John Dwan Office Building

John Dwan Office Building
Location Two Harbors, Minnesota
Coordinates 47°1′15.3″N 91°40′16.5″W / 47.020917°N 91.671250°W / 47.020917; -91.671250Coordinates: 47°1′15.3″N 91°40′16.5″W / 47.020917°N 91.671250°W / 47.020917; -91.671250
Area less than one acre
NRHP Reference # 92000700[1][2]
Added to NRHP June 11, 1992

The John Dwan Office Building, located at 201 Waterfront Drive in Two Harbors, in the U.S. state of Minnesota was the location where Dwan, a Two Harbors attorney drew up the incorporation papers for the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (now 3M) in 1902. The new company’s vision was to mine and process corundum that the founders believed was plentiful on Lake Superior's north shore. The company nearly went bankrupt, because the mineral they were mining was useless as an abrasive and the high humidity at Lake Superior wreaked havoc with their adhesive process. Nevertheless the company survived by receiving financial support from Lucius P. Ordway, moving to Saint Paul, and changing its focus to manufacturing of abrasives with imported materials.

3M Museum

The attorney's office building remains as the 3M Museum, run by the Lake County Historical Society.[3] Exhibits include the recreated law office, company artifacts and documents, a lab display typical of 3M research and development work, and a hands-on program of technology applications.

References

  1. Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. "National Register of Historic Places". National Park Service. 2007-10-16.
  3. Bishop, Hugh. "The First 100 Years of a Lake Superior-born Business". 3M. Retrieved 2007-10-17.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 02, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.