On June 6th a crowd of thousands gathered in the northeast corner of Lake of the Isles to witness the fifth annual sharpening of the giant Loti pencil. I was amongst that crowd, and while I was excited to participate in this weird little niche of Minnesota history, I [...]
We love our museum, but like a lot of the things we love, we know it's got some issues. When you walk through the doors of Hennepin History Museum, you’re confronted with a staircase. For some visitors, it’s not a big [...]
Taking Stock It’s at this time of the year more than any other, that we understand that change is unavoidable and often times welcomed. Without any effort from me or you, the clock struck 12 on January 1 to ring in a new [...]
A portion of page two of the Winslow House Register One of our first digitization projects In a large nutshell, digitization is the process of converting an analog format, say, paper, into a digital one, say, a pdf or [...]
From the Sandy Spieler digital collection Back when I was in library school, I was introduced to makerspaces, and I got hooked. I fell in love with this idea of playing in the library and creating something out of [...]
Frank S. Harris, Minneapolis Fire Department, 1904. Not the first Our culture has taught us that first is something to want. First to finish is fastest, smartest, and best. To be the first person of color in a profession [...]
Note from one of Hennepin History Museum's former directors, Joseph Zalusky, written on framed 1861 map of St. Anthony and Minneapolis. ...Or why we deaccessioned an 1861 St. Anthony-Minneapolis Map One answer to the question above is, I hope [...]
Bill of sale for Slye family slave called London, Rehoboth, Massachusetts, 1722 I’m sure you’re aware that Hennepin History Museum has an archive of historic documents and photos, but we also have digital collections. Although we don’t [...]
Explore Hennepin County History Online with the Minnesota Digital Library By Stephanie Hess, Minnesota Digital Library Digital Curator St. Anthony Falls milling district with trestle bridge and Stone Arch Bridge, Minneapolis, 1895. The Minnesota Digital Library (MDL) contains digitized [...]
Just when I thought it was safe to go to public gatherings without a mask – healthy immune system, fully vaccinated, small group of people, COVID jumped all over me! The new variant of the virus saw me as “fresh meat” [...]
