Emelia Earhart

Here is a questions that comes up every so often. I figured that I would take this opportunity ho highlight the answer in light of the new movie:



I heard on the TV news that Amelia Earhart attended Central High School for her junior year (1913-14). Where in St. Paul did the Earhart Family live? Thank you.


Hannah
Saint Paul, MN


and the response:


Hello Hannah,

Thanks for the question. We have a very (Very) small file here on Ms. Earhart. In 1914 Edwin Earhart is listed at 825 Fairmount Ave. Edwin, Amelia’s father, was a claims agent for the railroad. It was the reason that the family moved frequently and the reason that they only stayed in St. Paul for about a year. But there were other family relations here in St. Paul. Emelia’s mother’s maiden name was Otis. The Otis family has a long history in St. Paul, dating back to 1867 when George L. Otis was elected as mayor of St. Paul. Though there is little information to suggest that there was much of a relationship between the Otis family and the E. Earharts.

It’s also reported that Ms. Earhart and her younger sister Muriel sang in St. Clements Episcopal Church choir. St. Clements is at 901 Portland Ave.

Most of this information was drawn from an undated article clipping from ‘Soundings’ which is a publication of the Episcopal Diocese of MN. Also used was the St Paul city directory from 1914.

Hope this answers your question. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any others.

Will

Research Manager
Curatorial Associate
Ramsey County Historical Society


It's a fun little Nugget of St Paul history. This might be a great question for Jeopardy! I should have added that the photos from 1914 of Central High students are not labeled, so we would have to compare the photos to others of Amelia. It would be fun to track down a year book from that year and see what turns up!!

It's been a busy couple months here at Landmark Center. Projects flying every which direction. The summer 'rush' of house history and a steady stream of research questions have kept me pretty busy. With my lack of blogging recently I felt the need to put SOMETHING up here.

So if you're looking for something low key this weekend, something with close parking that you can take the kids to, something entertaining yet devoid of loudspeakers... Come to the Gibb's Country Festival!

here's the 'official language'


Enjoy a weekend of good old-fashioned fun. Step back in time and take part in games, activities and craft demonstrations that were popular in the 1800s.

• Kids of all ages will love our Petting Zoo, featuring a Cuddle Corner where kids can hold and play with baby animals.

• See the Gibbs Puppet show based on the Gibbs Farm Animals

• Participate in old-fashioned activities like our Cupcake Walk, Fish Pond, Guess Your Weight and Square Dancing.

• Make pioneer crafts like a hand-dipped candle and a corn-husk doll to take home.

• Bring back the memories of the old-fashioned tastes of summer by sampling treats like berry crisp, home-made ice cream, hot dogs, baked beans and lemonade.

The prairie will be in full bloom – the perfect time to bring the entire family to Gibbs Museum!


All food and activities are included in the cost of admission: $7.50 adults, $6.50 senior 62+, $4.50 children 2-16.
RCHS MEMBERS FREE


Gibbs Museum of Pioneer & Dakota Life
2097 West Larpenteur Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55113
Larpenteur & Cleveland Avenues in Falcon Heights.


Whee! I'll be there tomorrow (Saturday) I hope we have good weather. At any rate the prairie is in full bloom (or pretty close) and that is worth the trip for me!

Gibb's Museum

I just spent the morning at Gibbs Museum, and holy cow! It was awesome. I got an informal tour from our new plant Guru, Julia Butcher. Since last season Julia has been putting together well thought our plans for our floral surroundings (as opposed to fauna... not just flowers). We moved a few plants around and talked shop a bit. One of the things that Julia really adds to our interpretation is a knowledge of traditional herbal medicine, both native and pioneer. So, we moved some mandrake and ferns, smelled the wild ginger and dug some burdock and curly dock.
I have to say that I'm really excited to see the crop garden this year. Julia really has a handle on how to accurately and creatively integrate the growing environment into the museum. Which is awesome because the basis of our museum is the Gibb's FARM. The Gibbs were Veggie gardeners and made a lot of their income at the market, so now we can get a taste for some of the crops they would have grown. (hooray!) And Julia is great with questions, which I had a lot of.

I'm going to invite her to post on here. It would be a great way for all you green-thumbers (and wannabes like me) to keep in touch with what's growing out at Gibbs.

I should mention that they burned off our prairie last week, so at the moment things look a little charred in places, but don't fret. By the end of June the Prairie will be up and blooming, and the crop gardens (both Pioneer AND Dakota) will be well on their way. But the coolest thing about Gibbs is that there's ALWAYS something happening. So check it out, and keep an eye on the blog for updates!!

Will

Busy busy busy!

