An ambrotype of Dr. Josiah R. Snelling with his dog in 1855. Snelling was the first commander of Fort Saint Anthony, which later became Fort Snelling.

For details, view this ambrotype in our collections database.

Daguerreotype of St. Anthony Falls and stores along Main Street, St. Anthony, made in the 1850s.

For details, view this photograph in our collections database.

1/6 plate Daguerreotype of Charles Green McChesney Mount. Made around 1855.

For details, view this photograph in our collections database.

Black silk top hat retailed by G. J. Laage in Quincy, Illinois and bought by Peter Rusche of Saint Paul, Minnesota, circa 1859.

Wooden plow made in Sweden circa 1850 and brought to the United States by Swedish immigrants in 1890.  The plow is featured in the podcast “They Chose Minnesota: Immigration to the North Star State.”

For details, view the plow in our online collections database.

Ambrotype of the family of Jean Baptiste Faribault taken on the occasion of the wedding of his son, George Faribault, to Euphrasine St. Antoine circa 1850.  Present are, clockwise from top left: Alexander Faribault, Father Augustin Ravoux, Jean Baptiste Faribault, Euphrasine St. Antoine Faribault, and George Faribault.

For details, view the ambrotype in our online collections database.

Crib quilt made of printed cotton and pieced in a star pattern. Created in 1853 and used by the children of writer and educator Edward Duffield Neill in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Neill was an important figure in early Minnesota history. He was chaplain to the 1^st Minnesota Infantry during the Civil War; secretary to Presidents Lincoln and Johnson; and a president of Macalester College.

For details, view the quilt in our online collections database.  It is on view as part of the exhibit Minnesota and the Civil War, open to the public at the Minnesota History Center through September 8, 2013.

Learn More:

• Acquired! 1850 Edward D. Neill Letter
• Edward D. Neill and Family Papers

Studio photograph taken circa 1858 of Birdella M. Ross and her (probably twin) sister.

For details, view the photograph in our online collections database.

Daguerreotype of Charles D. Elfelt’s store and Joel Emmons Whitney’s photography gallery at Third and Cedar Streets in St. Paul, Minnesota taken by Whitney in 1852. Christ Episcopal Church is visible in the background at right.

For details, view the daguerreotype in our online collections database.

Five coin silver spoons and a carrying pouch used by the family of writer William Watts Folwell and engraved with the family’s name. Four of the spoons were made by M.C. Haight and the fifth by J. Hollister, all circa 1857.

For details, view the spoons in our online collections database.