FIGURE 1. Commerce and Transportation on the Modern Mississippi River in St

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FIGURE 1. Commerce and transportation on the modern Mississippi River in St. Paul. 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:12 AM Page 139

Chapter 7 The Patterns of Agriculture, Commerce, Industry and Transportation

Business Development Sites representing commerce and industry in the MNRRA corridor are of at least three distinct types: those directly tied to the Mississippi River, those related to businesses rom canoes carrying furs to steel barges bear- with direct ties, and those unrelated to the river. Sites in ing the grain of multinational corporations, the first two categories characterized the river during the economic activities and transportation sys- nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. During the late teFms have shaped the MNRRA corridor. They have defined nineteenth century and especially during the early twenti- the pace and scope of change to the valley’s landscape and eth century, sites located along the river had less and less ecosystems. They have defined how people see and relate to direct or indirect relation to it. the river. They have done so, however, within the frame- Economic development sometimes linked the MNRRA work of ancient landforms. Geology dictated that St. Paul corridor’s cities and at other times separated them. For began as the head of navigation and that St. Anthony Falls example, fur trading gave cities from Hastings to Dayton a give rise to the mills of Minneapolis. The floodplain valley common river heritage. As cities relied less on the river, from the Minnesota River’s mouth to Ravenna Township, however, their economic histories diverged. Changes in the the confining gorge between the Minnesota River and St. transportation systems were in part responsible, for trans- Anthony, and the prairie river above St. Anthony encour- portation often determined the nature of commercial devel- aged or restricted business and transportation. The MNRRA opment and the relation of that development to the river. corridor’s history and the significance of historic sites tied Railroads used the river valley’s flat grade at St. Paul and to business and transportation must be understood, then, as below for their tracks and in doing so enticed businesses to the integration of human and nonhuman factors. (Figure 1) the valley. Those businesses, however, focused on railroads, This chapter provides an overview of the MNRRA corri- not the river. The river did retain one important economic dor’s economic and transportation history–other than navi- function. It offered a way to dispose of wastes quickly and gation improvements–from the end of the fur trade to the cheaply, which drew some industries to its banks. 1950s. Roads, railroads, bridges and highways and the corridor’s economic development are inseparably tied. Transportation systems have often determined the relationship of communities to the river. As canoes and steamboats drew people to the river, roads and railroads pulled them away. This chapter illustrates processes critical to the birth and growth of the corridor’s communities.

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RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area the Mississippi and itstributaries. the Mississippi o co or and the manwho couldfor lumber get to dry, green boards “Nobody waited says Albert Goodrich, In 1854in Anoka, ties. Lumber had immediate and demanding local markets. and construction booms manyofthe in corridor’s communi- shadowed atSt. byAnthony Falls. milling their role the building river’s in communities isoften over- had context created timber milling ashared historical Like the furtrade, corenomic around which manycommunities developed. • Timber Ramsey w years,” ment to the male population of Anoka and Ramsey for many ot and shingles, sawing logs and finishing into boards, sorting, ry. The employed mills hundreds ofpeople gathering, in i nearfacilities themouthof ies to deliver logs and to power Some located their mills. ti steam sawmill in Anoka that employed 125men. Inaddi- t they were soimpor- most ofthese succumbed mills to fire, (1855) allboasted sawmills their early during years. While 1856and 1857)and Hastings Nininger (1854, 1850), St.Paul (1845, Brooklyn (1859-60), (1867), Champlin i allhadHastings Mostacquired mills. dur- mills their first and the Vermillion River in CreekShingle Minneapolis, in Rice Creek ElmCreek Fridley, Champlin, in in Anoka, tobuilt dams capture the hydropower. The RumRiver at ng along the river the to mid during late nineteenth centu- gte15sad16s Dyo 15) Anoka (1854), ng the 1850sand 1860s.Dayton (1856), ant that they were quickly rebuilt. ut the corridor witnessed the annual herding oflogs down on to o theirown milling her

unted himself lucky.” slabs enoughslabs to build ashanty before cold weather set in

