Bdote - Historic Fort Snelling

(May 26, 2018) – Saint Paul Minnesota

On a seasonally hot Memorial Day weekend Saturday, I made an overdue visit to historic Fort Snelling. The Fort is located out of sight but just across the highway from the Minneapolis – St. Paul hub airport.

Fort Snelling was located in 1818 at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers, a junction known by the Sioux as Bdote. Bdote for many years prior to U. S. possession had cultural significance to the Sioux people.

Brigadier General Zebulon Pike (whom Pike’s Peak was named for) in 1805 led an expedition to explore the Mississippi River. Pike’s exploration while not directly sanctioned by President Thomas Jefferson took place the same time as the Lewis and Clark expedition of the Missouri River and the Pacific Northwest.

During his exploration Pike concluded a treaty with two Sioux Indian Chiefs and concluded as history records “Pike’s Purchase.”  The Treaty that was never ratified provided for the sale of about one hundred thousand acres of land (within U. S. territory) to the government. Inside the boundaries of Pike’s Purchase were Bdote and also the junction of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers (today: Hastings, Minnesota.)

Colonel Josiah Snelling, the Commander of the U S Fifth Infantry Regiment in 1819 was dispatched to Bdote to build a military fort. Named Fort Saint Anthony, the fort’s mission was to establish the United States’ presence in the territory, provide protection for settlers, and facilitate the fur trade. Fort Saint Anthony became the furthest western outpost in U. S. territory at the time. In 1825 Fort Saint Anthony was renamed Fort Snelling.

Fort Snelling remained operational with many different missions until it closed in 1946. The Fort was turned over to the State of Minnesota in 1858 when Minnesota was granted Statehood.  During the Civil War, Fort Snelling was used for recruiting and training exercises by both the Minnesota State Militia and Union Army. The federal government also maintained an Indian Agency there. After the Civil War the U S Army regained possession. During World War I, the Army built a contemporary facility for the U. S. Calvary adjacent to the historic fort. Over three hundred thousand soldiers mustered out at Fort Snelling in World War I. In 1944 the Army relocated their Foreign Language Training School to Fort Snelling for the teaching of Japanese and Korean languages. Minnesota being one of the few states willing to accept the school with its Japanese-American instructors.

Fort Snelling throughout its history never came under attack. On a very few occasions the battery did fire warning shots across the bow of boats traveling up river that would not stop for identification. While only four of the original buildings remain intact, the historic compound has been accurately reconstructed to its 1820s provenance. The original buildings are the Watchtower, Commandant’s Home, Officer’s Quarters, and South Battery.

In addition to the aforementioned buildings, the Garrison included the barracks, the half-moon battery overlooking the junction of the rivers, the Fort’s store, the commissary, the magazine, the school which was also used as a chapel and warehouse, the guard’s office with sleeping quarters and jail, and the shops. The shops included kitchen, bakery, carpentry, and blacksmith. The perimeter of the fort is surrounded by a high stone wall rising high above the rivers. The buildings encompass the large parade ground.

The Batteries were seriously cool. Their commanding position and construction provided great protection yet retained the flexibility to quickly maneuver and sight their guns. The Commandant’s Home including the Command headquarters in the basement were a great snapshot of how garrison operations are carried out. The Command headquarters included Commanding Officer’s office and map room, Adjutant’s office, and clerks’ office.

Historic Fort Snelling is a wonderful learning opportunity. This well maintained historic site gives a first-hand look at the daily life of a soldier on the frontier. The Minnesota Historical Society has done a comprehensive job with this historically significant venue. 

The attendants, guides, and reenactors are extremely welcoming and knowledgeable. Their expertise is caused by the fact many are teachers. Working at Fort Snelling is a compatible second job because public tours are available only during the summer months and on special weekends.

The Minnesota Historical Society is a first-class Minnesota government agency. I appreciate Minnesota’s commitment to history. Each of their other sites I have visited (James J Hill House and Mill City Museum) are tops!

The Historical Society’s presentation of Fort Snelling goes beyond its military and American history. They place an added emphasis on the treatment of minority peoples including relationships between the First Americans (Sioux and Ojibwe) African Americans (Dred Scott), and Japanese Americans (the Foreign Language School).

Footnote – There were two important residents of Fort Snelling. Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Taylor served as Commanding Officer from 1828 to 1829. Taylor would later become a Major General and hero in the Mexican War and our twelfth President. Dred Scott lived there with his family from 1836 to 1840 as a slave owned by the Post Surgeon. Scott later returned to Missouri a slave state. Claiming his four years in Wisconsin Territory (Fort Snelling) made him a freeman, he sued for his freedom. Ultimately the United States Supreme Court decided against him. The Dred Scott decision in 1857 fueled the flames of public divisiveness on the slavery issue leading up to the Civil War.

Historic Turnblad Mansion

(May 24, 2018) Minneapolis, Minnesota

A recent lecture and exhibit at Siouxland Libraries prompted an escape from the store for some pre-Memorial Day holiday R & R in the Twin Cities. The lecturer in early April at Siouxland was Curt Pederson, the principal curator of the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis. Mr. Pederson delivered a very informative offering on Swedish culture and folk art. The lecture was accompanied by an engaging exhibit of Swedish woodcarvings.  His presentation was intriguing.

