Pg. A NEW STATE.—It is proposed by some of the Minnesota press to call her the “Gopher State,” after her admission into the Union. Good question. Minnesota officially became a state on May 11, 1858. Chronicling America A native or inhabitant of Arkansas or Minnesota. google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; Thus, as informant says, “will the Gopher State swing off under the Democratic banner, taking her position in the American Union as the 32d sister.” Huzzah for Minnesota! According to Minnesota in Three Centuries, 1908, "Minnesota received its most widely know sobriquet, "The Gopher State," from the striped gopher, a common species throughout our prairie region." 5343: google_ad_client = "ca-pub-3535799185159270"; google_color_border = "336699"; One of my favorite things in the Collection is this political cartoon from 1858. Edition/Format: Journal, magazine : Periodical : English google_color_text = "000000"; NATIONAL NICKNAMES.—It will be seen by the following from an exchange paper that the people of every state have nicknames, and some very curious and ludicrous ones: (...) And, since its inception, Minnesota has been known as the Gopher State. 1890 google_color_border = "336699"; google_ad_height = 600; Our correspondent, a citizen of Minnesota, we think, makes a good suggestion as to the “Nick-name” of the Territory. ; Gallaudet University. Google Books And they’re at a rave”, “I don’t have ducks or a row. • Explorers such as Dan… Another nickname for the state is the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Or a row. “The Bread and Butter State” is the last Minnesota nickname that is … Fairchild the Gopher is the face of the Minnesota State Fair. Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Pg. Sweet 16 Appearances (3): 1. google_ad_height = 600; 13 April 1858, Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune, “Minnesota,” pg. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. A. Stevens, -1874. 240 The inhabitants of..Arkansas [are called] Gophers. 90: 2: Contacting Gopher State One Call is easy! The inhabitants of Maine, are called Foxes; New Hampshire, Granite Boys; Massachusetts, Bay Staters; Vermont, Green Mountain Boys; Rhode Island, Gun Flints; Connecticut, Wooden Nutmegs; New York, Knickerbockers; New Jersey, Clamcatchers; Pennsylvania, Leatherheads; Delaware, Muskrats; Maryland, Craw-Thumpers; Virginia, Beagles; North Carolina, Weasels; Georgia, Buzzards; Louisiana, Creowls; Alabama, Lizzards; Kentucky, Corn crackers; Tennessee, Cottonmanics; Ohio, Buckeyes; Indiana, Hoosiers; Illinois, Suckers; Missouri, Pewks; Mississippi, Tadpoles; Arkansas, Gophers; Michigan, Wolverines; Florida, Fly-up-the-Creeks; Wisconsin, Badgers; Iowa, Hawkeyes; N. W. Territory, Prairie Dogs; Oregon, Hard Cases. Minnesota - Minnesota’s official nickname is the North Star State, but it’s also unofficially known as the Gopher State. Iowa, Hawkeyes. 328: Not the striped squirrel but the real bona fide gopher, as named by the French. google_color_link = "0000FF"; The target effective date for these changes is Friday April 30, 2021. WINONA, M. T., Feb 23, ‘58. What a lively perception of analogies! Oregon, Hard Cases. 70: (...) Editors:—Public attention, of late, has been so much occupied with the affairs of Kansas, that I fear that we, of the “Gopher State,” will be lost sight of altogether, ... Another well-known nickname for Minnesota is "Land of 10,000 Lakes" (featured on the U.S. Mint's bicentennial commemorative quarter for Minnesota). (Oxford English Dictionary) “One is that gophers were much more prevalent in the 1850s,” she says. He dwells in Illinois, south of the Illinois river; in Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota, west of the Mississippi, and in Wisconsin north and west of the WIsconsin river. Minnesota must be classed amongst the beasts; the writer is “very solicitous,” that our Territory should be written down a beast. The cartoon became so popular that it eventually stuck with Minnesota. Minnesota. The cartoon portrayed shifty railroad barons as striped gophers pulling a railroad car carrying the Territorial Legislature toward the “Slough of Despond”. The greatest enemy the farmer will find here is the gopher; the ground is literally ploughed by them, so much so, that in many places their excavations made it difficult for us to proceed on horseback, as we were constantly breaking through, even where the ground appeared smoothest. Her Democracy have done nobly in this canvass. AGRICULTURE—GRAZING—MARKETS. “He’s actually a chipmunk,” said Sarah Compton, a student worker at the University’s Bell Museum of Natural History. 22 March 1866, Louisville (KY) Daily Journal, “Nicknames,” pg. Annual Statistician—1876 They used the Grand Portage to access trapping and trading areas further into Minnesota. The Gopher State (from its numerous lakes, which make it seem as if honeycombed with “gopher” holes). 1906, 1907, 1911, 1917, 1919, 1937, 1972, 1982 1. So, from the messy ordeal of state development we got both the railroads and our nickname. • 9 February 1856, Red-Wing (MN) Sentinel, pg. ©2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The natives of these States are: Other Minnesota Nicknames. A: Paint and/or flags indicate digging will occur in your area. Ever wonder why a golden rodent is our state’s icon? Discarded as trash in 2006. Minnesota does not have an official state animal. Minnesota is also known as the "Bread and Butter State" because of its numerous flourmills and butter-making plants. At the same time, the University adopted the gopher, and the inaccurate depiction as its official mascot. (...) WHY IS MINNESOTA THE GOPHER STATE? And the employees at the University’s Bell Museum of Natural History know why. Sweeny, according to a 1997 Star Tribune article. Arkansas, Gophers. “A NEW STATE.