Sons of Norway in Cottonwood County

Cottonwood County citizens have participated in local chapters of the national Sons of Norway organization, called lodges, since 1938. Since 1974, Stavanger Lodge 538 has brought members together to participate in cultural, artistic, and community events that celebrate Norwegian American traditions.

Soo Line-First National Bank, Minneapolis

When it opened at the corner of Marquette Avenue and Fifth Street in 1915, the Soo Line-First National Bank Building was the tallest skyscraper in Minneapolis and also among the most elegant.

Soudan Mine, Tower

The Soudan Mine, which opened in 1884, is located at the western edge of the Vermilion Range, about two miles northeast of Tower. It was the first iron mine in the state, and its first ore shipment in the summer of 1884 marked the beginning of the state's mining industry.

Southdale Center

Donald Dayton, head of Minneapolis-based Dayton's department stores, teamed up with designer Victor Gruen to create a comfortable, convenient setting for Minnesota shoppers. In 1952, Dayton and Gruen unveiled their plans for Southdale, the nation's first enclosed, weatherproofed mall.

Southside African American Community, Minneapolis

Minneapolis historically has been home to a small but vibrant African American population. From the 1930s to the 1970s, an African American neighborhood flourished on the city’s Southside, between East Thirty-Fourth and Forty-Sixth Streets and from Nicollet Avenue to Chicago Avenue.

SPAM

In 1937, the George A. Hormel Company, a meat-packing business in Austin, Minnesota, introduced SPAM luncheon meat to use up an excess of pork shoulder in their inventory. In the eighty years since its introduction, SPAM has fed millions of people and is available in more than forty countries and in over fifteen varieties and sizes.

Sparre Round Barn

Located near Nowthen Boulevard in the city of Nowthen, just off of Bass Lake, the barn used by Erick Sparre in the early twentieth century has a unique circular shape that allowed its owner to maximize storage space, lower construction costs, and increase efficiency. As of 2020, it is the best-preserved dairy barn in Anoka County.

Spear, Allan Henry (1937–2008)

Allan Henry Spear was the first openly gay man in the United States to serve as a state legislator. In 1993, he won a twenty-year fight to include the LGBT community in Minnesota's Human Rights Act. He served as president of the Minnesota Senate for nearly a decade, taught history at the University of Minnesota for thirty-five years, and was a lifelong lover of travel, food, music, and literature.

Split Rock Lighthouse

Split Rock Lighthouse opened in the summer of 1910 to guide bulk ore ships sailing near Lake Superior's rocky coast. By 1940, its picturesque North Shore setting had made it one of the most visited lighthouses in the United States.

St. Anthony Falls Tunnel Collapse, October 5, 1869

On October 5, 1869, water seeped and then gushed into a tunnel underneath St. Anthony Falls creating an enormous whirlpool. The falls were nearly destroyed. It was years before the area was fully stabilized and the falls were again safe from collapse.

St. Catherine University

St. Catherine’s University is a prestigious women’s university in St. Paul. Since opening in 1905, it has grown to include a student body of over 5,000, graduate programs, a Minneapolis campus, and an extensive physical plant. The school’s inclusive atmosphere and diverse curriculum have made it one of the premier institutions of higher education in the United States.

St. Cloud Rox

The St. Cloud Rox—a Northern League baseball team—fielded a successful franchise from 1946 until 1971, showcasing the passion for baseball in Stearns County.

St. Joseph’s Academy, St. Paul

St. Joseph’s Academy traces its origins to 1851, when the first Sisters of St. Joseph opened a school for girls in a log cabin on the banks of the Mississippi. One hundred and twenty years later, the final St. Joseph’s Academy High School closed its doors. Today, its buildings on Marshall and Western Avenues are on the National Register of Historic Places and still in use.

St. Mark’s AME Church, Duluth

St. Mark’s African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church has played a central role in Duluth’s African American community for over 125 years. While other Black organizations have dissolved or moved to the Twin Cities, St. Mark’s has been a mainstay.

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral, Minneapolis

St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral was completed in 1906. It is the home church of a small community of Rusyns (also called Ruthenians or Carpatho-Ruthenians) who immigrated to Minneapolis from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late nineteenth century.

St. Olaf Christmas Festival

The St. Olaf Christmas Festival is an annual music celebration that began in 1912 and has been performed regularly since then by St. Olaf College students. Widely broadcast and telecast, it is regarded as one of the premier choral events in the world.

St. Olaf College

St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded by Norwegian Lutherans in 1874 and continues to thrive as a top-ranking school.

St. Paul and Pacific Railroad

The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, or St. P & P, was one of Minnesota’s first major railroads. It was created in 1862 from the remnants of another bankrupt line and strengthened by valuable land grants. It survived financial hardships to become a cornerstone of the Great Northern Railway system, a legendary transcontinental route and an integral part of Minnesota railroad history.

St. Paul Athletic Club

The St. Paul Athletic Club was designed in 1915 by architect Allen H. Stem, who with Charles A. Reed had recently completed Grand Central Station in New York City. Like Grand Central, the Athletic Club was threatened with demolition in the 1990s but survived because preservationists valued its sound construction, central location, and fine craftsmanship.

St. Paul Building (Germania Bank), St. Paul

Since 1890, the tall brownstone building at the corner of Fifth and Wabasha has been a symbol of resilience in a changing world. Only ten years after building it, the Germania Bank was forced to liquidate. Renamed the Ernst Building, then the Pittsburgh Building, it finally became the St. Paul Building in 1934.

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

In 1959, a new orchestra was formed in St. Paul in order to attract more people to downtown. The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) held their first concert on November 18, 1959, in the Central High School auditorium. Since their debut, the SPCO has won several awards and has become the only full-time chamber orchestra in the United States.

St. Paul City Hall and Ramsey County Courthouse

Ramsey County's third courthouse, which opened in 1932, is a treasure trove of wood, stone, sculpture, and Art Deco style.

St. Paul Curling Club

In 2018, the St. Paul Curling Club is the largest curling club in the United States, with over 1200 members. Club members have competed in national and international competitions, including the Olympics. Despite an ebb and flow in its popularity over the years, the club has long been a place to play and promote the sport of curling in the Twin Cities.

St. Paul Police Department Reform, 1933–1940

After the intense violence of the first few decades of the twentieth century, the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) experienced a period of steady growth and relative social calm in the 1930s. During these "quiet years," the department expanded, reformed its policies, and experimented with new ideas and technologies.

St. Paul Resettlement Committee

The St. Paul Resettlement Committee formed in October of 1942 to assist with the relocation of Japanese Americans from the concentration camps established by the US government in March of 1942. It was one of thirty-five such committees that operated across the country during World War II.

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