Hello everyone! First and foremost I apologize for my lack of blogging. The funny thing about history is that it just won't keep still. Not for one second. That make for a fun job, but a difficult vacation :)

Since I have been back there have been a number of interesting things here. After 17 years as Gibbs museum manager Ted Lau has retired. Those of you that have been to the Gibbs may remember him as the school master. He will be missed, but I'm certain that he will turn up every now and then. RCHS has hired a highly qualified new site manager. Welcome! In his first 2 weeks of work he has done a lot of settling in. Terry Swanson, our Program Coordinator has been busy for months designing programs and curriculum for this season, hiring and training this years staff and just being generally wonderful. This year is sure to be a good one! If you are interested you should take a look at what is happening! I'm especially interested about our NEW 'Dakota Discovery'. If anyone get the chance to attend any of these, or send their kids, I would LOVE to hear what you think.

With the start of construction season the permit market is going wild! I have 200 to pull! whee! (generally 5-10 or them take a week...) I was hoping to have them all done by Friday... it's looking like a busy Friday.

So, I'm back... Bring it on :)

RCHS meets 30 Rock... sort of...

I just got this event announcement from our Marketing Manager. This will piggy back off our most recent publication. Paul Nelson gives a great talk/tour.

If you are able I would recommend attending. Besides it's Free, so the price is right. Just remember to dress for the weather




FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Maureen McGinn, RCHS, 651-222-0701-Maureen@rchs.com

Lee Lawrie and the Sculpture of the Ramsey County Courthouse Talk and Walk
March 29, 2009, 2:00pm St Paul Central Library at 90 West Fourth St.
Sponsored by the Ramsey County Historical Society & the Paul Central Library
March 20, 2009--, Be one of the few people who know about famous sculptor, Lee Lawrie, whose sculptures grace the St. Paul Courthouse and the opening credits for a popular TV series 30 Rock. Come to the fascinating “talk and walk” titled Lee Lawrie and the Sculpture of the Ramsey County Courthouse on March 29, 2009, 2:00pm St. Paul Central Library at 90 West Fourth St. Historian Paul D. Nelson will examine the courthouse relief sculptures as well as Lawrie’s career and creations elsewhere, including Rockefeller Center. The "talk and walk" is based on the 2009 Winter issue of the Ramsey County History magazine. The program is free and open to the public.
About the Author: Paul D. Nelson is a graduate of Macalester College and the University of Minnesota Law School. He is the author of Fredrick L. McGhee: A Life on the Color Line, 1861–1912 (Minnesota Historical Society Press: 2002) and numerous articles on St. Paul history. Mr. Nelson is a member of the Ramsey County Historical Society’s Editorial Board.
“The Ramsey County Historical Society inspires current and future generations to learn from and value their history by engaging in a diverse program of presenting, publishing, and preserving."


Free and open to the public.
For more information call 651-222-0701 or visit www.RCHS.com

Interesting Question

Last week I had an interesting question (hence the title of the blog)

I got an e-mail from Alex in St Paul, wondering about a home at 6xx Juno. Loves the house, wanted to know more. A quick search showed nothing at all as far as original permits goes. I pulled the first permit listed. It was a MOVING permit. Hmm, this is fun. Especially when you look at what was attached to the permit.

Alex, is this your place??




It appears that the home was moved by the owner to this new location. The previous address listed by the owner was 640 Randolf. This was right around the corner from where the home is now. From this, since there doesn't appear to be a change in ownership, I would guess that this is the original address of the home. It appears that this house was originally constructed in 1889! That's great!

This is one of the only permits for a move that seems to have both the start point and the finish point of the move.

UNFORTUNATELY... the original 1889 permit is missing from the collection. Well, at least we got something out of this quest. This is a great old home. Alex, thanks for preserving this bit of old St. Paul. I'm glad you love where you live!

-Will

Free Event!! Uni & Prior

The following is an announcement for a free event!! It's bound to be interesting as we have an entire exhibit about it! For anyone interested in St. Paul's past-present-future, Urban Development, transportation, architecture and city planning... this is your event.

Take it away...!



Where is the exact geographic center of the Twin Cities? And what do we know about its history?

Where the Twin Cities Meet:
A History of the Intersection of University and Prior Avenues
Exhibit Opening: Thursday, March 5, 2009
5:30 Social Hour - 6:30 Brief remarks
RCHS Exhibit Gallery, Landmark Center
75 W Fifth Street, St Paul, MN 55102


Some believe that the intersection of University and Prior Avenues in St. Paul is the center, and claim that there was a floor marker in a restaurant, now gone, that marked the exact spot.

