Minnesota History Time Line

Minnesota History Time Line
Source: Minnesota Secretary of State Government Site
http://www.sos.state.mn.us/student/mnchron.html

Submitted by Sleeping Fawn

EXPLORATION AND TERRITORY

1654
French traders Pierre Radisson and the Sieur de Groseilliers reached Wisconsin and probably Minnesota.

1679
Daniel Greysolon Dulhut (Duluth) held a council with the Dakota (Sioux) near Mille Lacs Lake.

1680
Father Louis Hennepin, after being held captive in a village of the Mille Lacs Dakota, was the first European to see the Falls of St. Anthony.

1689
On May 8, Nicholas Perrot, at Fort St. Antoine, on Lake Pepin's Wisconsin shore, laid formal claim to the surrounding country for France. He also built a fort on the Minnesota shore of the lake, near its downstream end.

1695-1731
The French continued to develop forts and settlements in Minnesota such as Isle Pelee north of Red Wing in 1695, Fort L. Huillier near Mankato in 1700, Fort Beauharnois near Frontenac in 1727 and in 1731 Fort St. Pierre by International Falls and Fort St. Charles in the Northwest Angle.

1745
The Ojibwa won the decisive battle in their war with the Dakota at the Great Dakota village of Kathio on the western shore of Mille Lacs. The Ojibwa eventually drove the Dakota into southern and western Minnesota.

1763
The Treaty of Paris, following the French and Indian War, ceded French territory east of the Mississippi River to England.

1784
The North West Company became important in the fur trade after the Revolutionary War; Grand Portage was its headquarters.

1797
David Thompson, a North West Company trader, completed the mapping of the Minnesota area of the Northwest Territory.

1803
President Thomas Jefferson acquired that part of Minnesota lying south and west of the Mississippi River from the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in the Louisiana Purchase.

1812
The Dakota, Ojibwa and Winnebago joined the English in the War of 1812.

1817
The American Fur Company, under the leadership of John Jacob Astor, began operations in Minnesota.

1818
The Convention of 1818 with England put all of Minnesota including the Red River valley under the American flag.

1819
The United States established Fort St. Anthony (renamed Fort Snelling in 1825) to protect the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers.

1823
On May 10, the first steamboat arrived at Fort St. Anthony. American explorer Stephen H. Long visited the Minnesota River, the Red River, and the northern frontier.

1832
With Ojibwa guide Ozawindib, Henry R. Schoolcraft discovered the source of the Mississippi River and named it Lake Itasca.

1836
On April 20, after Michigan became a state, the territory of Wisconsin was organized to include the entire area of Minnesota. Joseph N. Nicollet began explorations in Minnesota.

1837
Governor Henry Dodge of Wisconsin signed a treaty at Fort Snelling with the Ojibwa, who agreed to cede all their pine lands on the St. Croix and its tributaries. A treaty was also signed at Washington, D.C. with representatives of the Dakota for their lands east of the Mississippi. These treaties led the way for extensive white settlements within the area of Minnesota.

1838
Franklin Steele established a claim at the Falls of St. Anthony, in what is today Minneapolis; and Pierre Parrant built a shanty and settled on the present site of the city of St. Paul, then called Pig's Eye.

1841
The Chapel of St. Paul was built and consecrated, giving the name to the future capital of the state.

1848
On August 26, after the admission of Wisconsin to the Union, the Stillwater Convention adopted measures calling for a separate territory to be named Minnesota. On October 30, Henry Hastings Sibley was elected delegate to Congress.

1849
On March 3, Congress passed the bill organizing Minnesota as a territory. Territorial officers were appointed March 19. Governor Alexander Ramsey proclaimed the organization of the territory on June 1, and the first territorial legislature assembled on September 3. On November 15, the Minnesota Historical Society was organized.

1850
The first U.S. census taken in Minnesota showed a population of 6,077.

1851
St. Paul, St. Anthony, and Stillwater were selected for the locations of the capitol, university, and penitentiary. In July and August, the treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota opened a large area in southern Minnesota to white settlers.

1853
The first capitol was constructed.

1855
On January 23, the first bridge to span the main channel of the Mississippi River anywhere along its length was opened between Minneapolis and St. Anthony.

EARLY STATEHOOD

1857
The process of establishing state government in Minnesota began when Congress passed the Minnesota Enabling Act on February 26. The legislature passed a bill to make St. Peter the state capital, but since the bill was stolen before it was filed with the territorial secretary of state, the move was never made. The constitutional convention assembled on July 13 with such a rift between Democrats and Republicans that two constitutions were adopted. By October 3 one constitution was agreed upon and state officers were elected. Minnesota had a population of 150,037.

1858
Minnesota became the thirty-second state on May 11. At the time of its entry Minnesota was the third largest state in land area, only Texas and California were larger.

1861
On April 14, Governor Alexander Ramsey offered President Lincoln 1,000 men making Minnesota the first state to offer troops to the Union. The first Minnesota regiment left Fort Snelling on June 22.