at least onelumber mill. The story ofthese and mills Th T Lumber mil

products. and gave river“Logging driving employ- imber milling wasimber milling vital to mostcommunities emerg- . e lumber cut atthese spurred mills other businesses for cities the in MNRRA corridor. Mostsettlements 3 rites Je Lumber milling replacedLumber milling the furtrade asakey eco- n17,W. D.In 1872, Washburn &Co. builtalarge an James in lers depended on the river and its tributar- its and river depended the on lers 5 perations, her booklet,her small tributaries 4 2 (Figure 2) c ommunities through- T he history of 1 , where they le closed and north was Minneapolis growing into the nation’s li J sort timber becomes continuous down to St. Anthony Falls. the number ofbooms used and cribs to directCenter, and justabove the head Island ofDurnham Brooklyn in 864, Casey Island (now Island). of Banfill part Byriver mile do island (Island Not 215onthe quite map). two river miles showsmap alumber boom projecting upstream from an below where the or immediately atriver Beginning Minneapolis. 866, mile ta the river the nineteenth in illustrate the impor- century, the mostdetailed made maps of (MRC)maps, Commission ust above Minneapolis, multiple crib and multiple boom crib systems ust above Minneapolis, etervr four or five next to eachne the river, other attimes. ad nc ntem another boom upstream points from Little wnstream, i e oftimber from St. Anthony Falls to north ng lumber producer. The River Mississippi ytelt 80,manysmall lumber had mills By the late 1800s, onRpd a snw an1898MRC isnow, Coon Dam Rapids 6 140 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION Lumber was not the only the not was Lumber St. Paul’s lower landing. lower St. Paul’s

perating at 9 8 any, the holdings included the Rotary Mill. Prince ran any, Mill. Prince Rotary the included holdings the ult time getting logs. For these reasons his mill failed reasons these For logs. ult time getting illion River, which provided hydropower for milling. for illion hydropower River, provided which Further downriver, on the Further Hastings Nininger and drew s. By providing the lumber for construction and other and construction for lumber the s. By providing c the properties of Pierre Chouteau, of Pierre fur trading properties Co. & the Jr.

e valley’s limestone bluffs, limestone e valley’s beds, gravel deposits clay and e first lumber mill at Hastings was built in 1855. Like mille first at Hastings lumber was mp nerally served the local market and were gone by the turn the by gone were and market local the served nerally dustries, Hastings’ sawmills, like in those St. Paul, ffi age st known as the Big Woods. Hastings also had the Hastings also had Woods. Big as the st known Quarries, and Lime Kilns Bricks • Mississippi. the by supplied or supported building material Th millers,attracted of Corps the and companies construction limestone Anthony quarried Engineers. Early at St. millers build falls to at the islands other and Spirit Island from the bluffs the around it from also mined They mills.their di for- maple-basswood the and Minnesota of northern pineries e Verm Th end, mills northern the at the mills the at Hastings pro- make to lumber with the companies other supplied or duced shingles, sashes, doors, blinds, furniture, car- and wagons ri in above,Minneapolis and economic an important established city. the base for within the year. On November 14, On November 1850,within year. the first state’s the o began sawmill steam man- in 1854 to St. Paul to came Prince S. John when And age co the mill until it burned on May 22, May on millthe until it burned mills Paul’s 1868. St. ge century. of the until 1845, years three (Figure 3) (Figure 7 perating out a log jam above St. Anthony Falls, Anthony St. jam above out a log lumber industry in Minneapolis. Mississippi River River Mississippi industrylumber in Minneapolis. Cities below Minneapolis also supported sawmills. also supported Minneapolis below Cities cially, west banks from St. Anthony Falls north to near to north Anthony Falls cially, St. banks from west illiam Dugas built the first sawmill in St. Paul in 1844, illiam in St. Paul first Dugas built the sawmill pe 1881. Photo by Michael Nowack. Minnesota Historical Society. Society. Historical Minnesota Nowack. Michael by 1881. Photo FIGURE 3. Log drivers sort sort drivers FIGURE Log 3. Lumber mills and yards dominate the Mississippi’s east and, east Mississippi’s the dominate mills yards and Lumber es show MRC maps clearly Minneapolis city limits.The the king in north become had lumber which to extent the mid-1890s. the Minneapolis by Dugas, Anthony Falls. mill at St. Steele’s of Franklin ahead some reason,for a had and customers find not enough could W although it did not begin o 141 FIGURE 2. The The FIGURE 2. Map,Commission St. above booms and log yards lumber 1895. Note District, St. Paul Falls. Anthony Engineers. of Corps 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:13 AM Page 141 Page AM 8:13 8/5/03 557016_Book_r 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:13 AM Page 142

