Brief History

The Brief History series offers a fresh and vivid look at the history of an area, from its founding to the present day. Get to know the southern charm of Mount Dora, Florida, learn the history behind Lake Norman, the largest lake in North Carolina, and travel through the rugged heart of New England on the Boston & Maine Railroad. From the proud river town of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky to Geneva-on-the-Lake, also known as Ohio’s first summer resort, these brief histories pay tribute to small towns and beloved landmarks. [View all Brief History books]
4 products
Dinkytown
Dinkytown
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
South St. Paul
South St. Paul
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Nordeast Minneapolis
Nordeast Minneapolis
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Stillwater, Minnesota
Stillwater, Minnesota
$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%

Dinkytown

9781467119634

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Dinkytown belies its name with a big history and outsized influence on the culture of Minneapolis. It began as a business district serving the University of Minnesota and became a creative center between the flour milling district and a massive railroad yard. By 1875, Dinkytown was a terminus on the horse-drawn streetcar system. The area transformed into a nexus of culture and counterculture with the growth and expansion of the university. Its burgeoning arts scene launched Bob Dylan and The Fiddler on the Roof, and its student activism spawned the Red Barn protests of 1970. Dr. Bill Huntzicker narrates the enthralling history of one of Minneapolis's most influential neighborhoods.
Dinkytown

South St. Paul

9781626198814

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
Incorporated in 1887, South St. Paul grew rapidly as the blue-collar counterpart to the bright lights and sophistication of its cosmopolitan neighbors Minneapolis and St. Paul. Its prosperous stockyards and slaughterhouses ranked the city among America's largest meatpacking centers. The proud city fell on hard economic times in the second half of the twentieth century. Broad swaths of empty buildings were razed as an enticement to promised redevelopment programs that never happened. In 1990, South St. Paul began to chart out its own successful path to renewal with a pristine riverfront park, a trail system and a business park where the stockyards once stood. Author and historian Lois A. Glewwe brings the story of the city's revival to life in this history of a remarkable community.
South St. Paul

Nordeast Minneapolis

9781626197831

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
What began as the boom site for the mid-nineteenth-century Upper Midwest lumber industry quickly grew into the town of St. Anthony. In 1872, St. Anthony was annexed by its neighbor, Minneapolis, but the area retained its identity as Northeast Minneapolis, or "Nordeast" to future residents. Northeast was an industrial hub that attracted immigrant labor from Eastern Europe and beyond. Because of its diverse labor and cultural institutions and communities, it grew and prospered despite the challenges presented by Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II. Today, Nordeast embraces its status as a neighborhood where art galleries, independent theaters, live music venues, world-class ethnic restaurants, taprooms and historic churches all exist within mere blocks of one another.
Nordeast Minneapolis

Stillwater, Minnesota

9781467135160

$21.99 $15.39 Save 30%
The riverfront always drew people to Stillwater. The Ojibwe and Dakota first settled here, later striking a treaty with Europeans, who quickly realized the St. Croix River's potential as an ideal way to move lumber. One of the first to float logs down the river was Captain Stephen Hanks, cousin to Abraham Lincoln. The lumber business gave birth to Minnesota's first millionaire as the city grew, and Stillwater received one of the state's first Carnegie grants for a free public library. Meanwhile, the state prison saw notorious gangster Cole Younger found the Prison Mirror in 1887, now the nation's oldest continuously operated offender newspaper. Authors Holly Day and Sherman Wick celebrate the history and charm of one of Minnesota's finest cities, from the frontier to today.
Stillwater, Minnesota