Henry M. (Henry Mower) Rice

Born in Waitsfield, Vermont, in 1816, Henry Mower Rice became a prominent figure in the early history of Minnesota. He entered the fur trade as a young man and spent years working across the Upper Midwest, building deep knowledge of the region and its communities before moving into public life.

Rice later served as a delegate from the Minnesota Territory to the U.S. House of Representatives and then as one of Minnesota’s first United States senators after statehood. He was closely involved in treaty negotiations and in the political efforts that helped shape Minnesota during its territorial and early state years.

He died in 1894. Rice remains a notable, if complex, historical figure whose career reflects both the expansion of the American frontier and the contested politics surrounding that era.