Afterwards Mr. Pederson was very patient in answering my questions about both Swedish culture and the artistry. Because of my interest, and one of his reasons for coming to Sioux Falls was to promote the Institute, Mr. Pederson extended an invitation to see the ASI sometime when I come to Minneapolis. 

I accepted his invitation

My experience was altogether different from what I expected. The American Swedish Institute is the engaging story of a man’s love and pride in his native country with a cultural twist.

Swan Johann Turnblad was born in Sweden in 1860 and immigrated to Goodhue County, Minnesota when he was eight years old. Growing up on a farm, Swan learned the values of hard work. After high school he became a teacher though he continued to help on the family farm. Swan was ambitious and a very private person.

In pursuit of a better life, Swan moved to Minneapolis in 1878 where he found work as a typesetter at a Swedish American newspaper. In Minneapolis Swan met Christina Nilsson, another Swede who moved to Minneapolis by way of Slayton, Minnesota. Swan and Christina were married in 1883 and had one child, Lillian.

Swan in 1887 became the manager and part owner of Svenska Amerikanska Posten. The newspaper was written entirely in Swedish. Swan was a good businessman. He possessed excellent marketing skills and vision, was technologically progressive, and was adept in the field of finance and investment. In today’s terminology he might have been considered a corporate raider, unusual for a modest Swede.

From 1865 until 1915, one and a quarter million Swedes moved to the upper Midwest region of the United States (Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas.) Swan Turnblad recognized this market and at its height, Svenska Amerikanska Posten (SAP), had nearly fifty thousand subscribers including some in Sweden. An outstanding publisher, he excelled in his selling advertising and adapting the latest innovations in printing (technology.)

Importantly Swan through financial and legal strategies consolidated his and Christina’s ownership of SAP. Swan Turnblad amassed a financial fortune as a result of the newspaper’s success and other investments.

In 1903 Swan began construction of a mansion for his family on the corner of Park Avenue and 26^th Street, south of downtown Minneapolis. Park Avenue was known as Minneapolis’ “Golden Mile”. The mansion was among several other mansions on the Golden Mile belonging to the wealthy and socially elite of Minneapolis, including several of the famous millers. Park Avenue was the first paved street in Minneapolis.

The Turnblad mansion was unique, constructed on a framework of steel. Sixteen carpenters three woodcarvers and untold number of masons built the home. Included were all the modern conveniences including electricity, gas heating, indoor plumbing, and telephone. Because of the steel super structure, the home is very open employing several pocket doors. The craftsmanship is spectacular and the décor ornate. The home was built on six lots with a cost over one million dollars. 

What makes Swan’s story fascinating is this thirty-three-room massive Chateau structure, was built for a family of just three very private people. They were known to have entertained there only once, a few years after they no longer permanently occupied the mansion. The Turnblad’s occupied the home for about five years.

Swan, Christina, and Lillian moved to an apartment built adjacent to his new offices and printing plant constructed downtown. In 1915 the Turnblad’s relocated again to a luxurious apartment house located directly across Park Avenue from their unoccupied but still maintained mansion. Swan would reside in the apartment the rest of his life.

In 1930 Swan established the American Institute of Swedish Arts, Literature, and Science. He gifted the Mansion to serve as its headquarters and made a large financial endowment to his Institute. Swan died in 1933 and daughter Lillian who never married moved to a small farm south of Minneapolis. Lillian left her estate to the Institute, later renamed American Swedish Institute.

The large and beautiful Turnblad mansion, the center for American Swedish culture is a paradox.

Swedes are a modest and humble people. The hallmark of the Swede is expressed by the Swedish word lagom – translated moderation. Why then did this practical businessman build a mansion he essentially did not desire? The anomaly was to not so subtlety tell his Norwegian and German neighbors there was a Swede in their elegant neighborhood!

ASI Today –

Today the ASI carries out Swan Turnblad’s vision of promoting his native pride, telling the story of the Swedish culture in America, and fostering Swedish and American relations.

The mansion serves primarily as a stand-alone attraction, though Swedish art and design are displayed within the home’s spacious rooms. The Institute’s other undertakings are located in the adjacent next-door Institute property, the Nelson Cultural Center.

Nelson Center was opened in 2012 and includes a Nordic themed café, FIKA (in Swedish meaning to have coffee and meatballs are always on the menu), an art gallery for exhibitions of Swedish art, an art studio for classes, storage archives for ASI’s collections, and an event space. The Nelson Center highlights Swedish design and I was impressed by the fact there are five classes each week for Swedish woodcarving. Gustavus Adolphus College located in St. Peter, Minnesota founded in 1862 by Swedish Lutherans rents office space in the Nelson Center.

Curt Pederson and the staff were welcoming hosts and it was two and a half hours well spent getting new insights to not just Swedish but Minnesota culture.