CategoriesHistory Journal

Why Did Pillsbury Invent the Bake-Off — and Was It Aimed at Betty Crocker?

In 1949 Pillsbury filled the Waldorf-Astoria with 100 ovens and crowned the first Bake-Off champion…

CategoriesHistory Journal

What Was the Great Mill Disaster of 1878 — and How Did It Shape the Pillsbury Fortune?

On the evening of May 2, 1878, flour dust leveled the Washburn A Mill and…

CategoriesHistory Journal

Who Was John S. Pillsbury, the ‘Father of the University of Minnesota’?

The hardware merchant turned Minnesota governor who bankrolled the Pillsbury flour empire — and earned…

CategoriesHistory Journal

What Does the Pillsbury Doughboy Have to Do With a Minneapolis Mansion?

Poppin' Fresh first giggled his way onto TV in 1965 — but the family behind…

CategoriesHistory JournalThe Pillsbury Mansion exterior with its carved stone lion and Gothic gables against a clouded sky.

Who Was “Nelle” Pillsbury, and How Was She Related to the Founder of Minneapolis?

Helen “Nelle” Pillsbury, lady of the Pillsbury Mansion, was granddaughter of Colonel John H. Stevens…

CategoriesHistory Journal

Did the Pillsbury Mansion Get William Randolph Hearst’s $50,000 Fireplace by Mistake?

The strange tale of how a Minneapolis flour heir and newspaper titan William Randolph Hearst…

CategoriesHistory JournalThe Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion on East 22nd Street in Minneapolis photographed around 1990, its Gothic entry porch framed by old trees, during the decades it served as an institution rather than a home

Why Did a Training Center for the Blind Call the Pillsbury Mansion Home?

For three decades the Pillsbury Mansion was home to BLIND, Inc.—a training center where a…

CategoriesHistory JournalThe Pillsbury Mansion exterior with its carved stone lion and Gothic gables against a clouded sky.

What Happened When an Advertising Agency Moved Into the Pillsbury Mansion?

After the Pillsburys, the Minneapolis agency Carmichael Lynch restored the mansion and built Harley-Davidson's legend…

CategoriesHistory Journal

Where Did the Pillsbury Mansion’s Centuries-Old Stained Glass Come From?

Scores of medieval stained-glass panels glow in the Pillsbury Mansion's windows. Here's how ancient cathedral…

CategoriesHistory JournalThe carved English oak Walrond marriage fireplace of 1592, brought from Bovey House in Devon and installed in the lounge of the Charles S. Pillsbury Mansion in Minneapolis

Whose Marriage Is Carved Into the Pillsbury Club’s Lounge Fireplace?

The carved oak overmantel in the Pillsbury Club lounge began at Bovey House in Devon…

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