falls. The Corps quarried the bluffs for rock to build wing dams and to armor the river’s banks. Corps draftsman and photographer Henry Bosse photographed one such quarry near Cherokee Heights, across from downtown St. Paul (Figure 4),and another at Riverside Park in Minneapolis. The 1895 MRC chart for Minneapolis shows at least 13 ing town. Several brick companies had opened around Coon quarries between St. Anthony Falls and the Lake Street Rapids before the fire, and at least three brickyards eventu- Bridge. Construction companies mined the bluffs, islands ally located on Coon Creek in Coon Rapids. All three lay and floodplain from above St. Anthony to Hastings for rock just outside the corridor, but as with many brickyards, they and gravel. Although the quarried bluffs may appear natu- influenced construction within the corridor. Many build- ral today, they represent an important way in which ings in the northern corridor are or were undoubtedly made humans have sculpted the landscape of the Mississippi of bricks produced at these yards. One brick plant, the River valley through the Twin Cities.10 Minnesota Clay Company, had 72 acres of clay deposits and Throughout the river valley, clay deposits presented a pit more than 130 feet deep. “This brick plant,” claims the opportunity for brick making. Fires, which nearly all local historian Leslie Gillund, “was one of the most modern the MNRRA corridor’s communities experienced during the and well-equipped in the country, . . . .”11 (Figure 5) A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and Recreation River National the Mississippi Study of Resources A Historic late nineteenth century, spurred the creation of brick com- Other cities in the corridor had brickyards as well. panies. When a fire destroyed a large part of Anoka in Edward Neill, in his history of Hennepin County, noted that 1884, brick, as a fireproof material, “brick clay” lay along the river in north became popular. Just down- Minneapolis. In 1876 stream, Coon Rapids Morrison’s brickyard

RIVER OF HISTORY: became a busy began using this brick- clay, mak-

FIGURE 4. Bluff top stone quarry, Cherokee Heights, looking toward downtown St. Paul, 1885. Photo by Henry P. Bosse. Rock Island District, Corps of Engineers.

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FIGURE 5. Baking bricks. Frank A. Johnson brickyard, Chapter 7

Fiftieth and Lyndale, Minneapolis, near the Mississippi River,

1904. Minnesota Historical Society. • H ATRSO GIUTR,CMEC,INDUSTRY TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE, PATTERNS THE OF AGRICULTURE,

employing about 20 men and four mills to grind it. The culture. Located on the Grey Cloud Channel, in a company produced 1.8 million bricks in 1880, most of Mississippi backwater, this National Register site is, accord- which went to Minneapolis. Another brickyard, run by ing to Cottage Grove historian Robert Vogel, “a kind of Johnson and Berg, also employed about 20 men and had industrial fossil that provides us with important clues as to four mills for grinding the clay. This yard and the others early settlement and development in the Grey Cloud area, made a light-colored brick which, Neill reports, was typical where limestone quarrying has played a small but impor- of the area. Weithoff’s brickyard, the third in north tant part in the local economy since the middle of the 19th Minneapolis, had only two machines and eight men and century.”13 Used from about 1873 to 1902, the kiln turned out about 600,000 bricks annually. In St. Paul, the burned limestone to yield quicklime, which builders used Twin City Brick company used clay from Pickerel Lake, in as mortar and farmers used for fertilizer. Vogel believes the Mississippi River’s floodplain, during the first half of that most of the kiln’s output went for fertilizer. the 20th century. Hastings also possessed clay deposits and Measuring some 20 feet square at its base, the kiln stood brickyards. You can still see evidence of these operations in the old brick homes and businesses in the corridor’s communities.12 The Grey Cloud Lime Kiln represents a rare type of industrial site associated with building materials and agri-

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RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area market.” typically small breweries, such asflour and sorghum mills processing facilities, “Many ofthe towns became centers for agricultural product c wheat although was becoming a for subsistence, marily statement says thisperiod that agriculture during was pri- Act of1862spurred both. The Historical Society context Te ment and agriculture. The creation ofthe Minnesota Dakota and Ojibwa opened officially Minnesota to settle- in and processing ofagricultural products characterized tion, transporta- The production, Development (1870-1940).” per munities the corridor in were ahead ofthe rest ofthe state. er ca serve for evaluating asabasis the National Register signifi- two periods. (The Historical Society’s context statements Society divides itscontext statement for agriculture into gr asthejoined foundation lumber milling ofeconomic • Agriculture a to “Early andAgriculture River lasted Settlement,” from 1840 a Demand for fertilizer from the kilntells ussomething and takingbluffs trees from the bottomlands and bluffs. to such kilnscontributed As the Grey Cloud LimeKilnshows, M the kiln.More limestone kilnsprobably existed the in fl that thethinks reservoir created by Lock No. and Dam 2has and uplands. The supplied the bluffs limestone. Vogel the kiln’s furnace came from the surrounding river bottoms ash crop. Mostcommunities atthistimelay along rivers. bo bout early agric early bout ood lytu o h NR ordr u nmn as com- manyways, butin ally true for the MNRRA corridor, RAcrio,butwe knowNRRA about almostnothing corridor, them.

