Gale Family Library at the Minnesota Historical Society

Gale Family Library at the Minnesota Historical Society Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Gale Family Library at the Minnesota Historical Society, 345 Kellogg Boulevard W, Saint Paul, MN.

The reference librarians at the Gale Family Library are maintaining this page as a space to engage with our community of researchers in Minnesota and around the world. On this page, we:
* Share how-to’s, tips, and tricks for researching with our collections

* Highlight helpful resources

* Update people on library news and opportunities

* Answer your research questions

* Invite you to share your research experiences and stories

As summer winds down and we start to consider activities that will keep us out of the snow, ice, and cold, we take a mom...
09/03/2026

As summer winds down and we start to consider activities that will keep us out of the snow, ice, and cold, we take a moment to celebrate Bowling League Day!

What better way to spend an evening than with friends knocking down pins at your local alley? If you don’t happen to find yourself on a league team this September 3, well, then just grab a group of friends and head out to the lanes and get rollin’!

Here are a few fantastic photos from our Collections Online database (https://mnhs.info/4cklSkI). Celebrating a classic pastime the nation over. Come visit us for images, ephemera, and printed materials covering all sorts of indoor fun, sports, and activity!

Images:

Man Bowling, 1963, Norton & Peel photograph collection. MNHS Locator Number NP 286779A

Bowling Lanes, 1920. MNHS Locator Number GV3.16 r8

Action shot of a bowling ball hitting the pins, 1936, St. Paul Newspaper Negative Collection. MNHS Locator Number M.18.A.1 Packet 39

E.A. Dannecker bowling team in St. James Church hall, St. Paul, circa 1932. MNHS Locator Number GV3.16 p19

Bowling team from St. Paul, approximately 1953. MNHS Locator Number GV3.16 p30

Bowler at the throwing line, approximately 1935. Minnesota Journal, MNHS Locator Number GV3.16 r3

Bowling team from St. Paul at the American Bowling Congress, Fort Worth, 1957. MNHS locator number GV3.16 p33

Jean May, Margaret Baerner and Ruth Seeger bowling, 1940. MNHS Locator Number GV3.16 p27

W.L. Voerges chalks up his score, 1937. MNHS Locator Number GV3.16 p6

Summer 1894 was hot and dry with only two inches of rain from May to September in Central Minnesota. The town of Hinckle...
09/01/2026

Summer 1894 was hot and dry with only two inches of rain from May to September in Central Minnesota. The town of Hinckley had a booming lumber industry; a fire survivor described the local landscape as covered in “slash”- branches, stumps, and other remnants left after logging. In a drought, slash made excellent tinder.

Small fires popped up all summer but were easily contained. The fire that roared through Hinckley and the nearby area started as two separate fires near Mission Creek and Brook Park leaving both towns destroyed. By noon, people evacuated Hinckley as the fire neared. Residents braced themselves throughout the day. By 3:30 pm, the preparations became desperate as the firestorm neared.

30 minutes later, trains began to evacuate townsfolk. One train added 400 refugees to its passengers before leaving Hinckley, heading for Sandstone. A train from the St.Paul & Duluth Railway loaded 300 evacuees and reversed out of town, heading toward Duluth. The train caught fire and only made it as far as Skunk Lake, where people took cover in the water. Porter John Blair evacuated all passengers from the train, made several trips to rescue children, and extinguished clothing that had caught fire. Once the fire passed, he helped people back to the charred remains of the train cars for shelter. Blair suffered from severe burns but lived.

The fire consumed 1/4 million acres in four hours. The official death toll was 418, however, the true toll was higher due to Native Americans and backcountry dwellers living in the area. A monument to the fire victims stands on State Highway 48, just east of Interstate 35. Many who perished in the fire are buried there.

