The John Dwan Office Building, located at 201 Waterfront Drive in Two Harbors, Minnesota, in the United States, is a historical building and now a museum for 3M.

History

The building was the location where John 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 Corundum is a crystalline form of aluminium oxide () typically containing traces of iron, titanium, vanadium and chromium. It is a rock-forming mineral. It is a naturally transparent material, but can have different colors depending on the pres ...

that the founders believed was plentiful on

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

'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 Pond Ordway, moving to

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, 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. 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

External links

3M Museum
- Lake County Historical Society {{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 3M Industry museums in Minnesota Museums in Lake County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Lake County, Minnesota Office buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Office buildings completed in 1898