The collection at Hennepin History Museum has several bottles once used by the Gluek Brewing Company. Gluek Brewing was one of the first manufacturing companies in the region. In fact, it was established before the State of Minnesota even existed. In 1857, German [...]
Image from HHM Collections Minnesota’s booming medical device industry can trace its roots to artificial limbs. Beginning in the second half of the nineteenth century, the Twin Cities became a hub of prosthetics companies. The industry in Hennepin County [...]
Usually the first location that comes to mind when thinking about topic of slavery is the southern United States. However, Minnesota, “the Star of the North,” has a long and dark history as part of the nation’s greatest shame. The most infamous case of slavery in the Minnesota [...]
Image from HHM Collections This simple Cargill feed sack in the collection at Hennepin History Museum represents the success story of a local business. Today, Cargill is the largest privately held corporation in the United States, but the conglomerate traces [...]
Hennepin County resident Howard H. Thompson innovated wooden dishware. After founding Weavewood Inc. in 1947, he worked with chemists to develop a manufacturing process that applied a resin to his first prototype, a wooden bowl. This new process made the wood non-absorbent. This development [...]
Image from HHM Collections Grain Belt is Minnesota’s best-known beer. The brand has endured a tumultuous history that spans over 125 years, but still has a loyal customer base in the upper Midwest, especially in Hennepin County. The collection at [...]
Image from HHM Collections Many of us grew up drinking Tang or Kool-Aid. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Hennepin County residents relied on The Zieve Nectar Company for fruit-flavored drinks that could be made at home. This Zieve’s [...]
Image from HHM Archives Wilbur David “Dave” Dover was born on March 4, 1914 in New York. He was the eldest child of George and Fanny (Weintraub) both first generation immigrants to the United States. George was an Englishman, born in London, [...]
Image from HHM Collections This insulated box in the collection at Hennepin History Museum once sat on a Minneapolis resident’s porch awaiting the arrival of an Ewald Brothers milkman to come and leave dairy products in it. At one point in time, [...]
For a short time, one Hennepin County company was the nation’s leading innovator in the field of audiological diagnostic instruments and hearing aids. The device seen here from Hennepin History Museum’s collection is a Maico audiometer that dates to 1940. This device was renowned for being [...]
