Minnesota Trivia & Tidbits - Page 6

Looking for Minnesota trivia? Try our list Minnesota little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

Completed in 1870, the Washington County Historic Courthouse in Stillwater (pop. 15,143) is the state’s oldest standing courthouse. While county offices were moved in 1975, the building continues to serve residents as a history and community events center.

first appeared: 9/18/2005

In August 1805, Army Lt. Zebulon Pike was sent to explore the Mississippi River’s headwaters, gather geographical data and survey sites for military garrisons. Though he incorrectly proclaimed that Cass Lake was the river’s source, he did succeed in buying land from the Dakota Indians, which later became the site of Fort Snelling.

first appeared: 9/11/2005

Switzer’s Licorice, first made in 1888 in St. Louis, Mo., but discontinued by a new owner, was whipped back into production last November at a plant in Perham (pop. 2,559) by Michael and Joseph Switzer, grandsons of the original candy maker.

first appeared: 8/28/2005

The 1946 Covington towboat pushed barges on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers for 30 years. Today it has a new life as The Covington Inn, a bed and breakfast moored on the Mississippi River banks in St. Paul, trimmed from stem to stern with mahogany, brass and bronze, and decorated with nautical antiques and salvaged fixtures.

first appeared: 8/14/2005

The Aerial Lift Bridge spans the ship canal between Duluth and Minnesota Point. When built in 1905, a suspended gondola transported passengers and vehicles across the canal. Remodeled in 1930, the bridge now has a roadway that is raised to allow huge ships to pass underneath.

first appeared: 7/31/2005

Milburn Henke of Hutchinson (pop. 13,080) was the first U.S. combat soldier to land in Europe during World War II. Photographs of his arrival at Belfast, Ireland, on Jan. 26, 1942, appeared in scores of newspapers.

first appeared: 7/17/2005

J.R. Watkins Medical Co., founded in 1868 in Plainview (pop. 3,190), was the nation’s first company to offer a money-back guarantee. The company’s first product, Watkins Red Liniment, still is sold today.

first appeared: 6/19/2005

In 1950, H. David Dalquist created an aluminum cake pan with a center hole and fluted sides for members of a Jewish women’s society in Minneapolis who wanted to re-create cakes like their mothers had baked. His Bundt pan became a best seller.

first appeared: 5/22/2005

Of the state’s 17 species of snakes, two are venomous: the timber rattlesnake and massasauga. Both snakes are found only in the state’s southeastern region.

first appeared: 5/8/2005

Working for the 3M Co., Richard Drew invented masking tape in 1925 and cellophane adhesive tape in 1930. These tapes got their "Scotch" brand name when an auto painter told Drew his "Scotch" (frugal) bosses needed to add more adhesive.

first appeared: 4/24/2005

When it opened in 1926, the 13-arched Mendota Bridge over the Minnesota River in Mendota (pop. 197) was the world’s longest concrete bridge.

first appeared: 4/10/2005

Founded by director Sir Tyrone Guthrie, the Guthrie Theater opened in Minneapolis in 1963. It is noted for its irregularly angled stage that juts into the auditorium.

first appeared: 3/27/2005

Glacial Ridge, a 35,000-acre tallgrass prairie and wetland area near Crookston (pop. 8,192), was named a national wildlife refuge last October.

first appeared: 3/13/2005

The Mississippi River begins its 2,348-mile journey to the Gulf of Mexico in Itasca State Park near Bemidji (pop. 11,917).

first appeared: 2/27/2005

Born in St. Paul, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), author of The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night and This Side of Paradise, was named for his distant cousin, Francis Scott Key, who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner.

first appeared: 2/13/2005

Pink-and-white lady’s slippers (Cypripedium reginae), the state flower, bloom along Highway 11, a state wildflower route between Baudette (pop 1,104) and Greenbush (pop. 784). Located along the route, Williams (pop. 210) hosts a Wildflower Route Celebration, usually the third Saturday in June, to mark the lady’s slipper blooming season from mid-June to early July.

first appeared: 1/30/2005

The State School Orphanage Museum in Owatonna (pop. 22,434), housed in the former State School for Dependent and Neglected Children, tells the story of the nearly 20,000 children who lived at the school between 1886 and 1945.

first appeared: 1/16/2005

Waterous Co. in St. Paul is among the nation's biggest manufacturers of fire hydrants.

first appeared: 1/2/2005

The first Target store opened in 1962 in Roseville (pop. 33,690), a St. Paul suburb in Ramsey County.

first appeared: 12/19/2004

A 10-foot statue of a coot, an aquatic bird prevalent in the state, greets visitors at Ashby (pop. 472).

first appeared: 12/5/2004

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