1862
The first railroad in Minnesota opened between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Indian discontent with the treaties that made them relinquish their lands in Minnesota to white settlers who threatened their traditional way of life and frustration with a corrupt and slow annuity system were among the causes of the Dakota War of the late summer. Several settlements in the Minnesota Valley were attacked. After 392 Indians were tried by a military commission and many of those convicted were pardoned by President Abraham Lincoln, thirty-eight Indians were hanged at Mankato on December 26.

1863
At the battle of Gettysburg on July 2, the 1st Minnesota Regiment made its famous charge and 215 of the 262 men were killed or wounded.

1865
At the close of the Civil War, Minnesota troops in the Civil and Indian wars totaled 21,982. The population of Minnesota was 250,099.

1867
The legislature created the State Board of Immigration to encourage immigration to Minnesota.

1869
William W. Folwell became the first president of the University of Minnesota, some eighteen years after the institution had received its charter from the territorial legislature.

1881
The first state capitol burned and a second was built within two years on the site. Technological advances in flour milling during the 1870s helped make Minneapolis the flour milling capital of the world. From 1881-1930, Minneapolis was the nation's leading center of flour production.

1883
The Northern Pacific Railroad completed its transcontinental route from Minnesota to the Pacific.

1884
The first iron ore was shipped from Minnesota, a product of the Soudan Mine on the Vermillion Range. Six years later iron was discovered on the Mesabi Range and shipped from there beginning in 1892.

1889
St. Marys Hospital opened in Rochester, marking the birth of the Mayo Clinic.

1891
Itasca State Park, Minnesota's first state park, was established.

1894
On September 1, killer forest fires started, destroying over 400 square miles near Hinckley and Sandstone. More than 418 people died.

1896
Three-fourths of the Red Lake Indian Reservation was opened for white settlement.

1898
Minnesota supplied four regiments to serve in the Spanish-American War, the first state to respond to the president's call for volunteers.

TWENTIETH CENTURY

1900
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the tide of immigration into the U.S. and Minnesota swelled. Germany, Sweden, and Norway contributed most to the state's population increase with smaller migrations from other European countries, the Middle East, and China.

1905
Following twelve years of planning and construction, Minnesota's third and present state capitol was occupied. Lumber production from Minnesota sawmills peaked.

1909
President Theodore Roosevelt issued a proclamation establishing the Superior National Forest.

1913
The legislature passed the state's first workers compensation bill.

1918
During World War I, Minnesota contributed 123,325 troops.

1919
Prohibition began. A Minnesota congressman, Andrew J. Volstead, authored the enforcement legislation (repealed in 1933). The Minnesota legislature ratified the woman suffrage amendment to the U.S. Constitution on September 8.

1920
The state trunk highway system was created by passage of the Babcock Good Roads Amendment, named after the state highway commissioner.

1927
On May 20-21, Charles A. Lindbergh of Little Falls made his trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris.

1930
Minnesotan Frank B. Kellogg, serving as U.S. secretary of state, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on the Kellogg-Briand Peace Pact signed in Paris in 1928. Floyd B. Olson was elected the first Farmer-Labor governor of Minnesota. The state had a population of 2,563,953.

1931
Sinclair Lewis from Sauk Centre won the Nobel Prize for literature.

1932
Because of failure to redistrict the state, Minnesota's nine congressional representatives were elected at large. The next year the legislature passed a reapportionment act dividing the state into nine districts.

1933-34
As the depression worsened, federal and state programs were implemented to assist the unemployed and the state's farmers. The nation's first modern sit-down strike occurred in Austin.

1937
Establishment of the Pipestone National Monument protected the sacred Indian quarry near Pipestone.

1941
The Minnesota National Guard and the Naval Reserve were ordered to duty with the armed forces in World War II. The great wartime demand for military equipment led to the production by Minnesota iron mines of 83,960,822 tons of ore in 1943, the largest single tonnage up to that time.

1944
A special session of the legislature allowed Minnesotans in the armed forces to vote.

1947
Engineering Research Associates, Inc. designed the ATLAS, the beginning of Minnesota's computer industry.

1948
The value of manufactured products exceeded cash farm receipts in the state for the first time.

1950
The state population was 2,982,483.

1951
The state produced a new record of 89,564,932 tons of iron, 82 percent of the nation's total output.

1956
Reserve Mining Company's E. W. Davis Works opened at Silver Bay, inaugurating large-scale production of taconite in Minnesota.

1958
Grand Portage National Monument was established to protect one of the nation's foremost inland centers of 18th and 19th century fur trading.

1959
Transoceanic trade began with the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway which made Duluth accessible to ocean vessels.

1965
Hubert H. Humphrey became the first Minnesotan to win election to national executive office when he was sworn in as vice-president on January 20.

1968
Vice President Hubert Humphrey became the first Minnesotan to be nominated by a major political party for president of the United States, but lost to Richard Nixon in a close election.

1969
Warren Burger of St. Paul became chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. In 1970, Harry Blackmun of Rochester was appointed to the court.

