St. Paul’s 3M plant after an explosion, 1951. On February 8 of that year, a break in a gas line caused an explosion at 3M’s facility in St. Paul, killing thirteen employees and damaging various departments and laboratories throughout the complex.

Scotch Recording Tape, 1948. 3M produced recording tape under the Scotch brand. 3M’s contributions to the entertainment industry earned the company a technical Academy Award for improving sound recording for film.

Three-M-ite sample collection, 1935. 3M’s first profitable product was Three-M-ite, a flexible sandpaper. Here, Three-M-ite was packaged as a sample so prospective buyers could see the product.

This sample of anorthosite was mined by 3M in the corporation’s earliest era. The corporation intended to mine corundum for sandpaper manufacturing, but anorthosite was found instead. This led to a transformation in the corporation’s structure and a transition from mining to manufacturing.

3M-brand Scotch Tape produced in the 1960s. The iconic brand became one of 3M’s most notable products.

Worker monitoring a machine inside the 3M plant in New Ulm, July 1974. Public domain. From the records of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 1944–2006, National Archives record group 412.

Aerial view of the Coal Creek Station, 2019.

A drum puller and reels of cable being strung for the Cooperative Power Association, Minneapolis, Minnesota/United Power Association, Elk River, Minnesota high-voltage power-line construction through Grant County, Minnesota, 1976–1978.

A crane helicopter lining up a power-line tower’s top portion with its base during construction of a high-voltage power line through Grant County, Minnesota, 1976-1978.