James J. Hill was a force to be reckoned with. Not only in Minnesota or United States’ history, but worldwide. He was also a father. He and his wife, Mary, had 9 children that grew to adulthood. Their eldest child, Mary Frances (“Mamie”), was sharp, smart and independent, but a girl. James Norman Hill was the oldest son and the presumptive heir to the Great Northern Railway Empire, but in the end lost the throne to his younger brother, Louis.

James J. Hill and his wife, Mary had 10 children. Any family that large is bound to have a black sheep and in the Hills’ case, it was their youngest: Walter.

The Pillsbury Castle was opened for tours as part of the ASID Showcase after almost a year’s worth of renovations. Yes, it is THOSE Pillsburys. But which one?

Did you know that besides the landmark James J. Hill House at 240 Summit Avenue the Hill Family owned more than 10 houses along Summit through the years? 

A lot of people who visit the James J. Hill house on Summit Avenue have questions about this smaller building at the end of the driveway. Contrary to popular belief, this is NOT a carriage house. It’s a gatehouse (there IS a difference) and it served two purposes. 

Turns out being a “road to nowhere” comes in handy for Hollywood.

Wisconsin never misses a chance to remind us that they are a top-producing dairy state. But did you know that Wisconsin’s dairy domination is THANKS to Minnesota and our Alfalfa?

In 2024, the Minnesota Department of Transportation was a little embarrassed when they were notified they had misspelled a road sign in Saint Paul. Drivers were confused by signs with two different spellings. Ady? Ayd? Which one was right? Where did the name even come from? 

Minnehaha Creek is so pretty and winds its way from Gray’s Bay on Lake Minnetonka all the way to the Mississippi River. Visiting the waterfall is high on everyone’s Minneapolis “must see” lists, but not many people know that before downtown Minneapolis became the Mill District, this creek also powered six different mills. 

A few barges are always tied up at the Lower Landing today, making their way down the Mississippi River. A few steamboats operate tours out from a small landing on Harriet Island. Otherwise, looking at the landing today you would never guess that it was once the epicenter of transport into the Northwest Territory.

You’ve heard of Schmidt and Hamm’s, Grain Belt and Schell’s. They’re all great, historic, Minnesota beer brands. But the oldest, the original, the first doesn’t really roll off the tongue the same way - Yoerg’s. 

Many of the buildings around Mears Park in Saint Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood were originally built in the late 1800s to be factories. In the 1960s, the great-granddaughter of one company’s owners would be known as the “Factory Girl”.

If you’ve ever flown over the midwest, you might have looked out the window and noticed the patchwork quilt squares that divide up the land. That’s not a coincidence. 

In Saint Paul, Minnesota, Swede Hollow was know as the Swedish slum and the nearby Connemara Patch was home to the Irish. Unlike the Swedes, the Irish journey to Minnesota included a big detour out of the way. 

We’ve all seen the headlines about homeless encampments in the Twin Cities. It seems like one is being cleared or moved every few months. But did you know that Swede Hollow, now a park in Saint Paul, was effectively a homeless encampment for over 100 years? 

In 1983, “The Outsiders” based on the book by S. E. Hinton and directed by Francis Ford Coppola hit movie theaters and was a huge success. The follow up film based on another Hinton novel, “That was Then, This is Now”, was filmed in Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

So many of the old homes in Saint Paul are dark and foreboding. So it’s fun to discover the family that built this one liked a little more drama.

In the late 1800s the wealthy lived on Summit Avenue and the poor lived in Swede Hollow. Where did the middle class live? 

So, if your mother built you a house - but you had to live next to your siblings - would you take it? 

There’s no denying that 2023 has been a very good year for Taylor Swift. She is everywhere - like it or not - and she has achieved world-wide fame. But if you think Minnesota has gone crazy for Swift, just wait until you see how gaga they were over a mid-nineteenth century Swedish opera singer.