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Work Peoples' College, 402 South Eighty-Eighth Avenue West

This building housed the “Finn College”, so called because many of the students and teachers were Finnish.  It opened in 1903 and at its peak in 1914 had 150 students.  The curriculum taught Marxism in addition to general education courses.  The Finn College closed in 1940 and the building was converted to apartments.

(submitted by Frank Adams:)  The Work Peoples' College is unique, as it was owned by faculty, staff and students! The school was one of the first places J. Edgar Hoover hit and ransacked during the infamous Palmer Raids. Virtually everyone associated with the school at the time of the raid was deported without benefit of a hearing or legal representation. Most were Finns.

Additional history

Read more of the history of the Work Peoples' College.

Also visit Sheldon Aubut's
St. Paul History . Com
Minneapolis History . Com

October 1, 1901 -  William Jennings Bryant campaigned in Duluth and said of the Boulevard, “America has no finer drive than this.”

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