Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

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What if you want to take a road trip and learn some history along the way? Where are the best places to go in Minnesota that have historical significance?

 talked to John Crippen, director of historic sites and museums for the Minnesota History Society, to get suggestions on interesting historical locations across the state to add to your upcoming road trip itinerary. 


Crippen said this is one of his favorite sites for Minnesota history. 

"It's a rock outcropping kind of the eastern end of what we now called Buffalo Ridge," he said. "Through thousands of years, native peoples would come through here and leave their mark. What we've discovered in the past few years spending a lot of time talking with elders from around the country is that these carvings are ways to illustrate stories that they would tell each other and they would pass down through their rigorous oral tradition histories. What we've rediscovered in the past few years is about 3,000 additional carvings we didn't know about."

These carvings were rediscovered when lichen that had grown on the rocks was cleared away from the site. 

2) Trace U.S.-Dakota War landmarks through Minnesota


A caller said she did a camping trip last summer marking the 150th anniversary of the U.S.-Dakota War. She followed the steps of Little Crow, a chief of the Mdewakanton Dakota people, from the Upper Sioux Agency to the Lower Sioux Agency. They ended their trip in Hutchinson where Little Crow died. 

At the top of the hill, you get a view of Fort Snelling and both downtown skylines. 


Tour the home where the famous aviator spent summers in his childhood along the Mississippi River. The state park is adjacent to the home. 

 that marks the location where three young African-Americans were lynched in 1920.
On your way from the Twin Cities, Crippen recommends checking out the 1804 

6) Kensington Runestone in Alexandria, Minn. 


If you're looking for a bit of controversial history, check out the 

. It is the site of a 200-pound slab of runes 

allegedly discovered by a Swedish immigrant in 1898

. The stone's inscription appears to be a record left behind by 14th century Scandinavian explorers before Columbus' landing and scholars have debated its authenticity. 

8) The Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield, Minn.

 and each year  includes a reenactment of the brothers' attempted robbery of the First National Bank in Northfield where several gang members were captured or killed.

Defeat of Jesse James Days - Bank Raid Reenactment - 2013

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What if you want to take a road trip and learn some history along the way? Where are the best places to go in Minnesota that have historical significance?


MPR News' Tom Weber talked to John Crippen of the Minnesota History Center, to get suggestions on interesting historical locations across the state to add to your upcoming road trip itinerary.

8 Minnesota historical road trips to take this summer

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