BOARD OF WORLD'S FAIR MANAGERS

On April 20, 1891, the Legislature passed an act establishing the Minnesota Board of World's Fair Managers [Laws 1891 c157] and authorizing the governor to appoint six managers to develop exhibits for the World's Columbian Exposition representing the natural resources, industrial development, and general progress of the state of Minnesota. An appropriation of $50,000 accompanied the legislation, however, it could not be used to construct a building or compensate the managers. On May 1, Governor William R. Merriam appointed D. A. Montfort, St. Paul, George N. Lamphere, Moorhead, Charles McCormack Reeve, Minneapolis, A. L. Ward, Fairmont, Jay LaDue, Luverne, and John J. Furlong, Austin, to the board. In August, the board held a convention of county and civic officials resulting in the authorization of a special subscription fund of $100,000 for construction of the Minnesota Building and its exhibits, with each county's quota based on its property tax base. By early 1893, slightly over $96,000 had been raised.

On February 17, 1893, the Legislature provided an additional $100,000 [Laws 1893 c217] to reimburse both the pledges made through the subscription fund and the managers' expenses. The Minnesota Building was sold after the exposition; the exhibits were returned to the state and housed in a variety of state and private institutions.

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The correspondence, much of which is addressed to board secretary Charles McCormick Reeve or superintendent L. P. Hunt, is divided into four sections: Chicago office, exhibitors, board, and miscellaneous. The Chicago office letters are mainly from fair officials including general instructions sent to all states but also regarding specifics related to the Minnesota exhibits. The exhibitors correspondence documents the planning for and erection of the exhibits, particularly those relating to flour milling, forestry, and education. The board correspondence includes letters from Governors Merriam and Nelson; board members Montfort, LaDue, Furlong, Lamphere, and Ward; superintendent Hunt; Women's Auxiliary Board head Mrs. L. P. Hunt; state geologist N. H. Winchell, and Conde Hamlin, St. Paul Pioneer Press. The miscellaneous correspondence, kept by Reeve, deals with a wide variety of topics involving the board's management and activities.

The subject files also cover a wide variety of topics related to the board's work and include bids for the building, a May 1893 commissioner's report, employment correspondence, petitions on closing the building on Sundays, financial statements, special subscription fund statements, and Women's Auxiliary Board records.

There are also correspondence and reports kept by superintendent Hunt, visitors registers of Minnesota residents who visited and toured the building, and award certificates presented for the education, fish, and forestry exhibits.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Minnesota. Board of World's Fair Managers. World's Columbian Exposition Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Provenance:

Received in 1920 from Secretary of State's Office; certificates found in MHS Library (1983).

Accession Information:

Accession number: None

Processing Information:

Catalog ID number: 001704141

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Registers signed by Minnesota residents who visited the Minnesota Building; information recorded may include date of arrival, name, Minnesota residence city, Chicago residence during fair, and date of departure.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Agricultural exhibitions -- Minnesota.

Education -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions and museums.

Fishes -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Flour industry -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Forests and forestry -- Minnesota -- Exhibitions.

Horticultural exhibitions -- Minnesota.

Sunday legislation -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Furlong, John J.

Hamlin, Conde.

Hunt, L. P.

LaDue, Jay.

Lamphere, George Nathan, 1845-1918.

Merriam, William Rush, 1849-1931.

Montfort, D. A.

Nelson, Knute, 1843-1923.

Reeve, Charles McCormick, 1847-1947.

Ward, A. L.

Winchell, N. H. (Newton Horace), 1839-1914.

Organizations:

Minnesota. Governor (1889-1893 : Merriam).

Minnesota. Governor (1893-1895 : Nelson).

Minnesota. Board of World's Fair Managers. Women's Auxiliary Board.

Meetings:

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Places:

Chicago (Ill.) -- Exhibitions.

Document Types:

Guest registers.

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