—It is proposed by some of the Minnesota press to call her the ‘Gopher State,’ after her admission into the Union. Meronyms (parts of "Gopher State"): Voyageurs National Park (a national park in Minnesota having ancient rock outcroppings and evergreen forests). ... Minnesota, Gophers; ... GSOC has always been governed by a volunteer board of about 20 directors, representing facility operators, excavators and other persons eligible to participate in the One Call … 2, col. 2: WHITE MARKINGS: GSOC would like to remind you to mark the excavation area in white prior to submitting the locate request. April 1845, Cincinnati Miscellany (Cincinnati, OH), pg. Google Maps. As you come west they seem to have taken the names of animals. Hibbing (a town in northeastern Minnesota in the … The gopher is an underground rascal, shy as a weasel, and just as spry. O. E. GARRISON Junior Class. Minnesota is the only U.S. state to have a motto in French. google_ad_format = "120x600_as"; This resulted in an ironic cartoon cementing Gopher as the state nickname. Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Minnesota’s athletic teams became widely known as the “Gophers” by the 1920s but it was not until 1934 that the immortal Halsey Hall, great Minnesota sportswriter and broadcaster, dubbed Bernie Bierman’s all-gold uniformed team “The Golden Gophers” (Bierman chose the gold color because the football blended in with the uniforms!). June 1865, The Wisconsin Journal of Education, pg. In 2000, Minnesota schoolchildren voted on whether the state mammal should be the wolf, the white-tailed deer or the gopher. google_color_url = "008000"; google_color_link = "0000FF"; I’m sure I don’t get all the points (155 years is a long time and well, one probably just had to be there) but it is a beautiful, large drawing containing many funny details, such as the devil as pied piper, the gin barrel, and the small figure reminding people that they “develop the resources of the state.” This cartoon answers the age-old (okay, actually 155 year old) question – why are we the Gopher state? The Moccasin is the publication of the League of Minnesota Poets. The original drawing of this cartoon is currently on display in the Library Lobby during Library open hours. ... Minnesota, gophers; ... MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Goldy is the mascot of the University of Minnesota. 1990 1… 14. May 1854, Prairie Farmer, “Gophers,” pp. //--> The artist is R. O. Sweeny from Saint Paul, and it was originally published as a broadside when the issue was being debated. THE GOPHERS AWAKE!! https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2018/08/22/why-is-minnesota-the-gopher-state Republican; and received from that journal the reply that follows the letter: While the reason for this is not clearly known, most historians speculate that the choice of the French language is a deferential nod to the early French explorers, missionaries and traders who settled the wilds of Minnesota before the region became a territory and a U.S. state. Nothing was ever settled on this subject until after the year 1857. Compiled by John P. Mains This very cartoon started it all. (This is the subject of the “gopher” cartoon.—ed.) Mississippi, Tadpoles In a work on the mammals of Minnesota, by C. L. Herrick, 1892, he gives the scientific name of our most common species of gopher, ”Spermophilus Tridecemlineatus,” or thirteen-striped gopher, and says: “The species ranges from the Saskatchawan to Texas, and from Ohio to Utah. “Gopher State” (for Minnesota) was also cited by the Dubuque North West on October 22, 1857. It was well known that the gopher abounded, and his name was introduced as a competitor with the beaver; but being a rather insignificant animal, and his nature being destructive, and in no way useful, he was objected to by many, as too useless and undignified to become an emblem of the coming great state,--for we all had, at that early day, full confidence that Minnesota was destined to be a great and prominent state. U. S. At the time, no one noticed the gaffe. 2, col. 2: About Post Author Newster News . (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. N. W. Territory, Prairie Dogs. Instead, he chooses a more palatable rodent so as not to be offended. be effected, we propose that Iowans take the cognomen of Hawk-eyes. ... Minnesota, Gophers; ... Minnesota has been known as the Gopher State since 1857. Certainly the name Beaver is worth an experiment, since beasts we must be; and we recommend, by way of trial, that the name be first applied to the man who suggested it, in honor of his astonishing powers of invention. Origin of the name “Gopher State” 1, col. 4:  Q: There are paint and/or flags in my yard. 1845 in C. Cist Cincinnati Misc. (...) Roy Finden has the answer. 23 August 1845, Ripley (MS) Advertiser, pg. Messrs. Minnesota has also been called "The Gopher State" and "The Bread and Butter State." • 1876 With the toothiest of grins, boundless energy, and an irrepressible spirit, Goldy is paws down the best mascot around (with national titles to prove it). They arise from some event that suggests them, or from some important utterance that makes an impression on the public mind. One of the first acts of the first legislature of the new state was to amend the brand new constitution, enabling them to issue credit and loan $5 million (or $ 137,000,000 in today’s dollars) to railroad interests. 