1970
Voyageurs National Park was authorized. The state population was 3,805,069.

1972
The 1973 legislature repealed a sixty year old law providing for the nonpartisan election of legislators and restored party designation.

1977
Rosalie Wahl became the first woman to serve on the state Supreme Court.

1980
The state population was 4,077,148. The state's greatest influx of immigrants since displaced persons arrived after the end of World War II came in the late 1970s and early 1980s: 26,000 southeast Asians settled in Minnesota. State revenue shortfalls forced several regular and special sessions to consider budget cuts.

1982
National recession severely impacted mining, manufacturing, and agriculture throughout the state.

Rudy Perpich became the first non-consecutive term governor and Marlene Johnson became the first woman elected lieutenant governor.

Post-census redistricting again resolved by the federal courts.

The state constitution was amended, allowing the creation of the state Court of Appeals.

1984
Native son Walter Mondale won the Democratic presidential nomination and carried Minnesota.

1986
The state economy began to rebound, accompanied by massive growth in the service industry.

1987
A special session convened to assist Dayton-Hudson and other Minnesota corporations in warding off hostile takeovers.

The Minnesota Twins won the World Series.

1988
Record breaking drought gripped Minnesota.

An amendment to establish an environmental trust fund passed by a 77.41 percent margin, the third greatest margin this century. The voters approved an amendment allowing the legislature to authorize a state lottery.

1989
The Pillsbury Company was acquired by Grand Metropolitan PLC, a British food industry conglomerate.

1990
The state population was 4,379,099, an increase of 7.3 percent from 1980, making Minnesota the fastest growing state in the region.

Iraq invaded Kuwait on August 2nd; Minnesota reserve units mobilized.

The Minnesota Judicial Center opened.

In a dramatic sequence of events, Arne Carlson replaced Independent-Republican nominee Jon Grunseth on the state general election ballot and defeated Rudy Perpich's bid for an unprecedented third four-year term as governor.

The Minnesota Supreme Court became the first state supreme court in the nation to have a majority of women seated as justices following the appointment of Appeals Court Judge Sandra Gardebring.

1991
Allied forces in Operation Desert Storm defeated Iraqi troops and liberated Kuwait. Approximately 11,100 Minnesotans served in the Persian Gulf theater.

The dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics marked the end of the cold war that had dominated state and national politics since 1947.

The Minnesota Twins won their second world championship in five years.

Continued diversification of Minnesota's economy encouraged development of smaller, newer techno-manufacturing companies over heavy industry and defense contractors in the state economy.

In what has become a tradition, post-census redistricting was again thrown into the state and federal courts for resolution.

1992
Minnesota's first presidential primary election since 1956 was held April 7.

Responding to escalating medical care costs, the MinnesotaCare cost containment and funding program was enacted.

The country's largest indoor shopping and entertainment complex, the Mall of America, opened in Bloomington in August.

Alan Page became the first African-American justice elected to the state supreme court. Dee Long became the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House.

1993
Minnesota teacher Ann Bancroft became the first woman to reach both of the earth's poles over land.

Minnesota lost major league hockey when the North Stars move to Dallas.

A record 54 women were sworn in as members of the legislature.

Spring snow melt and frequent rains produced record flooding throughout the southern portion of the state and upper Midwest generally, leading to massive crop loses, property damage and the disruption of transportation.

Sharon Sayles Belton was elected mayor of Minneapolis, the first woman and the first African-American to preside over the state's largest city.

Congress ratified the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), providing for unrestricted trade between Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

1994
South Africa held its first free elections in the post-apartheid era. Minnesota Secretary of State Joan Growe served as a member of the United Nations Observer Mission to monitor the election.

1996
A new record low temperature for the state was established at 9:10 a.m., February 2 when the mercury bottomed out at -60º (F) in the City of Tower, St. Louis County.

1997
The state and national economies continued to set new highs as the Dow Jones stock average broke 7,000. Minnesota's unemployment rate remained steady at less than 3%, and use of state public assistance programs declined by 17%. The state treasury posted a record breaking 2.3 billon dollar surplus fueled by higher than expected tax revenues and state budget cuts.

The University of Minnesota's Golden Gophers men's basketball team won the Big Ten championship and went on to compete in the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament.

Severe winter storms and snowfalls led to record breaking spring floods along Minnesota's major river systems. Red River and Minnesota River valley communities were especially hard hit.

1998
Minnesota won a victory when the tobacco industry agreed to a four billion dollar settlement to reimburse the state for the cost of medical treatment provided to smokers.

Former Brooklyn Park mayor Jesse Ventura was elected governor, defeating both the Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate, Attorney General Hubert H. (Skip) Humphrey III, and the Republican candidate, St. Paul mayor Norm Coleman. The Reform Party candidate and former professional wrestler became the first "third party" governor since 1936.

The Minnesota Vikings came within seconds of reaching the Super Bowl.

1999
The unprecedented peacetime economic boom continued to prevail in the nation and state. The Dow Jones industrial average hit 10,000 at 8:50:50 CST, March 16. Unemployment was below 2.2%.