Further Reading:

Blair, John. John W. Blair papers, 1867-1915. MNHS Call Number P1788
Brown, Daniel. Under A Flaming Sky: The Great Hinckley Firestorm of 1894. MNHS Call Number SD421.32.M6 B76 2006

Hinckley Fire Museum https://mnhs.info/4gpiKqj
MNHS Hinckley Fire Research Guide https://mnhs.info/4ysfOzp
Laine, Mary. “Great Hinckley Fire, 1894”. MNopedia. https://mnhs.info/4ix7CsD

Images:
View of Hinckley main street the morning after the fire. MNHS Locator SC4.2H r1

Root's Engine, St. Paul & Duluth Railroad Company, carried the last train load of survivors out of Hinckley during the 1894 fire. MNHS Locator HE6.2N p3

Watch found at 1894 Hinckley Fire, MNHS Accession number 69.73

Teaspoon found at Hinkley Fire, MNHS Accession number 8255.32

In August we added new content from Stillwater, Hibbing, Chisholm, Cambridge, Duluth, Grove City, Lindstrom, Litchfield,...
08/30/2026

In August we added new content from Stillwater, Hibbing, Chisholm, Cambridge, Duluth, Grove City, Lindstrom, Litchfield, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Moorhead and Fargo, N.D. to the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.

In fact, we added so much content that we had to split this into two posts! Don't miss either one!!

Happy researching! https://mnhs.info/4wQ0VFP

Nya pressen (Lindstrom, Minn.) 1903.
https://mnhs.info/4xlyIrf

Rothuggaren (Litchfield, Minn.) 1881-1885.
https://mnhs.info/4xJzjU9

Facklan (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1918.
https://mnhs.info/3SfmPnJ

Odalmannen (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1912.
https://mnhs.info/4xu6uea

Vestern-Amerikanen (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1912-1914.
https://mnhs.info/3Uodbjb

Western American (Minneapolis, Minn.; St. Paul, Minn.) 1914.
https://mnhs.info/4xmzEf1

Folkvännen (Moorhead, Minn.; Fargo, N.D.) 1891.
https://mnhs.info/4xC1y6M

Fria ordet (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896.
https://mnhs.info/4zNnEVK

Gittit (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1900-1908.
https://mnhs.info/4hUjMvv

Svenska roman bladet (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1896-1921.
https://mnhs.info/4gzUwZ5

Image source:

Striker’s News. 4 August 1916, p. 1.
https://mnhs.info/4xpG4df

In August we added new content from Stillwater, Hibbing, Chisholm, Cambridge, Duluth, Grove City, Lindstrom, Litchfield,...
08/30/2026

In August we added new content from Stillwater, Hibbing, Chisholm, Cambridge, Duluth, Grove City, Lindstrom, Litchfield, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Moorhead and Fargo, N.D. to the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub.

In fact, we added so much content that we had to split this into two posts! Don't miss either one!!

Happy researching! https://mnhs.info/4hZNIGE

Stillwater evening gazette (Stillwater, Minn.) 1961-1963 added.
https://mnhs.info/4y5UnDM

Stillwater weekly gazette (Stillwater, Minn.) 1961-1963.
https://mnhs.info/4y57S6C

Hibbing daily tribune (Hibbing, Minn.) 1922-1923 added.
https://mnhs.info/4y8mvpX

Hibbing daily news and the Mesaba ore (Hibbing, Minn.) 1920-1922.
https://mnhs.info/4xxBt9i

Striker's news (Hibbing, Minn.) 1916.
https://mnhs.info/4y8mpP7

Gopher labor journal (Hibbing, Minn.) 1920.
https://mnhs.info/3UIRAlA

Tribune-herald (Chisholm, Minn.) 1910-1923.
https://mnhs.info/4ciJNRv

Isanti County press. Swedish ed. (Cambridge, Minn.) 1876.
https://mnhs.info/4itBt5i

Härolden (Duluth, Minn.) 1923-1924.
https://mnhs.info/46dryK1

Nordens väktare (Duluth, Minn.) 1911-1914.
https://mnhs.info/45ONhYt

Upplysningens tidehvarf (Grove City, Minn.) 1883.
https://mnhs.info/4iz6Fjt

Image source:

Striker’s News. 4 August 1916, p. 1.
https://mnhs.info/4d6ohQa

Ahhh... the end of summer in Minnesota is so bittersweet. Days are getting shorter, Back-to-School (and even Halloween!)...
08/28/2026

Ahhh... the end of summer in Minnesota is so bittersweet. Days are getting shorter, Back-to-School (and even Halloween!) ads are out, and the first sight of leaves changing colors. Luckily, there is one thing that we can look forward to during the last week of August- the Minnesota State Fair!

