The WPA Guide to Minnesota: The Federal Writers' Project Guide to 1930s Minnesota

by Federal Writer's Project, Frederick Manfred (Introduction)

Overview

In the 1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, the federal government put thousands of unemployed writers to work in the Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Out of their efforts came the American Guide series, the first comprehensive guidebooks to the people, resources, and traditions of each state in the union.

The WPA Guide to Minnesota is a lively and detailed introduction to the state and its people. Much has changed since the book's first publication in 1938 when, as the authors noted, some Minnesotans could "clearly recall . . . the sight of browsing buffalo herds, and the creaking of thong-tied Red River carts." But the book vividly recaptures the era when annual fishing licenses cost fifty cents, farmers ran barn dances for motoring townfolk, Duluth was the headquarters of the Hay Fever Club of America, and the nearly new Foshay Tower loomed on the Minneapolis skyline.

The guide has much more than nostalgia to offer today's readers. Twenty auto tours and six special city tours tell the stories of the state's people and places and offer a fascinating alternative to freeway travel. Essays on major themes such as native peoples, history, arts, transportation, and sports provide an authentic self-portrait of 1930s Minnesota in humorous, loving, and literary prose.

This time-travelers' guide to Minnesota is an evocative reminder of the state's past and a challenge to contemporary readers who seek to find how that past lives on today.

Special features include 20 road trips, 6 city tours, 15 boundary waters canoe trips, 12 maps, 22 drawings, an introduction by the renowned Midwestern writer Frederick Manfred, a chronology, and a revised bibliography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780873511858
Publisher:	Minnesota Historical Society Press
Publication date:	08/01/2002
Pages:	546
Sales rank:	1,091,104
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

