St. Louis County Historical Society

06/04/2026

A lot of Bicentennial energy came out of the St. Louis County Depot which housed the historical society and Bicentennial Commission. Come to our July 16 History in a Pint Charting a New Course: How Duluth Harnessed "The Spirit of '76" to get the full story.
Illustration courtesy of Minnesota History Magazine.

06/03/2026

So the nation is having a big celebration on July 4th. Who else had a big anniversary party during the Bicentennial? Thousands of Denfeld High School alumni on July 3rd 1976 to celebrate the building's 50th anniversary. So, 2026 is 🧐 their centennial. How did all this action happen? Come to the History in a Pint Charting a New Course: How Duluth Harnessed "The Spirit of '76"

06/03/2026

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Have you ever wondered what a carte-de-visite is? Or a cyanotype? Or stereograph? Do you want to learn more about historic photographic formats? Then be sure to check out MDL’s format highlight primary source sets! Each set explains what these formats are and why they are significant, and they feature examples of each format from MDL collections.

Visit our site at https://mndigital.org/projects/primary-source-sets and filter the results to “Format Highlights” to access sets on each of these formats:
-Cabinet Cards
-Carte de Visites
-Cyanotypes
-Glass Plate Negatives
-Postcards
-Stereographs

Which format should we highlight next? Comment below!

Image: Cyanotype of Union Depot in Duluth, 1900-1910. University of Minnesota Duluth Archives & Special Collections, https://collection.mndigital.org/catalog/umd:8565

05/31/2026

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05/30/2026

We can't wait to see this new exhibit. Great job!

05/28/2026

Who's going fishing this weekend? According to our sources, if you catch anything like these figurines, carved by Oscar Sjogren (1883-1964), you'll be doing pretty well. Maybe when the weather warms up a bit. In 1922, Oscar Sjogren and his family emigrated from Sweden to Superior, Wisconsin. Not long after, Oscar crossed the bridge to take a job in Duluth as a sign-painter for the General Outdoor Advertising Company.

But it was in the basement of his local home where the real magic happened. ✨

Over a span of four decades, Oscar carved more than 600 unique, colorful wooden characters from his basement workshop. Known as a modest man with a rich sense of humor and a quiet, old-world courtesy, Oscar poured those exact charming qualities right into his art.

Today, his whimsical figures live on in private collections and museums across the globe. But you don't have to travel the world to see them—the St. Louis County Historical Society proudly houses the largest collection of Oscar Sjogren’s incredible work right here in the region! 🏛️

Have you ever encountered one of Oscar's characters in person? Let us know in the comments! 👇

05/28/2026

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CSM John Werner Memorial 5K race needs more runners.

This year’s race is Saturday, June 13th. The number of runners is down with only a few weeks to go. Board members of the hall say this is one of their major fundraisers of the year. They hope last second participants will sign up asap.

https://www.northernnewsnow.com/2026/05/27/csm-john-werner-memorial-5k-race-needs-more-runners/

05/26/2026

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