nc rtr n14,saeodi 88 and the Homestead statehood 1858, in rritory 1849, in 1870. The 1851and 1855withthe Treaties of1837, ch wth in the MNRRAwth in corridor. The Minnesota Historical iod ofagriculture as “Railroads and Agricultural ut 35feet and had high walls four feet thick. Wood for fptnilyhsoi ie. Tefrtpro,callede ofpotentially historic sites.) The period, first ne nteMsispislnsae by the quarrying anges the Mississippi’s in landscape, Th ed

e Minnesota Historical Society defines the second oeo h l uris butothers could near lie some ofthe old quarries, 15 Th e Historical Society’s context statement isgen- Agriculture andAgriculture related activities quickly ultural methods. operatio 14 ns thatcatere d to alocal mi in c duction and dairy farming. The new crops and other agri- led however, wheat in A drop 34.6 million. prices after 1877, whe m bushels 1860and1850 to jumped in 2.2million to 18.9 ve Economic Panic the wheat of1857and the Civil War, har- la Captain FolsomCaptain bought the RumRiver furtrade postand co en when he planted itonanisland atthe conflu- Minnesota, became to the first grow wheat in St. Paul by 1805, d livestock productionmented and withavariety ofcrops, reg quickly from subsistence to producing farming for local, theMNRRA corridorso in s suggests that pioneer Minnesota in farmers focused onsub- in someofwhich blossomed fostered manysmallcompanies, from the focus and brewing onagriculture. Flour milling and brewing grew flour milling, exchange, the grain houses, c and supplyand service centers for surrounding agricultural tion. Towns that lay along railroads became points shipping this period. Family were farms the typical unitofproduc- li we supported businesses dependent uponagriculture. Some do sec amn rm14 o17,thiswas not always istence from 1840to 1870, farming muiis Ganeeaos rcsigfclte,ware- processing facilities, ommunities. elevators, Grain ultural activities spurred more new businesses. airy farming. ve te linb 80 Bten17 n 80 Minnesota’s by 1870.Betweenillion 1870and 1880, to

st in Minnesotast in climbed from about 1,400bushels in nadbaso h sad Aottesm ie a rn and beans onthe island. About time, the same ce r and others were unique to oneor two communities. nk ony ete utblwKnsIln,about a settledAnoka justbelow County, Island, Kings le re oa n ainlmres A hydd they experi- ional and national markets. As they did, farmers to diversify. livestock They pro- tried new crops, tc. n14,WlimNo,one pioneers ofthe first William Noot, stock. In1847,

at crop nearly doubled, from 18.9 million bushels from to 18.9million at crop nearly doubled, 80,hwvr would however, wheat take Despite off. the 1850s,

Je theAlthough Historical Society’s context statement Early farmers experimentedEarly withavariety ofcrops and of the Minnesota Rivers. and Mississippi Not untilthe ab pa nBpit aral,atrader who had locatedan Baptiste above Fairbault, tional giants. tional giants. All the corridor’s early communities ov rt ofindustries that occurred throughout the corri- h u ie’ ot. hrl fe,he plantede the RumRiver’s mouth. Shortly after, , where many farmers movedmany farmers 17 16 144 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION e post built by Alexis e post built by gun tilling the land, Th 22 andling, of and processing 20 ds, grain, including sacked ship- for orage, h goo 19 21 wherever settlers had be settlers wherever rming also began around Hastings early in the around rming also began Cities, in the products dairy for market largest the

