Agriculture and Industry in the 19th Century [related links]
Annette Aitkins, Harvest of Grief: Grasshopper Plagues and Public Assistance in Minnesota, 1873-78 (1984) -- combines details on the destruction of Minnesota crops from locusts with information on how the state government responded to this crisis.
Robert Frame, Millers to the World: Minnesota's Nineteenth Century Flour Mills (1977) -- valuable study of early flour mills, how they were built, how they operated.
Merrill E. Jarchow, The Earth Brought Forth: A History of Minnesota Agriculture to 1885 (1949) -- standard history of the development of agriculture in Minnesota.
Charles B. Kuhlmann, The Development of the Flour Milling Industry in the United States, with Special Reference to the Industry in Minneapolis (1929) -- still very useful account of how the flour industry in Minneapolis influenced economic development in the region.
Rodney Loehr, ed., Minnesota's Farmers Diaries: William R. Brown, 1845-46, Mitchell Y. Jackson, 1852-63 (1939) -- two diaries kept by early farmers in southern Minnesota, well organized and annotated so that a great deal of valuable information on early agriculture can be found easily.
Stanley N. Murray, The Valley Comes of Age: A History of Agriculture in the Valley of the Red River of the North, 1812-1920 (1967) -- well done history of farming in northwestern Minnesota.
William J. Powell, Pillsbury's Best: A Company History from 1869 (1985) -- a fair history, produced by the company, has some excellent illustrations.
Thomas J. Schlereth, Cultural History and Material Culture: Everyday Life, Landscapes, Museums (1989) -- a valuable study that demonstrates what we can learn about life in early Minnesota from artifacts and the remains of early industries and homes.