History Commons^™

Crystal, Minnesota And The American Suburb, Matthew Ottinger

Culminating Projects in History

This thesis covers the development of the American suburb with special attention paid to Crystal, Minnesota as a case study. With sporadic primary sources, a simple chronological telling of Crystal's history was a difficult task to undertake. That being the case, a study of how the average American suburb changed from a community on the fringe of a metropolitan area to a city of its own are discussed within this thesis.

The topics that continually presented themselves during research ranged from how people have changed the land to how one defines community. Suburban growth in the form of sprawl, development, …

Minnesota And The Age Of Railroads, Jay Timmerman

Culminating Projects in History

In this thesis project I have attempted to explore the subject of railroad dominance in Minnesota between 1880 and 1920, and how it compared with the national experience. In the decades prior to this period, particularly from 1880 to 1900, railroad development and construction proceeded at a brisk pace, interrupted mostly by economic downturns. By the time of the First World War, railroad construction and development slowed considerably. The conditions that existed from 1910 onwards were significantly different than the conditions of earlier times. The economy and the nation had industrialized, and railroads were no longer welcomed into each community …