Minnesota
The earth beneath Minnesota holds rocks that are 3.6 billion years old, making them some of the oldest on the planet. These ancient gneisses formed during a time when the planet itself was only about 4.5 billion years old. About 2.7 billion years ago, basaltic lava poured from cracks in the floor of a primordial ocean to create what is now known as the Canadian Shield in northeast Minnesota. Massive ice sheets at least one kilometer thick later ravaged the landscape and sculpted the terrain we see today.
The Wisconsin glaciation left 12,000 years ago, covering all of Minnesota except for the far southeast corner. This area remains distinct because it lacks glacial drift and features steep hills cut into bedrock. The rest of the state contains 50 feet or more of glacial till deposited by retreating glaciers. Gigantic Lake Agassiz formed in the northwest 13,000 years ago, leaving behind the flatbed that became the fertile Red River valley.
Minnesota's highest point sits at Eagle Mountain, which reaches 2,301 feet above sea level. The lowest point lies just 601 feet above sea level at the shore of Lake Superior. Despite these dramatic local differences, much of the state remains a gently rolling peneplain. Two major drainage divides meet in rural Hibbing, creating a triple watershed where precipitation can flow south to the Gulf of Mexico, east to the Atlantic Ocean, or north to the Arctic Ocean.
Dakota people lived in what is now Minnesota when Europeans first arrived in the region during the 17th century. French voyageurs and fur traders used the Grand Portage to access trapping areas further inland. The Anishinaabe migrated into Minnesota, causing tensions with Dakota people and displacing the Mdewakanton from their homelands along Mille Lacs Lake.
French explorers such as Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, Father Louis Hennepin, Jonathan Carver, Henry Schoolcraft, and Joseph Nicollet mapped the state. The area was part of Spanish Louisiana from 1762 to 1802 before becoming U.S. territory. In 1805, Zebulon Pike bargained with Native Americans to acquire land at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers for a military reservation.
Fort Snelling construction followed between 1819 and 1825. Soldiers built grist mills and sawmills at Saint Anthony Falls that became harbingers of water-powered industries around which Minneapolis later grew. Squatters settled near the fort until the army forced them off military lands in 1839. Most moved downriver outside the reservation to an area that became St. Paul.
Minnesota Territory formed on the 3rd of March 1849, with its first legislative session held the 2nd of September 1849. The state became the 32nd U.S. state on the 11th of May 1858. Treaties between the U.S. government and eastern Dakota and Ojibwe gradually forced natives onto reservations as conditions deteriorated. Tensions rose leading to the Dakota War of 1862.
The conflict ignited when four young Dakota men killed a family of white settlers on August 17 while searching for food. A faction of Little Crow's eastern Dakota decided to drive all settlers out of the Minnesota River valley. Dakota warriors killed hundreds of settlers over six weeks, causing thousands to flee the area. As many as 800 settlers were killed during the war.
Governor Alexander Ramsey declared that Sioux Indians must be exterminated or driven forever beyond state borders. He placed a bounty of $25 per scalp on eastern Dakota men. Over 1,600 eastern Dakota women, children, and elderly walked from Lower Sioux Agency to Fort Snelling to be held until spring thaw allowed riverboats to take them to Crow Creek Indian Reservation. Conditions there were poor and between 125 and 300 died of disease.
Logging centers in Pine City, Marine on St. Croix, Stillwater, and Winona processed vast quantities of timber along rivers ideal for transportation. Saint Anthony Falls later provided power for flour mills where innovations led to production of Minnesota patent flour commanding almost double the price of bakers' flour. By 1900, Minnesota mills including Pillsbury, Northwestern, and Washburn-Crosby Company ground 14.1% of the nation's grain.
Iron-mining industry established with discovery of iron in Vermilion and Mesabi ranges in 1880s followed by Cuyuna Range in early 1900s. Ore went by rail to Duluth and Two Harbors for ship transport east via Great Lakes. In 2016 state produced 60% of country's usable iron ore through taconite mining processes developed locally.
Engineering Research Associates formed in 1946 to develop computers for U.S. Navy before merging into Sperry Rand. William Norris left Sperry in 1957 to form Control Data Corporation. Cray Research emerged when Seymour Cray left CDC to start his own company. Medical device maker Medtronic began business in Twin Cities in 1949 while Mayo Clinic founded in 1864 in Rochester grew to become one of country's leading medical systems.
Minnesota had population of about 5.7 million in 2020 making it 22nd-most populous U.S. state. White population fell to 77.5% from over 98% in early to mid-20th century according to 2020 census data. Black population rose to 7%, Asian population to 5.3%, and those identifying as two or more races to 6.1%.
State has largest Somali population in country and largest Hmong population per capita. As of 2018, Minnesota had largest refugee population per capita of any state with 2% of country's population but 13% of its refugees. Largest groups over past decades included Hmongs, Somalis, Ethiopians, and Vietnamese.
Other major refugee groups recently settling include Burmese, Liberians, Ecuadorians, Congolese, Russians, and Ukrainians. State also receives large numbers of non-refugee immigrants primarily from Mexico, India, China, Korea, and Canada. Ancestry groups claimed by more than 5% of population were German at 33.8%, Norwegian at 15.3%, Irish at 10.5%, Swedish at 8.1%, and English at 5.4%.
Minnesota consistently casts Electoral College votes for Democratic presidential candidates since 1976 longer than any other U.S. state. In 2008 U.S. presidential election 78.2% of eligible Minnesotans voted highest percentage of any state versus national average of 61.2%. That figure surpassed in 2020 when 79.96% of registered voters participated in general election.
Since 2022 DFL won control of all three branches of government passing significant reforms in 2023 legislative session moving state in progressive direction. State constitution adopted the 13th of October 1857 roughly one year before statehood includes bill of rights reaffirming many same freedoms as federal counterpart with some protected more strongly.
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Common questions
How old are the rocks found in Minnesota?
The earth beneath Minnesota holds rocks that are 3.6 billion years old, making them some of the oldest on the planet.
When did Minnesota become a U.S. state?
Minnesota became the 32nd U.S. state on the 11th of May 1858 after forming as a territory on the 3rd of March 1849.
What is the highest point in Minnesota and how high is it?
Minnesota's highest point sits at Eagle Mountain which reaches 2,301 feet above sea level.
Who were the first people to live in what is now Minnesota when Europeans arrived?
Dakota people lived in what is now Minnesota when Europeans first arrived in the region during the 17th century.
Which year was the Minnesota state constitution adopted?
State constitution adopted the 13th of October 1857 roughly one year before statehood includes bill of rights reaffirming many same freedoms as federal counterpart with some protected more strongly.