History of St Paul, Minnesota, USA

St. Paul, a flourishing city, port of entry, capital of Minnesota Territory, and seat of justice of Ramsey county, on the left bank of the Mississippi, 2070 miles from its mouth, and 9 miles by land below the Falls of St. Anthony. Lat. 44° 52' 46'' N., Lon. 93° 5' W. It is situated on a bluff 70 or 80 feet high, and presents a striking view from the river. The hills or bluffs which partly encircle the town abound in excellent springs. It is at the head of steamboat navigation, and is a place of active business. It was first settled about 1840, and in 1849 it contained 1 church, 2 printing offices, 3 hotels, 10 stores, 4 ware houses, 2 drug stores, and 1 school house. A fine state house, 140 feet long and 53 feet wide, surmounted by a handsome dome, has just been erected. St. Paul now contains 5 or 6 churches, 4 hotels, 2 or 3 printing offices, 1 book store, 2 drug stores, numerous other stores, and several saw mills. The Baldwin school of this place is n well conducted and flourishing ...

St. Paul, Minn., April 21

Early this morning the McKibben Block, a four-story stone building, together with Mrs. Johnson's brick boarding-house and three frame buildings burned down. The origin of the fire is unknown. Loss, $105.00; insurance $40,000.

St. Paul, Minn., March 1. - Members of the legislature were "fired out" literally to-night in a summary manner. At 9 o'clock while both houses were in session, fire was discovered in the dome of the capitol. An alarm was immediately given. In the senate and assembly chambers, a blinding cloud of smoke immediately followed, the opening of the doors. Many of the members rushed for the windows, but the height was too much, and they turned and got out through the cloak room just in time. The flames first made their appearance in the dome, spread rapidly, the old and dry wood-work catching like tinder. Within a hour the entire roof had fallen in and the second story floors were rapidly burning. Some plucky clerks and members saved the papers of the senate and assembly in their flight. The state offices, being on the lower floor, were more fortunate, time being given to remove the contents, except what was in the vaults. The entire records of the supreme court were saved, and are in safe...

St. Paul, Minn., Feb. 26. - A most disastrous fire has occurred here. The building destroyed was a large four-story warehouse at the corner of Pine and Prince streets, west end. The building was occupied by MAST, BURFORD, BURWELL & Co., dealery in agricultural implements, the rest of the structure being occupied by the offices of the St. Paul Harvesting works, the stove concern of BRAND & Co., and store rooms of GLIDDEN, GRIGGS & Co., wholesale grocers, the latter firm also having a large stock of goods stored in the basement. The building was supposed to have been fire proof, but burned like so much paper. It was owned by GRIGGS & FOSTER, whose loss is $25,000; insurance, $20,000. The total loss is about $125,000; insurance about $85,000.

St. Paul, Jan. 21. - At 7 o'clock this morning fire broke out in the coat room of the Grand Opera House. The place caught fire during the absence of the caretaker at breakfast. The Grand Opera House was situated in the business part of the city, and was surrounded by some of the best buildings in town. Back of it is the mammoth Globe Building, while on either side are large buildings. The entire Fire Department was called out and went to work with a will. The mercury was then about 14 degrees below zero, and the water froze almost as fast as it could be thrown from the hose.

The grand block adjoining the opera house on the corner of Wabasha and Fourth streets soon caught fire, and the occupants of that building hastily departed from their warm rooms to the much colder air out of doors, where many of the shivered in scant apparel until their clothes were brought to them by the firemen.

At 9 o'clock the roof fell in, and the flames spread with increased rapidity, taking the rest...

Saint Paul, a city and port of entry, the capital of Minnesota, and the seat of justice for Ramsey co., is situated on the Mississippi River, about 2100 miles from its mouth, 10 miles E. of Minneapolis, and 409 miles by rail W.N.W. of Chicago. Lat. 44° 52'46" N, ; lon. 93° 5' W. It is the second city of the state in population, and is the head of navigation for steamboats. The greater part of the city is built on a plateau, or terrace, which is 70 feet higher than the river and is partly surrounded by an amphitheatre of hills. St. Paul contains a state-house, a city all, a fine granite building erected by the United States for the custom-house and post-office, 138 churches representing many denominations, a number of theatres, public libraries, and national banks, the state reform school, an academy of natural sciences, a high school, and several academies, orphan asylums, and hospitals. Five daily and 25 weekly newspapers are published here. St. Paul is sup plied with good water...