While some of the early buildings and activities are no longer present, there remains a significant historical record showing what life was like on this corner, going back to the time when the State of Minnesota was founded.

Because of the intersection's central location and proximity to the huge rail transfer yard, the corner has a fascinating history that sheds light on the development of the entire region and state. The Minnesota Transfer Rail Lines were set up by James J. Hill to facilitate exchange of freight between ten rail lines. Barrett and Zimmerman, one of the largest horse-trading firms in the country was located there, as well as Union Park, an early “suburban” real estate development. There were also lumber yards, businesses tied in to the railroads, restaurants, motels, a bridge, and a long gone YMCA facility.

A number of the businesses at this intersection today have been there for generations. The descendants of the horse trader Moses Zimmerman continue to own a commercial property called the Zimmerman Building, and have been doing business on this corner for four generations. The Barrett and Zimmerman Horse Brokerage building, still standing, is now owned by an organization of African immigrants who have established the Eritrean Community Center. This intersection represents in microcosm the larger changes that have occurred in our region over time. This is a transitional moment in the history of the corridor, as the new light rail line will undoubtedly bring about major changes. This research project will help document the important history of one portion of the corridor, and will serve as the model for similar histories that will be done for the entire corridor.

The Ramsey County Historical Society in conjunction with the University Avenue History Group presents the exhibit Where the Twin Cities Meet: A History of the Intersection of University and Prior Avenues. The exhibit will uncover the intersections fascinating history and include numerous photographs, postcards, maps, drawings, advertising and commercial ephemera. The Exhibit and opening are free and open to the public.

For more information call 651-222-0701.


And of course, here is a map. I know how bad it feels to get lost:


View Larger Map

SWEDE Hollow and Phalen Creek

Just glancing around the other blogs that I follow and I found this interesting mention of Swede Hollow at St. Paul Real Estate.

There has been a little bit of buzz around the area recently. A question came in last week from a researcher asking if I had building permits from Swede Hollow. Well this is an interesting question, because the permit search index is based on street name rather than legal description... but after a bit of digging I found that there are about 60 homes documented on Phalen Creek... The addresses are based on a waterway rather than a road! Who knew? (actually there are a few that probably did... but since I've only been working with the collection a couple years it's something I guess I needed to find out for myself) Now I'll have to see if the 'street' address corresponds to anything in the plat maps.

So there you have it. My info nugget on Swede Hollow.

Oh, by the way, for being called SWEDE Hollow there are an awful lot of Irish and German names in the permits. But don't fret, there are a number of Andersons and Nilsons too :)

Prestonia

I'm thinking of changing this blog from Ask an Historian to Stump an Historian!!
I recently got this question in the comment section of a post:

"I recently bought a foreclosed property above Highwood Elementary, 395 McKnight Rd S.

The home was built in 1900, which makes it really old for the neighborhood when most buildings went up between 1950 - 1975.

Do you know anything about this house?"

First I went to the map, to make sure we were on the right side of the road. Historically the other side of McKnight is New Canada Township, even thought the city just spreads right across the line. Yes, this is in St Paul, Next step...

Permit index, McKnight... virtually nothing before 1960. This always sends up a few red flags. So I checked in Donald Empson's book 'The Street Where You Live'. Lo and behold McKnight road was changed from East Road (marking the eastern boundary of St. Paul) in 1957. The new name is drawn from William L. McKight, influential 3M president and chairman...

I found a little bit more under East Avenue South, but not much. The street numbers in the index start at 751. This isn't really odd since street numbers seem to change ALL the time in St. Paul, seemingly for no reason at all.

So it's on to the Plat maps to check the current Google maps view against the historic views. But nothing... nothing at all! The maps don't show a structure anywhere! (and these maps are from the 1920's)

So, I have to find a bit more information. I will check the physical index card listings (I've found that occasionally the people who scanned them missed a few). I will run through the ledger books and I will check the property owners on the old maps in the approximate area of the home, check them against city directories to make certain the land didn't front on a different street... and of course there's the legal description, but I like going about this the hard way! and by then I will be exhausted and need a nap.

I'm also toying with the idea of houses being moved in to the area from other areas, like maybe where highway 94 cut through the bluff for example. Although these should all show up with permits.

Anyhow, just a look at the process. I plan to update this one as things progress.

Thanks to Preston for the question, stay tuned!

buyers?

Just a quick note to say that the house I blogged about a couple of weeks ago is no longer listed as for sale. LETS HOPE SOMEONE WILL BRING IT BACK FROM THE BRINK!! I'm excited to see what happens.

Dear 921 Mound Street: I wish you the best of luck. If your new owner would like to know a bit more about you, tell them they can contact me and I will do my best!