Category Archives: Blue Earth County Beam

A New Twist in the Beam Story

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

Pillsbury Hall, the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, where the beam lay in state for its last decade at the U of M. Between 1881 and the completion of Pillsbury Hall in 1907, the beam was collected among the University’s geological … Continue reading →

Posted in Alan Woolworth, Blue Earth County Beam | 1 Comment

To Whose Benefit?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

“The famous Lucius Cassius, whom the Roman people used to regard as a very honest and wise judge, was in the habit of asking, time and again, ‘To whose benefit?’” –Marcus Tullius Cicero, 80 BCE ***** “Answer the question of … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Minnesota Historical Society, NAGPRA, Oceti Sakowin | Tagged | 1 Comment

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Posted on February 10, 2013 by Carrie Zeman

So why is the MHS photo purge a story? It is history in its own right. It is also emblematic of how history is made. Third, you voted it so. My Execution Artifacts Report, “A Veiled Cabinet of Curiosities: A … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Commemorating Controversy, Minnesota Historical Society | 2 Comments

BECHS Concludes Meagher Lied

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

On November 16, 2012 the Blue Earth County (MN) Historical Society quietly rendered its verdict in a ten-month long investigation into a timber in its collection long-reputed to be a beam from the 1862 scaffold that executed 38 Dakota men simultaneously at … Continue reading →

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The Beam Mystery Proceeds Apace

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

  Jessica Potter, director of the Blue Earth County Historical Society, hasn’t simply waited out this spring’s media storm about identity of the “timber” in their store-room (above). Potter announced in her column in the Summer 2012 edition of The Blue … Continue reading →

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Clubs, Hatchets, Knives and Beams Part 7 and PDF

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

The conclusion of a seven-part series on European American/Native American War Artifacts and the Ethics of Display by Zabelle Stodola, professor of literature and cultural studies at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. The series begins here.  Part 7: “Showing Basic Human … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Commemorating Controversy, Minnesota Historical Society, Zabelle Stodola | Leave a comment

Clubs, Hatchets, Beams and Knives, Part 6

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Minnesota’s State Capitol, on permanent exhibit in the architecture of the Minnesota Historical Society History Center, St. Paul, Minnesota. ***** Part six in a seven-part series on European American/Native American War Artifacts and the Ethics of Display by Zabelle Stodola, professor … Continue reading →

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Clubs, Hatchets, Knives and Beams Part 1

Posted on June 15, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Clubs, Hatchets, Knives, and Beams: European American/Native American War Artifacts and the Ethics of Display By Zabelle Stodola, University of Arkansas at Little Rock June 2012 I’m Zabelle Stodola, Carrie Zeman’s co-editor for  A Thrilling Narrative of Indian Captivity: Dispatches … Continue reading →

Posted in Blue Earth County Beam, Commemorating Controversy, Minnesota Historical Society, Zabelle Stodola | 4 Comments

The Next Chapter

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

Sunday April 29, 2012, the Mankato Free Press ran a pair of articles (see the “In the News” tab at the top of this page) opening  the latest chapter in the story of the mystery beam at the Blue Earth County … Continue reading →

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The 19 foot by 9 inch Splinter

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Carrie Zeman

This week I finished my first-pass research  on the execution artifacts, including my findings on the beam reputed to be from the gallows that executed 38 Dakota men in Mankato in 1862:  Execution Artifacts Report in PDF form, “A Veiled Cabinet of … Continue reading →

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