in 1847, whereas the first steamers on
30544-488: The treaty gave the Yankton nation a one-mile square reservation at the quarry site. In 1893 the site was sold to the US Government and in 1937 FDR signed the bill creating the Pipestone National Monument. Today the quarry remains active and is restricted exclusively to Native Americans by treaty with the National Park Service . At present there are 23 tribal nations affiliated by treaty to the Monument based upon their historic ties with Pipestone. By AD 800, wild rice became
30728-464: The treaty in the Minnesota area depended on landmarks reported by fur traders, who erroneously reported an "Isle Phelipeaux" in Lake Superior, a "Long Lake" west of the island, and the belief that the Mississippi River ran well into modern Canada. Most of the state—the area west of the Mississippi—was purchased in 1803 from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase . Parts of northern Minnesota were considered to be in Rupert's Land . The exact definition of
30912-417: The war, Cargill transitioned those facilities into a major grain shipping terminal. Minnesota Minnesota ( / ˌ m ɪ n ə ˈ s oʊ t ə / MIN -ə- SOH -tə ) is a state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to
31096-532: The war. Minnesota Governor Alexander Ramsey subsequently declared that "the Sioux Indians of Minnesota must be exterminated or driven forever beyond the borders of the state" and placed a bounty of $ 25/scalp on the heads of the eastern Dakota men. Over 1,600 eastern Dakota women, children, and elderly walked from the Lower Sioux Agency to Fort Snelling to be held until the spring thaw allowed riverboats to take them out of Minnesota to Crow Creek Indian Reservation. William Crooks , commander of 6th Minnesota , had
31280-426: The west, and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba are to the north. With 86,943 square miles (225,180 km ), or approximately 2.25% of the United States, Minnesota is the 12th-largest state. Minnesota has some of the earth's oldest rocks, gneisses that are about 3.6 billion years old (80% as old as the planet). About 2.7 billion years ago basaltic lava poured out of cracks in
31464-436: Was a continuation of the dropping lake levels from the previous year, 1925, which set low-water records for October through December. During the nine-month period of October 1925 to June 1926, water levels ranged from 1.58 feet (0.48 m) to 0.33 feet (0.10 m) below Chart Datum. In the summer of 2007 monthly historic lows were set; August at 0.66 feet (0.20 m), and September at 0.58 feet (0.18 m). According to
31648-431: Was approved by 30,055 voters, while 571 rejected it. The state constitution was sent to the United States Congress for ratification in December 1857. The approval process was drawn out for several months while Congress debated over issues that had stemmed from the Kansas–Nebraska Act . Southerners had been arguing that the next state should be pro-slavery, so when Kansas submitted the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution ,
31832-406: Was battered so intensely by Lake Superior that the 729-foot (222 m) ship split in half; her two pieces lie approximately 170 feet (52 m) apart at a depth of 88 fathoms (530 ft or 160 m). Lightfoot sings that "Superior, they said, never gives up her dead". This is because of the unusually cold water, under 36 °F (2 °C) on average around 1970. Normally, bacteria decaying
32016-401: Was delayed. The conflict was ignited when four young Dakota men, searching for food, killed a family of white settlers on August 17. That night, a faction of Little Crow 's Dakota decided to try and drive all settlers out of the Minnesota River valley. In the weeks that followed, Dakota warriors attacked and killed hundreds of settlers, causing thousands to flee the area. The ensuing battles at
32200-461: Was established with the discovery of iron in the Vermilion and Mesabi ranges in the 1880s, followed by the Cuyuna Range in the early 1900s. The ore went by rail to Duluth and Two Harbors for ship transport east via the Great Lakes . Industrial development and the rise of manufacturing caused the population to shift gradually from rural areas to cities during the early 20th century. Nevertheless, farming remained prevalent. Minnesota's economy
32384-408: Was formed on March 3, 1849. The first territorial legislature, held on September 2, 1849, was dominated by men of New England ancestry. Thousands of pioneers had come to create farms and cut timber. Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on May 11, 1858. The founding population was so overwhelmingly of New England origins that the state was dubbed "the New England of the West". Treaties between
32568-406: Was formed when Seymour Cray left CDC to form his own company. Medical device maker Medtronic also started business in the Twin Cities in 1949. The nonprofit Mayo Clinic , which was founded in 1864 in Rochester , grew to become one of the country's leading medical systems, and, by the 21st century, Minnesota's largest private employer. In 1957, the legislature created a planning commission for
32752-409: Was hit hard by the Great Depression , resulting in lower prices for farmers, layoffs among iron miners, and labor unrest. Compounding the adversity, western Minnesota and the Dakotas were hit by drought from 1931 to 1935. New Deal programs provided some economic turnaround. The Civilian Conservation Corps and other programs around the state established some jobs for Indians on their reservations, and
32936-419: Was later riven , creating one of the deepest rifts in the world. The lake lies in this long-extinct Mesoproterozoic rift valley , the Midcontinent Rift . Magma was injected between layers of sedimentary rock , forming diabase sills . This hard diabase protects the layers of sedimentary rock below, forming the flat-topped mesas in the Thunder Bay area. Amethyst formed in some of the cavities created by
33120-432: Was later tapped to provide power for flour mills. Innovations by Minneapolis millers led to the production of Minnesota "patent" flour, which commanded almost double the price of "bakers'" or "clear" flour which it replaced. By 1900, Minnesota mills, led by Pillsbury , Northwestern , and the Washburn-Crosby Company, an ancestor of General Mills , were grinding 14.1% of the nation's grain. The state's iron-mining industry
33304-430: Was launched August 17, 1907, and was lost on her second voyage hauling iron ore from Superior, Wisconsin, to Buffalo, New York , with the sole survivor among her 23 crew being Charles G. Pitz. In 1918 the last warships to sink in the Great Lakes, French minesweepers Inkerman and Cerisoles , vanished in a Lake Superior storm, perhaps upon striking the uncharted danger of the Superior Shoal in an otherwise deep part of
33488-487: Was only narrowly defeated would have made the 46th parallel the state's northern border and the Missouri River its western border, thus giving up the whole northern half of the state in exchange for the eastern half of what later became South Dakota. With Alexander Ramsey (W) as the first governor of Minnesota Territory and Henry Hastings Sibley (D) as the territorial delegate to the United States Congress. Ramsey lobbied Congress for funds to build five military roads in
33672-449: Was the first U.S. military post in the state. The land for the fort encompassed the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers and was acquired in 1805 by Lt. Zebulon Pike . When concerns mounted about the fur trade in the area, construction of the fort began in 1819, and was completed in 1825, named after Colonel Josiah Snelling . Slaves Dred Scott and his wife were taken to the fort by their master, John Emerson. They lived at
33856-515: Was used around 7500 BC. Subsequently, extensive trading networks developed in the region. The body of an early resident known as " Minnesota Woman " was discovered in 1931 in Otter Tail County . Radiocarbon dating places the age of the bones approximately 8000 years ago, approximately 7890 ±70 BP or near the end of the Eastern Archaic period . She had a conch shell from a snail species known as Busycon perversa , which had previously only been known to exist in Florida. Several hundred years later,
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