In the early morning of June 2, 1895, Houston Osborne, a young African American man, broke into Frieda Kachel's bedroom in her St. Paul home. When Kachel screamed, Osborne ran. He was caught and hanged from a cottonwood tree, but let down while he was still alive. He died in prison eighteen months later. Race-based lynchings were a gruesome fact of life in the United States, especially in the South and Midwest, from the end of the Civil War until the mid-twentieth century. Learn more about this history while helping us build out the map of racially restrictive covenants. We’re featuring deeds from Dakota County, Minnesota, Anoka County, Minnesota, and from our collaborators in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Our team will walk you through the process step-by-step so that you can join the more than 8,000 volunteers contributing to this project.
