St. Paul, Minnesota
[Wilhelm Pressler, woodworker, 1885]
The St. Paul Harvester Works started in 1872 by E.M. Deane, S.S. Murdock, and others [George E. Warner, et al. History of Ramsey County and the City of St. Paul (Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Company, 1881), 465]. The company operated from fifty acres on the east side of St. Paul and had about eighty acres of house lots that they sold to employees [Warner, 466]. The company shipped farm implements across the region and had $1,000,000 of stock by 1881, making it one of the largest manufacturers in the region[Warner, 465-466]. In 1881, the woodworking shop was 50 feet by 250 feet under the direction of foreman Henry Brand [Warner, 466]. There was also a packing shop, paint room, foundry, machine shop, as well as waterworks supplied from Phalen Creek for fire suppression [Warner, 466].
The works property, with others, were eventually acquired by 3M as their facility expanded [Marjorie Pearson, “People & Times: 3M & Saint Paul’s East Side,” Saint Paul Historical, accessed April 24, 2024].
Further Reading:
Archives/Museums:
Other Sites:
“Saint Paul Harvester Works,” on Placeography website. [Link broken, 4/2024]
Almlie-Talberg-Sordi-Dilley 