240, col. 1: Ever wonder why a golden rodent is our state’s icon? Wikipedia: Goldy Gopher Senior Class. Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd state on May 11, 1858, created from the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory. We congratulate the Democracy of the Union! 1972, 1982, 1989, 1990, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019 1. What a felicity of invention! The North Star State (from its motto: “The Star of the North"). Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich. MINNESOTA AS IT IS. Chronicling America From The History of Minnesota and Tales of the Frontier by Charles E. Flandrau google_ad_width = 120; The mischaracterization of the gopher began with a political cartoon by R.O. Edited by Robert Hunter and Charles Morris Minnesota is the peculiar home of the typical form, and thus deserves the name of the ‘Gopher State.’” “The idea is that they’re pulled along by the rodents, the legislative rodents in this case,” says Williamson. gopher, n. Heather Brown found the answer in a strange print at St. Paul's Minnesota History Center back in 2018 (2:11). Wisconsin, Badgers. “An email after 3pm on a Friday is next week’s concern” (5/21) Sweeney, believed the deal to be corrupt. Others prefer to call her the ‘North Star.’” An August 1852 Prairie Farmer article about Minnesota had mentioned gophers—a big problem for farmers in the state. Gopher Michigan, Wolverines. Cuomo News Network (CNN nickname) (5/20) The following are the “nicknames” of the native inhabitants of the different States: From the Minnesota Republican. Missouri, Pewks. Why? 3, col. 3: Now a Popeye's fast food restaurant on Google Maps. We congratulate the democracy of Minnesota! New York, NY: Peter Fenelon Collier, Publisher This cartoon answers the age-old (okay, actually 155 year old) question – why are we the Gopher state? 366-367: ... Minnesota, Gopher or North Star State; ... The Gopher [Applied by the French to a species of gray squirrel (S. Richardsonii) native of this section, whose peculiarity was the “honeycombing” of the earth, probably the ground mole. google_ad_type = "text_image"; Big Ten Regular Season Championships(9): 1. I believe Minnesota's state nickname is the gopher state so they named it after that, a common thing to do(Iowa, the Hawkeye state, Wisconsin, the … 1982, 1989, 1990 1. Google Books The reasons for the nickname likely don’t have much to do with the critters themselves, but instead go back to an 1858 political cartoon. Minnesota has a number of unofficial state nicknames, one of the most well known of which is “The Gopher State.” This has led many people into the incorrect assumption that the gopher is the state animal. Old Fulton NY Post Cards (2:14) WCCO 4 News At 10 – August 22, 2018 GENTLEMEN:—As an old citizen of the country which now constitutes the Territory of Minnesota, I am very solicitous that the name (nick-name, I mean,) by which we are to be known by our neighbors of the Badger, Sucker, Hoosier, and other States, should be appropriate. 2, col. 2: Potatoes are his special delight; but other roots are not refused. If a division of the Territory (Wisconsin—ed.) By viewing our video content, you are accepting the terms of our. I think any one will see at a glance the fitness of the appellation of Beavers to Minnesotians. Publisher: Faribault, Minn. : The Institute, 1876- 4-5: However, the state has a long historical connection to Polaris (the snowmobile company started in Roseau, MN) and the North Star (the former St. Paul to Duluth/Superior Amtrak train). (...) Some other original genius may arise in time, learned in Buffon and in Natural History, to make his own name immortal, by proving that Nebraska ought, by analogy, to be the Otter State. Calling or contacting Gopher State One Call online is a state law (Minnesota Statute Chapter 216D) designed to protect your underground utilities and the public. Goldy Gopher is the mascot for the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus and the associated sports teams, known as the Golden Gophers, as well as the defending UCA Mascot National Champion. Roy Finden has the answer. The 1857 cartoon depicted humanized gophers - which were actually 13-striped ground squirrels, according to an article in the 1964-65 Moccasin. Wisconsin is dubbed the Badger State, and as there ought to be a regular classification of animals, why Minnesota should come next in the ascending zoological chain, and ought to be the Beaver State. Minnesota became known as the “Gopher State” in 1857, the result of a political cartoon ridiculing the $5 million Railroad Loan which helped open up the West. 6, col. 5: During the year, Goldy makes over 1000 appearances and is at virtually all home games for University teams, usually wearing the appropriate sporting attire. 2, col. 4: I have chickens and they are everywhere”. Others prefer to call her the ‘North Star.’” Universal Dictionary of the English Language History Duluth (a city in northeast Minnesota on Lake Superior). WCCO 4 News At 10 - September 7, 2020 It is also commonly known as the Gopher State, a nickname which dates back to around 1880 and is based on the fact that the American football team of the Minnesota State University were known as "The Golden Gophers" (a variety of squirrel) - but Arkansas also laid claim to the name 35 years earlier.