To celebrate the Great Minnesota Get-Together, we are sharing some of our favorite photos and memorabilia from the Fair over the years. What are some of your favorite memories?

Don't forget to visit the Minnesota Historical Society booth, located at the DNR Complex. We hope to see you there!

Learn more about the Minnesota State Fair with our State Fair: The Great Minnesota Get-Together research guide: https://mnhs.info/4wPVNkY

Images:
Minnesota State Fair map, 1962. MNHS library call number G4144.S4:2M56 1962 .M56 4F

Main entrance, Minnesota State Fair, approximately 1909 - 1910. MNHS locator number Collection I.462.1

Minnesota State Fair button, 1993. MNHS accession number 1995.309.2

Minnesota State Fair admission ticket, 1920. MNHS accession number 1996.537.92

National Guard troops arriving for strike duty at the State Fairgrounds, 1934. MNHS locator number HG3.18T p99

Minnesota State Fair badge, 1992. MNHS accession number 1987.120.3

Linda Paulsen designing crop art, Minnesota State Fair, 2013. MNHS locator number Collection I.454.15 dig

"Round-Up" on the Midway, Minnesota State Fair, 1963. MNHS Collection I.169.21

People gathered around KSTP television cameras of the telemobile, MNHS locator number FM6.55X p23

Minnesota State Fair, 1922. MNHS locator number FM6.5 b9

On August 31, 1929, the Foshay Tower opened in Minneapolis. Built by businessman Wilbur B. Foshay as his company’s headq...
08/27/2026

On August 31, 1929, the Foshay Tower opened in Minneapolis. Built by businessman Wilbur B. Foshay as his company’s headquarters, the Foshay Tower was the tallest building in Minneapolis when it was completed in 1929. Modeled after the Washington Monument in Washington D.C., it was 32 stories high, and featured an “8,000,000 candlepower aviation beacon,” which was viewable from as far away as Stillwater on a clear day.

Foshay spared no expense for his new tower, which was emblazoned with his name on every side in bright lights. The building was adorned with marble, bronze, and gold-plated faucets were installed in Foshay’s own private rooms, located on the top floors of the tower. The opening celebration was equally lavish, with John Philip Sousa writing “Foshay Tower Washington Memorial March” for the event, the U.S. Secretary of War, James W. Good, in attendance, and attendees were even gifted complimentary gold watches, courtesy of Foshay’s company. The estimated cost for this celebration was $126,894: close to $2.5 million dollars in today’s dollars.

The good times didn’t last long, unfortunately. Foshay’s company went bankrupt after the stock market crash of 1929. Unable to pay off his debts, Foshay ended up with a 15-year prison sentence, 10 years of which was commuted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The ownership of the Foshay Tower changed hands multiple times in the intervening years, but after years of development it was reopened as the W Hotel, and is still in operation today.

Interested in learning more about the Foshay Tower and its history? Try searching for “Foshay Tower” in the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub to see stories of one of Minnesota’s most cherished skyscrapers throughout the years. Happy researching!

Sources/Images:

Aamodt, Britt. “Foshay Tower.” MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://mnhs.info/4g5qkWN

Rochester Post-Bulletin. 1 November 1929, p. 1
https://mnhs.info/4qlsHIm

Stillwater Daily Gazette. 1 March 1929, p. 1.
https://mnhs.info/4672Evf

08/25/2026

The Minnesota Renaissance Festival opened last weekend in Shakopee for its 55th season! To celebrate, here's a KSTP-TV news story from forty years ago that flashes back to when turkey legs cost just $2.50!

