Early Minnesota Institutions
I learned a significant amount of information this month about early Minnesota institutions. The most famous one is the Minnesota capitol building, which recently underwent a renovation. Before this facelift was completed, the crew doing the renovation contacted me to find out what I knew about the brick used in the building. There is very little information about the brick, but it was made in Chaska. I was able to supply them with the information I had.
Lately I have been doing articles in my monthly newsletter about the Winona and St. Cloud Normal Schools and the St. Peter Insane Asylum. However, I didn’t realize there were so many other state institutions. I had heard of the Stillwater Prison and have driven by the St. Cloud Reformatory, but I didn’t realize there was a soldier’s home, a home for dependent children, a home for children of deceased Civil War veterans, etc.
Why are they important? They are neat historical stories, and some of them evolved into colleges and institutions still in use today. In addition, local material was used as much as possible in their construction. In many instances, this meant local Minnesota brick. Exactly which brickyard furnished the material is sometimes lost, mainly because the local newspaper did not cover that type of story. The brick required for these buildings was immense, because the buildings were huge, elaborate, and beautifully designed. I have added a section in Brickipedia which covers Minnesota State buildings. I am also working on a section on county buildings, such as courthouses. Many county courthouses still stand today and were also built of local brick.