MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – No A/C, no electricity and clothes made out of wool.

Many Minnesotans spent Independence Day living like it was the early 1800s.

It was all part of the Independence Day celebration at Fort Snelling – gun and cannon fire punctuated the festivities.

“I think it’s a way to have a really good connection to the past,” said one re-enactor. “You can read about Fort Snelling and any era, and until you come and experience it, you understand it on a better level.”