MN Savvy – MN History

The First Years of Minneapolis

Minneapolis Become a City

Minneapolis grew up around one of the early settlements in Minnesota history, at Saint Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the Mississippi River. The government built an Army camp nearby, named Fort Snelling, in 1819, and gradually the village of Minneapolis began to grow.

It officially became a town in 1856 and finally gained city status eleven years later, in 1867. From then on, Minneapolis was to play the leading role in Minnesota state history.

How did Minneapolis get its name?

There are some twenty-four lakes, big and small, within the Minneapolis city limits. For this reason, a local schoolmaster came up with the name: “minna” from the Dakota Sioux word for “water,” and “polis” from the Greek for “city.” This name was published in a local newspaper in 1852 and quickly gained popularity.

How big was it?

Initially, as with all settlements in early Minnesota history, Minneapolis was a tiny village with no more than a handful of inhabitants. Even before its incorporation as a city in 1867, though, its growth had started to take off, aided by the industries that sprang up around the river, and in particular the Saint Anthony Falls. The first bridge across the river was built in 1854 and a railroad system was in place by 1862, gradually expanding to serve the whole state. Minneapolis and neighboring Saint Anthony merged in 1872.

What attracted people to it?

In the early days most visitors were tourists; even in the early years of Minnesota history, there were those willing to make the arduous journey to see the wilderness of the state! However, Minneapolis quickly became known as a center for lumbermen and millers, attracted by the possibility of hydroelectric power from the river and the Saint Anthony Falls. Various canals, dams, and tunnel projects were undertaken to direct water flow and make it possible to utilize the power of the falls to drive the lumber and flour mills along the banks of the river.

One of the worst disasters in the early history of Minnesota was the near-collapse of the Saint Anthony Falls in 1869 when, undermined by the tunneling and expansion of industry at the falls, they threatened to collapse. Over the next fifteen years, the falls were repaired at the cost of nearly a million dollars, and Minneapolis continued its steady growth into the metropolis we know today.