The Minnesota Historical Society offers a fantastic resource for anyone interested in Minnesota history. MNopedia is an online encyclopedia dedicated to exploring the important people, places, and events in Minnesota history.

I contributed two articles to MNopedia: Mary Theresa Mehegan Hill (1846-1921) and Founding of Clontarf. Check them out and let me know what you think. Mary Hill is my favorite St. Paul pioneer and my great-grandparents were among the founders of Clontarf, Minnesota.

Any connection between the two articles? Why, yes…James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railway figure into both stories. This photograph is from my personal family collection. My grandfather loading hay into a Great Northern freight car during Clontarf’s reign as the “Hay Capital of the World” in the 1920s.

I am planning a series of posts on the people, places, and events important in the rich history of Saint Paul, Minnesota. First entry coming later this week…Robert C. Minor: Steward on James J. Hill’s Private Railway Car.