Environment | Page 23

"Ginseng Leaving for Philadelphia"

A clipping from the St. Paul Weekly newspaper, June 11, 1859, that mentions people squatting “round the Ginseng Roots in the Big Woods.”

Ginseng

Colored engraving of ginseng by Jacob Bigelow (1786–1879). From Wikimedia Commons: "'American medical botany being a collection of the native medicinal plants of the United States, containing their botanical history and chemical analysis, and properties and uses in medicine, diet and the arts,'" by Jacob Bigelow, 1786/7–1879. Publication in Boston by Cummings and Hilliard, 1817–1820.”

Ginseng Boom in Rice County, 1858–1859

The demand for American ginseng (panax quinquefolius), which grew abundantly in the “Big Woods,” reached its peak in 1859. Following a nationwide economic panic in 1857, and near crop failure for Rice County in 1858, many locals found themselves in dire circumstances. Enticed by ginseng’s profitability and local abundance, settler-colonists were quickly overcome by “ginseng fever,” which led many to dig up as much of the aromatic green root as they could. However, it was not long before excessive exploitation depleted easily accessed ginseng and the rising grain market encouraged farmers to work the land again.