MN90: A Socialist Opera House Brings Pride to the Finnish Immigrant Community

Finnish immigrants came to Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range to take jobs in the mines. Because working conditions were brutal, many went on strike 1916. The action cost them their jobs and the strikers were blacklisted. Producer Allison Herrera tells us about a special meeting place that elevated the community.

MN90: The Citizens League

What makes Minnesota unique? The lakes, the weather...and the Minnesota Citizen's League. For over 60 years, the Minnesota Citizens League has helped tackle some of the toughest problems in the state. MN90 producer Allison Herrera tells us more about this influential organization.

Nininger

Nininger, a small town built quickly in 1856 and abandoned only a few years later, was located twenty-five miles south of St. Paul near present-day Hastings. The story of its rise and fall is typical of many of the boom towns that sprang up in places like Minnesota Territory during the mid-nineteenth century. It shows both the high hopes of the area’s newcomers and the despair they felt when their communities failed.

Goodhue County

In March 1853 Goodhue County was created by Minnesota's territorial legislature. It was formed from the original Wabasha County, which lay between the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.

Black and white photograph of Hawkeye Mills, Hay Creek.

Hawkeye Mills, Hay Creek

Hay Creek, south of Red Wing, attracted German-speaking settlers including the founders of Hawkeye Mills. By 1870, eighty percent of Hay Creek township residents were German, the second highest concentration in Minnesota at the time.

Black and white photograph of Finnegaard pioneer home, Holden.

Finnegaard pioneer home, Holden

The rough Goodhue County first home of Norwegian settler Mikkel Finnegaard is pictured in 1934. Finnegaard settled in Holden Township in the county's southwest corner, described in 1874 as a "compact mass of Norwegians."

Black and white photograph of G.O. Miller store in Vasa.

Vasa, a colony of Swedish immigrants

G. O. Miller’s store in Vasa, the settler-colonist enclave founded by Swedish immigrants to Goodhue County, is the building to the left. Photograph ca. 1880s.

Immigration to Goodhue County

By 1880, Goodhue County held within its borders four significant Euro-American immigrant enclaves: Minnesota's largest group of Swedes; the second largest assembly of Norwegians; one of the most densely populated German tracts; and an Irish colony at the county's center. The colonizing of Goodhue County serves as a case study of the state's early immigration patterns.

Stiftungsfest

The longest continuously running festival in Minnesota history, Stiftungsfest, was founded in 1861. This German festival celebrates the music and culture of Carver County's German immigrants.

Photograph of Emile Amblard leaning on a table, holding his gloves and wearing a boutonniere. Circa 1910.

Emile Amblard

Emile Amblard, c.1910.

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