	List of Maps	xiii
	Introduction	xv
	Using the Guide	xxi
	Preface	xxiii
	General Information	xxv
Part I.	Minnesota: Past and Present
	Minnesota Today	3
	Natural Setting	8
	Climate
	Geology
	Paleontology
	Flora
	Fauna
	Conservation
	First Americans	27
	Archeology
	Indians
	Historical Survey	42
	Wilderness to Commonwealth
	Territorial Expansion
	The New State
	After 1900
	Government
	Agriculture and Farm Life	68
	Immigration and Racial Elements	74
	Tides of Immigration
	Racial Groups
	Transportation	81
	Industrial Development	89
	Lumbering
	Milling
	Mining
	Quarrying
	Meat Packing
	Commercial Fishing
	Labor and Labor Relations
	Co-operatives
	Education and Religion	110
	Press and Radio	120
	Sports and Recreation	126
	The Arts	132
	Architecture
	Literature
	Music
	Painting
	Sculpture
Part II.	Minnesota: Cities and Towns
	The Tale of Two Cities	153
	Minneapolis	166
	St. Paul	206
	Duluth	235
	St. Cloud	255
	Winona	262
	Rochester	270
Part III.	Minnesota: Tours
Tour 1.	(Port Arthur, Ontario)-Duluth-Pine City-St. Paul-Red Wing-Winona-La Crescent-(La Crosse, Wis.); [Ontario 61 and US 61]	281
Section a.	Port Arthur-Duluth	282
Section b.	Duluth-St. Paul	290
Section c.	St. Paul-Wisconsin Line	297
Tour 2.	Junction with State II-Bemidji-Wadena-Sauk Center-Willmar-Redwood Falls-Windom-Jackson-(Spencer, Iowa); [US 71]	307
Tour 3.	Junction with US 53-Hibbing-Grand Rapids-Minneapolis-Mankato-Blue Earth-Elmore-(Fort Dodge, Iowa); [US 169]	318
Section a.	Junction with US 53-Minneapolis	320
Section b.	Minneapolis-Iowa Line	328
Tour 4.	(Winnipeg, Manitoba)-Noyes-Crookston-Moorhead-Breckenridge-Ortonville-Pipestone-Luverne-(Sioux City, Iowa); [US 75]	334
Section a.	Canadian Border (Noyes)-Moorhead	335
Section b.	Moorhead-Ortonville	339
Section c.	Ortonville-Iowa Line	340
Tour 5.	(Ft. Frances, Ontario)-International Falls-Cook-Virginia-Eveleth-Duluth-(Superior, Wis.); [US 53]	343
Tour 6.	(Ft. Frances, Ontario)-International Falls-Baudette-Warroad-Roseau-Greenbush-Donaldson-(Drayton, N. Dak.); [State 11]	348
Tour 7.	(Superior, Wis.)-Duluth-Grand Rapids-Bemidji-Crookston-East Grand Forks-(Grand Forks, N. Dak.); [US 2]	356
Section a.	Wisconsin Line (Duluth)-Bemidji	356
Section b.	Bemidji-North Dakota Line	361
Tour 8.	Junction with US 61-Finland-Ely-Tower-Cook; [State 1]	364
Tour 9.	(Burr Oak, Iowa)-Rochester-Zumbrota-Twin Cities-Anoka-St. Cloud-Alexandria-Fergus Falls-Moorhead-(Fargo, N. Dak.); [US 52]	369
Section a.	Iowa Line-Minneapolis	369
Section b.	Minneapolis-North Dakota Line	375
Tour 10.	(Hudson, Wis.)-Twin Cities-Delano-Litchfield-Willmar-Benson-Ortonville-(Aberdeen, S. Dak.); [US 12]	382
Tour 11.	Twin Cities-Chaska-Granite Falls-Montevideo-Dawson-(Watertown, S. Dak.); [US 212]	388
Tour 12.	(La Crosse, Wis.)-La Crescent-Winona-Rochester-Owatonna-Mankato-New Ulm-Tracy-Lake Benton-(Huron, S. Dak.); [US 14]	396
Tour 13.	(La Crosse, Wis.)-La Crescent-Preston-Austin-Albert Lea-Blue Earth-Fairmont-Worthington-Luverne-(Sioux Falls, S. Dak.); [US 16]	407
Tour 14.	Minneapolis-Farmington-Northfield-Faribault-Owatonna-Albert Lea-(Northwood, Iowa); [US 65]	417
Tour 15.	Junction with US 61-Aitkin-Crosby-Brainerd-Motley; [US 210]	425
Tour 16.	(Prescott, Wis.)-St. Paul-East St. Cloud-Little Falls-Staples-Detroit Lakes-Moorhead-(Fargo, N. Dak.); [US 10]	429
Tour 17.	St. Vincent-Thief River Falls-Detroit Lakes-Fergus Falls-Montevideo-Marshall-Worthington-(Cherokee, Iowa); [US 59]	442
Section a.	St. Vincent-Detroit Lakes	443
Section b.	Detroit Lakes-Iowa Line	447
Tour 18.	(Ellsworth, Wis.)-Red Wing-Lake City-Zumbro Falls Rochester-Spring Valley-(Waterloo, Iowa); [US 63]	451
Tour 19.	(St. Croix Falls, Wis.)-Taylors Falls-Center City-Forest Lake-Minneapolis; [US 8]	453
Tour 20.	Bemidji-Cass Lake-Walker-Brainerd-Little Falls; [US 371]	460
	Superior National Forest and Canoe Trips	465
Canoe Trip 1.	International Boundary Route from Gunflint Area	469
	McFarland Lake
	Mountain Lake
	Rose Lake
	Gunflint Lake
	Saganaga Lake
	Cypress Lake
	Big Knife Lake
	Prairie Portage
	Upper Basswoods Falls
	Table Rock or Skull and Crossbones Campsites
	Crooked Lake
	Iron Lake
	Shortiss Island (Lac La Croix)
	Near Coleman Island (Lac La Croix)
	Group of Islands (on northwest end of Lac La Croix)
	South end of Lac La Croix
	Loon Lake
	Vermilion Narrows
Canoe Trip 2.	From Gunflint Area	471
	East Bearskin Lake
	Clearwater Lake
	McFarland Lake
	East Bearskin Lake
Canoe Trip 3.	From Gunflint Area	472
	Poplar Lake
	Winchell Lake
	Brule Lake
	Cherokee Lake
	Long Island Lake
	Henson Lake
	Poplar Lake
Canoe Trip 4.	From Gunflint Area	473
	Round Lake or Cross River
	Tuscarora Lake
	Little Saganaga Lake
	Frazer Lake
	Kekekabic Lake
	Sea Gull Lake
Canoe Trip 5.	From Gunflint Area	475
	Sea Gull Lake
	Red Rock Lake
	Sea Gull Lake
Canoe Trip 6.	From Gunflint Area	475
	Sawbill Lake
	Polly Lake
	Little Saganaga Lake
	Snip Lake
	Cherokee Lake
	Sawbill Lake
Canoe Trip 7.	From Ely Area	477
	Lake One
	Lake Three
	Hudson Lake
	North Kawishiwi River
	Polly Lake
	Parent Lake
	Isabella Lake
	Isabella River
	Bald Eagle Lake
	South Kawishiwi River
	Lake One
Canoe Trip 8.	From Ely Area	479
	White Iron Lake or Silver Rapids
	Clear Lake
	Birch Lake
	White Iron Lake or Silver Rapids
Canoe Trip 9.	From Ely Area	479
	Fall Lake or Winton
	Bass Wood Lake
Canoe Trip 10.	From Ely Area	480
	Burntside Lake
	Fenske Lake
	Grassy Lake
	Murphy Lake
Canoe Trip 11.	From Ely Area	481
	Burntside Lake
	Big Lake
	Stuart Lake
	Boulder River
Canoe Trip 12.	From Ely Area	482
	Burntside Lake
	Cummings Lake
	Moose Lake
	Nina Moose Lake
	Lake Agnes
Canoe Trip 13.	From Ely Area	483
	Moose Lake
	Ensign Lake
	Thomas Lake
	Kekekabic Lake
	Knife Lake
Canoe Trip 14.	From Tower Area	484
	Vermilion Lake
	Little Trout Lake
	Little Indian Sioux River Campsite
	East Bay of Loon Lake
	Lac La Croix
Canoe Trip 15.	From Tower Area	485
	Vermilion Lake
	Vermilion Dam
	Vermilion River
	Crane Lake
Part IV.	Appendices
	Chronology	489
	Suggestions for Further Reading	498
	Index	504