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Promoting Minnesota in Dutch!

Rare Saint Paul & Duluth Railroad promotional map created to encourage Dutch immigration to Minnesota.

The map shows the lands owned by the company in blue, touting "over 1,000,000 acres farming, grazing, and timberlands for sale on easy terms at low prices."

The map shows a portion of eastern Minnesota bounded by Minneapolis and St. Paul in the south, the Mississippi River in the west, the border with Wisconsin in the east, and extends past Duluth in the north. The land is divided into townships based on the Public Land Survey System.

Photos of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the St. Croix River and a pictorial view of Duluth and the head of Lake Superior are included as additional evidence of the beauty of the region.

On verso are numerous images and descriptions of places in Minnesota.

Dutch Colony of Woldwyk

The map was issued during the heyday of European emigration to Minnesota, though it was aimed at a group that is less associated with Minnesota than Germans or Scandinavians.

This special edition is overprinted in red for the Dutch market, identifying the Dutch colony of Woldwyk, approximately half-way between St. Paul and Duluth. Additional Dutch text explains that the land is available for 12.5 guilders per acre with long repayment terms, and also praises the quality of the land.

Rarity

Rare. OCLC locates only one example of the 1893 edition (presumably the first edition), at Cornell University. One example of the 1895 edition is located (at MNHS) and two examples of the 1897 (both at MNHS, possibly duplicate records of one example).