Take A Stroll Through Minnesota's Past At This Fascinating Museum
By Trent Jonas|Published November 13, 2023
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Trent Jonas
Author
Trent Jonas came to Minnesota to attend college - and never left. He's a Twin Cities-based writer with a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and the proud father of two adult children. With more than a decade of freelance writing experience under his belt, Trent is often out exploring his favorite topics: Minnesota's woods, lakes, and trails. Rhubarb pie is his weakness, so discovering new diners is also a passion.
The Minnesota History Center in St. Paul is the Minnesota Historical Society’s flagship, but’s more than just a Minnesota history museum. Rather, it’s a tour through time as the Society attempts to offer a historical context for our place in this landscape we call Minnesota. As with any such attempt, the Minnesota History Center has its gaps, but the Society, overall, does an admirable job representing and tying together the many varied stories that make up our state’s rich history.
You'll find the Minnesota History Center on the edge of downtown St. Paul, within view of both the State Capitol and St. Paul Cathedral.
In this building, you'll find a timeline of Minnesota history, woven together by the peoples who live here (and have lived here) and the landscapes they inhabited.
The history center touches upon Minnesota’s natural history.
As well as that of the Native peoples who inhabited this landscape - the Dakota, the Ojibwe, and their ancestors - for centuries before U.S. settlement.
Although far from comprehensive, the history center details the Native peoples’ relationship with the land, its animals, and eventually, those who ventured here to trade and live.
The history center takes pains to describe the conflicts resulting from settlement, but visitors would be better served visiting one the Society’s other sites, like Lower Sioux Agency, Fort Ripley, Fort Snelling, or Traverse des Sioux, for a more in-depth treatment.
Moving forward in time, you’ll encounter exhibits on famous individuals who brought Minnesota to the world, like Prince.
Hmong and Somali immigrants, in particular - Minnesota is home to the largest populations of these groups in the U.S. - have done much to influence many aspects of the state’s culture, particularly in the state’s urban areas.
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The museum also takes a look at other hard truths about Minnesota, which until recently, had one of the least diverse populations in the country.
Red-lining in Minneapolis, and the razing of the Rondo neighborhood in St. Paul, one of the state’s few Black, middle class enclaves, are deep scars on the state.
And the systemic biases underpinning those actions were more recently laid bare with the Minneapolis Police killing of George Floyd.
While the Minnesota History Center cannot address these issues comprehensively, it faces them head on and unflinchingly as part of our state’s history.
I appreciate the breadth and the context offered by the museum. It’s certainly enough to kindle a conversation about our history. Ultimately, a visit to the Minnesota History Center is a fascinating way to spend a day for any Minnesotan, as well as other folks interested in the history of the Land of 10,000 Lakes. There are also many great books out there that delve more deeply into specific areas, if you’re interested. Have you visited the Minnesota History Center? Tell us about your experience in the comments!
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