Historical Facts
- The Liebaus came to America immediately following the Civil War. Conditions are neither good nor stable after a country has been at war, and this must have been true of our country, as it was a very young nation. But no doubt, they had glowing reports of this vast country with its fertile land and great potential.
- In 1862 Minnesota had passed the Homestead Act.
- By 1870 thousands of new settlers were pouring into the state from Germany, the Scandinavian countries, the East, and elsewhere.
- In 1873 a crippling financial panic struck the country; and that year marked the first of five summers when grasshoppers (Rocky Mountain Locusts) ravaged crops in large areas of Minnesota. Steps were taken to fight the scourge, including bounties for the creatures and their eggs (by the bushel). At last Gov. John Pillsbury set a day for statewide prayer. (Minnesota then had some 800 churches). One day the grasshoppers rose up and flew away. Nobody knew where or why.
- By 1910 the population of Minnesota passed the two million mark.