Here’s The Most Important Historical Event In Minnesota

ROCHESTER, MN — America is relatively young compared to other nations at 242 years, but that doesn’t mean it’s short on historical contributions. And just as the U.S. has played a key role in shaping the world, Minnesota has helped shape America into what it is today.

While Massachusetts and Pennsylvania receive much — or most — of the recognition for their contributions to America’s founding, that doesn’t mean Minnesota has been sitting idle. Yes, Bob Dylan was born here, and Target was founded here. But according to a new report, neither was the most significant thing to happen in Minnesota.

The website 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware-based company that covers financial news and offers opinions, looked over state historical information, research sources and media reports of major events throughout U.S. history to come up with what it calls the “most important” event for each state, including disasters — due to Mother Nature or people —important legislation and scientific breakthroughs. See if you agree.

In Minnesota, the site says the founding of the Mayo Clinic in 1864 was the the single most significant event in the history of the the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The renowned hospital has treated everyone from local Minnesotans to Lou Gehrig to King Hussein of Jordan.

Per 24/7 Wall St., “The Mayo Clinic has become the standard by which all hospitals are measured.”

The clinic has its roots in immigrant founders Dr. William Worrall Mayo and Mother Alfred Moes, who took separate routes to Rochester before they founded the hospital.

According to the report, "their visions of hospital care and teams of specialists have been realized today."

The Mayo Clinic was ranked as the best hospital in the nation in 2018 by U.S. News and World Report.

Tell Us: What local and state events were significant in the history of Minnesota. Tell us what you think in the comments.

Other major events you may recognize from around the country include the opening of Grand Canyon National Park in 1919 in Arizona, the desegregation of schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957 and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City.

“Many of the events on our list are tragic, including the forced removal of Native Americans from their lands — the Trail of Tears in the South — as well as attacks from domestic and foreign terrorists,” the site says.

“In the case of several states, fighting between white settlers and Native Americans ranked as the most important historical event. The treatment of indigenous people shaped America in many ways, and often occurred in frontier states.”

Some events technically happened before the area was formally established as a state, but those events were still considered due to the prominence of that event, such as the founding of the Jamestown settlement in present-day Virginia. Also of note, the site ignored events that simply happened in a state that could’ve happened anywhere else and had the same impact, such as an international treaty signing.

To see the full list of events that shaped the nation, with pictures, to boot, click here.

Patch reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

Image via Google Streetview