Abstract: Newton Winchell was a poor boy with meticulous tenacity, determined to succeed. Introduced to geological field work in his undergrad days at the University of Michigan in the 1850s, Winchell found his calling in the great outdoors, studying rocks. He came to the University of Minnesota to head the Minnesota Geological Survey in 1872. The broad sweep of the state’s geology was his to explore, define and interpret. Conducting research that still has usefulness today, he personified the rapid growth in the field of geology in the late 1800s and left a lasting legacy to Minnesota.

Biography: I am a native Minnesotan; grew up in Roseville. Educated at Gustavus and the U of Minnesota in zoology.  I am the author of five books: Potato City: Nature, History and Community in the Age of Sprawl; The Bullhead Queen: a Year on Pioneer Lake (Minnesota Book Award finalist); A Love Affair with Birds: the Life of Thomas Sadler Roberts (Minnesota Book Award finalist); Portage: a Family, a Canoe and the Search for the Good Life (winner of the Midwestern Book Award, Nature Category and National Outdoor Book Award Honorable Mention); and then my recent one, the Winchell book.