Smauggie's Minnesota Postal History

I found another Doremus (I didn't buy it for the stamp .

This is a Minneapolis received cancel, Riverside Station.

Doremus model DSR13 in use at Riverside Station 1904-05.

Riverside neighborhood is north of rails along 26th St & east of Ceder Ave to the River included UoM West Bank, Augsburg College & St Mary's now part of Fairview Hospital!

Thank you Russ, Warrehouse.

I wonder if Ferrovia means railway, as in RPO.

According to Google translate IT IS Railroad, you have early Italy RPO Cover!

I am having a devil of a time trying to figure this one out. Not even positive it is from Minnesota.

The stamp is one of the best-centered examples I own.

Possibly Lone Tree Lake, Brown County, MN.
Manuscript cancel on USPOD AR Card.

Anything on the back? I would guess LoneTree, which was later than Lone Tree Lake and still within the time will Dakota was still a Territory.

I just saw how many Waverly towns there were in Minnesota, so not surprised there. Will add a scan of the back.

It could just be a change in counties. Fridley was a part of three different counties in a 5 or so year span.

Here is the other side of that AR card.

Saint Paul, Minn
Customs postage due



Postage due cancelled in destination city of Albert Lea.

I have been having some fun studying up on the towns and counties in Minnesota. So I decided to share the fun.

Is the town of Beltrami in Beltrami county? No, it's in Polk County.
Is the town of Faribault in Faribault county? No it is in Steele County.
Now there have been two towns called Norman (short for Norseman). Neither of them were in Norman county where they no doubt should have been. One was in St. Louis county and one in Lac Qui Parle County.

And yes, Lac Qui Parle county's name is French for "Lake that Speaks."

The town of Ramsey was not in Ramsey county, but Mower County (which was named after a person, and not their supposed lawnmower production capability).


Take heart though, because some eponymous towns do reside where they are supposed to. Speaking of Mower County, Mower City is the county seat.

The town of Otter Tail, is in Otter Tail County where it belongs. You might wonder why someone would name a county after an otter's tail, but like many Minnesota counties, it was named after the local lake. Then you might wonder why a lake would be named after an otter's hind end. This is a bit more mysterious. You see, there is a strange sand bar formation in the lake (probably generated by Otter Tail river pouring into the Otter Tail lake). Local natives thought it looked like an otter's tail. You decide.





Now that I look at it, it makes sense.

Wabasha is in Wabasha county (a remnant of the massive Wabasha county, one of the original nine counties of the Minnesota Territory.



Winona is in Winona County. This is really a good thing, because, the town and area of Winona County was originally settled by a military detachment (as was often the case as the US was being explored). The commander had originally given a less dignified name to the camp and area.

It was . . . wait for it . . . Montezuma!

The story is not quite clear, but someone managed to change the name to Wenona, a Lakota word meaning "first born daughter."

And there you have it. An installment of Minnesota geography fun.

.....and that town of Ramsey is now in Anoka County. The county is less than 1 mile from my house. The town is about 15. Antonio you belong in the collectors club. You would have loved my Minnesota DPO presentation I went into some detail about the history of Fridley which in territorial times was called Manomin in.......wait for it...... Manomin County! Which was the smallest county in the entire country in 1857. Fridley is now in Anoka County, but it had been in Ramsey and St. Louis County as well. The interesting thing to me is when it was part of St. Louis County it was no where near the county of St. Louis. They had claimed is for voting rights. I guess you could do things like that about 150 years ago. Sounds a bit like political corruption to me. Good thing we have all that worked out in the 21st Century and everything involved in politics is on the straight and narrow.

Iowa postal history, is Des Moines in Des Moines County?(SP)