November 19, 2017 By Jack Kabrud, Hennepin History Museum curator Demetrios Giorgos Villas was born in Niata Greece in 1883. He immigrated to the United States, alone, at the age of twelve, arriving at Ellis Island in the winter of 1895. [...]
November 16, 2017 Sometimes the most interesting part of an object is the mystery surround it. We don’t know much about the origins or history of the caboose stove that is today’s Object Lesson, but up until very recently, we didn’t [...]
October 25, 2017 The history and demise of the West Hotel and the Tiffany urn that was created to honor the founders The West Hotel was known to be a destination of luxury in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. [...]
September 27, 2017 A Tale of an Extraordinary Ship and an Ordinary Bowl The USS Monitor was the first ironclad ship, and although it did not have a long life, it left quite a legacy. In fact, Winston Churchill stated, "The [...]
September 18, 2017 By Evan Walker This desk was made by students in the industrial arts class at South High School for the 1892 Republican National Convention. The chairman of the Republican Party, James S. Clarkson, sat behind it during the [...]
August 30, 2017 By Evan Walker Today’s Object Lesson might be one of the most exciting objects so far--at least to photograph. At almost 5 feet wide by 3 feet deep, the only way to fit the entire desk in the [...]
August 15, 2017 Above: one of two copy presses in the Hennepin History Museum collection. The letter copying press was invented in 1780 by the Scotsman James Watt, also the inventor of the steam engine. Watt's machine eliminated the need for laborious [...]
August 4, 2017 This appetizing assortment of biscuits sits in a frame that was once a display “window” on the outside of the Burch Pharmacy at Hennepin and Franklin Avenues in Minneapolis. It contains 22 different products, all made by Huntley [...]
June 19, 2017 The Minnesota frontier could be a frightening place to have an illness by today’s standards. Travel was slow, medical education was unregulated, and medicines were often limited to what you could make with the plants at hand. Many [...]
June 5, 2017 This blue, red, and white sporting sweater carries with it a lifetime of memories. Owned and worn by Wayzata resident Alfred Lindley, this sweater was donated to Hennepin History Museum by his sister, Mrs. Ward Burton. Mrs. Burton [...]