For more Renaissance Festival material in our collection, check out Collections Online: https://mnhs.info/

🗞️Extra! Extra! Senaste nytt! 🗞️ In an ongoing effort to increase access to historic newspapers, we are thrilled to anno...
08/21/2026

🗞️Extra! Extra! Senaste nytt! 🗞️

In an ongoing effort to increase access to historic newspapers, we are thrilled to announce that 1.3 million pages of Swedish American newspapers digitized by the National Library of Sweden are now publicly available online! The newly digitized papers, from over 300 newspaper titles published across the United States and Canada between 1851 and 2007, are available online in the Swedish American Newspapers website hosted by the Minnesota Historical Society.

This expansive project has been years in the making and allows the opportunity for deep research into Swedish American history. We’re so excited to see what you find in these papers– leave us a comment letting us know what you uncover! Happy researching.

Image sources:

Vestkusten. 6 October 1986, p. 1.
https://mnhs.info/4wERYPi

Texas Posten. 16 January 1913, p. 1.
https://mnhs.info/3UM387y

Stridsropet. 22 December 1917, p. 1.
https://mnhs.info/3ULefxz

Svenska Amerikanska Posten. 21 July 1903, p. 1.
https://mnhs.info/4wDJ4li

On the evening of August 20, 1904, a tornado recording winds of up to 110 miles per hour ripped through the Twin Cities ...
08/20/2026

On the evening of August 20, 1904, a tornado recording winds of up to 110 miles per hour ripped through the Twin Cities and Stillwater, killing 14, knocking down spans of the High Bridge, and destroying the Tivoli Concert Hall in St. Paul.

The storm caused havoc across the Twin Cities area. The tornado that destroyed the High Bridge formed near Uptown in Minneapolis, ripped up hundreds of trees and tore roofs off homes. It crossed the Mississippi River near the Tenth Avenue Bridge, skipped over southeast Minneapolis, and raced through the St. Anthony Park area before running through St. Paul.

The same storm produced a tornado in Waconia which killed 5 people and destroyed the city hall. Check out the MNopedia article on the Waconia Cyclone for more information: https://mnhs.info/3UGGb5I

News articles from the event can be found in our digital newspaper hub: https://mnhs.info/3SIC3BJ

Images:

High Bridge after cyclone, St. Paul, 1904. MNHS locator QC2.51b p67

Ruins of the High Bridge, St. Paul, 1904. MNHS locator QC2.51b p66

High Bridge after cyclone, St. Paul, 1904. MNHS locator QC2.51b p68

High Bridge after cyclone, St. Paul, 1904. MR2.9 SP4.2 p146

A rear view of the Tivoli Concert Hall following cyclone, St. Paul, 1904. MNHS locator QC2.51b p56

August 19th is World Photography Day, and we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite photographs in our co...
08/19/2026

August 19th is World Photography Day, and we thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite photographs in our collections. If you would like to explore our photograph collection, check out Collections Online! https://mnhs.info/4qnkLq8

Images:
Dog with pipe in mouth, approximately 1875. MNHS locator number SF3.1 r14

Cat in doll bed, approximately 1915. MNHS locator number SF3.2 p9

Children eating cotton candy, approximately 1935. MNHS locator number GV1.2 p14

Man sleeping in a chair before a fireplace, a "spirit" at left, approximately 1915. MNHS locator number GV1.4 p6

Picnic. approximately 1910. MNHS locator number GV4.11 r36

Steam locomotive, 1910. MNHS locator number HE6.1 r13

Teenager Mitzi Holter on the telephone, 1947. MNHS locator number HC5.3 p11

Three boys at a food booth at the Minnesota State Fair, 1947. MNHS locator number FM6.55C p13

Address

345 Kellogg Boulevard W
Saint Paul, MN
55102

Opening Hours

Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

(651) 259-3300

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