William H. C. (William Henry Carman) Folsom

Born in 1817 in New Brunswick, William Henry Carman Folsom later moved to the United States and eventually settled in the St. Croix valley near Taylors Falls, Minnesota, in 1850. He became known as an early Minnesota businessman and public figure at a time when the region was still developing.

Folsom's career reached into both commerce and public service. He was active in Minnesota politics and is remembered as part of the state's early civic life, while also building a reputation through his close involvement with frontier-era business.

He is especially noted as the author of History of Lumbering in Minnesota: Pioneer Lumbering in the Upper Mississippi and Its Tributaries, with Biographic Sketches, published in 1900. The book remains a valuable firsthand window into the lumber industry and the people who helped shape Minnesota's early history. Folsom died in 1900.