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Minnesota

Agricultural Minnesota has been too far west of the main pre-WW1 American industrial cities where most Lithuanians settled. Thus the local Lithuanian community established 1922 was too small to continue working after 1970 (re-established 1991). There are no Lithuanian churches, halls, or other such buildings.

However, there is a village Wilno called so after the Polish name of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. This is one of quite few settlements named after Lithuanian cities. The village's main street also has a Lithuanian-themed name Kowno (after Kaunas, Lithuania's 2nd largest city). Interestingly, although Lithuania at the time had a big Polish community, the founders of the village were not Poles from Lithuania but rather Poles for Poland. Lithuanian placenames were used as a kind of advertisement as they were attractive to Polish immigrants. At the time, there was still a feeling that Poland and Lithuania are somewhat fraternal lands due to their common history during the previous Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth era. Wilno was thus even mentioned in Polish press as "America's Lithuania", despite having little to do with Lithuania besides having similar placenames and a rather similar landscape.

Wilno village

Wilno village

The village of merely a few houses is outflanked by the gothic revival St. John Cantius church (3069 Kowno Street, built 1902), nicknamed "cornfield cathedral" (it has stained glass of Lithuania's patron saints St. Casimir and St. George but this is due to similar Polish-Lithuanian histories). Wilno is known to be an epitomic Polish agricultural community (something that Lithuanians did not establish, preferring industrial labor).

Wilno church sign

Wilno church sign

Wilno St. John Cantius church

Wilno St. John Cantius church

Kowno Street in Wilno

Kowno Street in Wilno

The only site in the Minnesota's largest conurbation that is vaguely related to Lithuanians is the St. Paul Landmark Center. This building served as Federal Court and it was here where the most famous Lithuanian-American criminal Alvin Karpis was tried in 1936. Karpis was considered "Public Enemy No 1" for his numerous abductions and America's last train robbery. The building is now accessible to tourists and various historical plaques explain the history of various halls. Karpis features prominently in those. He is among the listed top criminals, he is quoted, and there is also a separate plaque describing his ultimate trial. One may also visit the room 317 where he pleaded guilty. However, nowhere it is said that he was Lithuanian. Minneapolis / St. Paul did not ever have a historic Lithuanian community and, in fact, Karpis himself was not from here. Sentenced to life in prison, Karpis was paroled in 1969 and died in 1979.

Landmark Center of St. Paul

Landmark Center of St. Paul

Plaque about the day Karpis pleaded guilty

Plaque about the day Karpis pleaded guilty

Click to learn more about Lithuania: Minnesota, USA 3 Comments
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  1. Hello Lithuanian friends,
    Wilno, Minnesota, was settled by Polish immigrants mostly from Poznan, Kashubia, and some from Galicia. None of them came from historic Lithuania. It was planned farming colony created by a Polish society in Chicago and the name was chosen because Wilno/Vilnius was a famous historical city that would appeal to Polish settlers. In the Polish newspapers of the 1890s it was often called “the American Lithuania,” but it had no other connection to Lithuania than the name.


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