How did early settlers survive their first Minnesota winters? (2024)

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How did early settlers survive their first Minnesota winters? ›

Most built log homes like those they would've had in their home country, and used moss or clay between the logs as insulation. The main source of heat was a fireplace or stove. If they had them, the families may hang fur or textiles against the walls as an added layer against the cold and wind.

People slept in layers of wool clothing, with caps on their heads, and under piles of warm blankets. Beds were much narrower then than what we have today, which also helped to keep and retain body heat.

Layers, wind resistant and waterproof boots and jackets, and hats, gloves, and scarves are key! It's also important to know the signs of hypothermia and frostbite if you are going to be out in cold weather.

The settlers relied almost solely upon hunting and fishing to survive the winter. The first plantings were near the cabin. The principal tool of the time was a mattock, a heavy digging tool with a flat blade. Seeding and cultivation was done by hand; harvesting by sickle or cradle.

As each new area of Canada was opened to European settlement, pioneers faced the difficult task of building homes and communities from the ground up. Pioneer life revolved around providing the basic necessities of existence in a northern wilderness — food, shelter, fuel and clothing.

Most homes relied exclusively on wood burning fireplaces that on the coldest days would not always bring the room temperature above freezing, even with a fire burning all day long. Most of the heat of those early fireplaces went straight up the chimney.

American Indians used a variety of approaches to stay warm, including wearing animal skins and heating rocks in fire pits to warm the floors. When indigenous tribes lived throughout the state, meteorological studies suggest that the climate generally was colder and wetter than now.

Most roads at the time were made from dirt, so the warm conditions, the lack of snow, and the occasional rains made a muddy mess of transportation routes, with businesses, families, and individuals bogged down in the impassable mud. Farmers near Minneapolis were plowing fields until late December 1877.

February 2,1996 was the coldest instrument-measured temperature on record for the state of Minnesota. A location in St. Louis County, 3 miles south of Tower, recorded -60 degrees F on February 2, 1996. This value ties Minnesota with North Dakota for the all-time record low for a non-mountainous state.

What food did the settlers survive on? ›

After a time people started hunting for deer, turkey, ducks and geese. They also were able to fish for cod and flounder and catch lobster and clams. Farmers grew corn, wheat, rice, barley, oats, squash, pumpkins and beans. They had apple and peach trees and blueberry bushes.

The Starving Time happened due to the ineptitude of the English. They weren't very good at agriculture. In addition to the severe drought in summer 1609, the Powhatan native nation confederacy laid siege to Jamestown to starve the colony out of existence.

Only 60 of 500 colonists survived the period, now known as “the starving time.” Historians have never determined exactly why so many perished, although disease, famine (spurred by the worst drought in 800 years, as climate records indicate), and Indian attacks took their toll.

Work. Most of the early free settlers were farmers. They developed the land that the government granted them with the help of convicts assigned to work for them. The first challenges were to clear the often thickly wooded land and to build a fence around it.

Settlers were forced to leave their village in packs, well-armed, and always on the alert. It goes without saying that daily life in early colonial America was hard work. Men labored long hours building homes and other structures. Women tended to the children, gardened, and maintained the home.

Many of the men spent their days vainly searching for gold. As a consequence, the colonists spent little time farming. Food supplies dwindled. Malaria and the harsh winter besieged the colonists, as well.

The use of soapstone as a heating source has been utilized for centuries. Native Americans carved bowls out of soapstone to cook their food. In the mid-1800s, people used soapstone as bed and feet warmers. The stone would be placed near the fire to heat up.

A civil servant who was in Burgundy in the winter of 1844 wrote that the men they would “spend their days in bed, packing their bodies tightly together in order to stay warm and to eat less food.” The citizens of the French Alps would “hibernate” with their cows and pigs during the winter months.

In the tepee, even at temperatures well below zero, it is still warm and comfortable. Of course, camping in winter is more demanding than in summer.

Colonists preserved food in the fall to get them through the winter. They would dry fruits and meats and dry and grind grains. They would make jam from fruit and would pickle vegetables. Drying the foods would make them last longer, and adding salt to foods preserved it and kept it from going bad.