This week in state history

Historic Minnesota events with anniversaries this week.

May 22

1888 Minneapolis architect LeRoy S. Buffington, the "Father of the Skyscraper," patents a construction method involving a steel skeleton that allows structures to be built to any height. He referred to them as "cloudscrapers."

May 23

1857 Twelve counties are created. Six are named for individuals important to the state's history: Aitkin is for William A. Aitkin (also spelled Aitken), who ran an American Fur Company post on Sandy Lake; Carlton honors Reuben B. Carlton, a Fond du Lac founder; Jackson is for either pioneer merchant Henry Jackson or President Andrew Jackson; Martin is for either Connecticut investor Henry Martin, who owned land in the area, or Wisconsin territorial delegate Morgan L. Martin, who introduced legislation to create Minnesota Territory; Murray County commemorates St. Paul attorney and politician William P. Murray; Nobles is for wagon maker, road builder, and politician William H. Nobles.

May 24

1941 Robert Zimmerman is born in Duluth. He would become iconic singer and songwriter Bob Dylan, his surname borrowed from Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Originally a folk singer, this versatile artist would also shift between rock and gospel. An inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Dylan has written over 500 songs and earned a number of Grammy Awards. He grew up in Hibbing.

May 25

1877 The legislature approves the use of $100,000 for a bounty system on grasshoppers collected. Those caught before May 25 would bring $1 a bushel and 50 cents after until June 10, when the bounty dwindled to 25 cents. Fifty cents was also offered for a gallon of grasshopper eggs. If the monetary inducements were not enough to fight the crop-eating pests, counties were allowed to draft men into service from the end of May to early July to collect grasshoppers at least one day a week. Those who refused could be exempt from service by paying $1.

May 26

1861 Author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau arrives in St. Paul. According to the Thoreau Society, the author "spent one month (in the state) in the summer of 1861. Minnesota was chosen as the destination on the advice of his doctor who suggested the change of climate may be beneficial to Thoreau, who was suffering from 'consumption,' or tuberculosis as it is known today." He died a year later, at age 44, without leaving any formal writing about what had been the longest journey of his life.

May 27

1858 In Eden Prairie, about 150 Ojibwe attack and defeat Shakopee's band of Dakota in the Battle of Shakopee, the final major battle between these tribes in Minnesota.

1930 A patent is issued to 3M for its transparent cellophane tape, which becomes known as Scotch Tape. Richard G. Drew of St. Paul had developed the product from his earlier invention, a pressure-sensitive masking tape used in repainting cars.

This column is derived from MNopedia.org and developed by the Minnesota Historical Society. and its partners.