Fa Cottage Grove and Hastings prospered from their agri- their from Hastings prospered and Grove Cottage an impor- makes Vogel Robert historian Grove Cottage me wheat. From the 1840s to the 1870s, the 1840s to the From me wheat. domi- wheat d. When wheat prices fell after 1877, after fell prices wheat When d. farmers around some 20 to 30 farms. The primary crop,The 30 farms. some 20 to Anoka as in ehouse to store store to ehouse

ion. So, grew, population nonagricultural as the the in r Hastings built many more warehouses to accommodate to warehouses Hastings built many more specialize. te mand for farm for products,mand could that products especially ca

ain has been “a constant activity along Hastings’ activity along “a constant ain been has river ss, contends, Goodrich building of some 20 the to led

ultural activities also. As early as 1855, As early also. activities ultural Grove Cottage ant point about dairy farming. It grew after 1880, after farming.ant point dairy about It grew he 1850s. Wheat and other grains became important to important grains became other and Wheat 1850s. Hastings’ reasons: two at least for economy milling flour st The and shipping. gr 1850s,” the since Zellie,frontage Carole says study in her Hastings. for contexts of historic and 717,000 in 1899. Hall went on to build plants in plants build to on in 717,000 and Hall went 1899. Monticello, Harris, and Branch North His suc- Minnesota. ce early the Mississippi the of by west plants starch potato factories, of these One Diamond the century. twentieth Company, in warehouse HastingsStarch in a former opened 1889 to from starch produced and waterfront the near became potatoes County Anoka that notes 1898. Goodrich every to shipped quality were and eating their for known in union. the state c had County and be na corn, to turned Grove Cottage soybeans, and raising cattle horses, farming. dairy and t the near were observes, Grove in farmers Cottage because Tw reg de area, dramatically in immediate spoil quickly, the increased within St. Paul and Minneapolis and farmers near allowing to and Henry Bailly in 1853 began this history, a Bailly in 1853 began Henry and as it became wa decade, During next the ping on steamboats. entrepreneurs in By 1859 Hastings grain booming production. region’s the 18 Colorado beetle or beetle Colorado huge factory, which d from the d from for the

gh production received a boost in mid-1880s the a boost received production

rst potato crop. Showing that a farmer could that Showing crop. rst potato t became the dominant crop in Anoka County Anoka in crop dominant the t became to ea ta where near enou near where s and the pesticide, the county’s potato harvest had pesticide, the s and harvest potato county’s the Po Wh a great profit on the frontier, Folsom cut enough hay in frontier, on the profit hay enough a great cut Folsom

n Reuel L. Hall opened a potato starch factory on the factory starch a potato L. Hall opened n Reuel at harvested in the county. As the depression that had that depression As the in county. the at harvested le stock. In 1859 potatoes and corn became most impor- became corn and In 1859 potatoes stock. wn to 68,000 bushels. While high,While 68,000 bushels. wn to well this was nnebago, whom the U.S. government had relocated to relocated had nnebago, government U.S. the whom ity, it with his neighbors. shared he gun in wheat. 1877 receded, to farmers returned ost, milked the first cow in Anoka. Since milk was such a ost, such milk was Since Anoka. in first cow the milked o mained largely unused for two years. After the third year, third the After years. two for unused largely mained ap as no ve efore the Economic Panic of 1857, Panic Economic the efore wheat which after eet ehind the 121,000 bushels of corn and 94,000 bushels of 94,000 bushels and of corn 121,000 bushels ehind the pplied a substance called “Paris Green.”“Paris called a substance pplied it worked, While ar ant, and, Goodrich,Albert to according of in his history re increased, output into however, potato went plant the and leaped County Anoka in harvest potato The full production. 421,000 in in 1889 1879 to 68,000 bushels the from whe In 1886,Anoka. in Rum River eastern failing get after to in his venture, interested makers with a starch Hall joined Leland, friend,”“monied potato largest C. F. the build to the of first the west and States in United the factory starch crop, potato large county’s the it Despite Mississippi River. w 1848 to make about $6,000. He sold it to the owners of owners the it to $6,000. He sold about make 1848 to the supplies to brought that teams oxcart or horse Wi 1854,Long Prairie. In about settler, early C. another James Fr r grew the fi the grew re b plummeted,prices and crops other raise forcing farmers to li t many convinced County,Anoka wool for high the prices and production Wool year. next the sheep raise to farmers 1860 and between grew County Anoka in harvests potato suffere potatoes When 1870. of years, couple next the bug in for 1866 and potato the In response, declined. crop potato was what farmers began They county. in the first the use of pesticides probably a By 1879, potatoes. the it poisoned the many feared despite b gr b whe be 145 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:13 AM Page 145 Page AM 8:13 8/5/03 557016_Book_r 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:13AMPage146

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area to Fromof Minneapolis. the north lumberyards Minneapolis ed indicatemarks hatch noonehasAlthough found the key to the MRCmaps, in for the(MRC) maps corridor provide asnapshot offarming r the and account in of atSt. Anthony Falls, on flour milling but the context provided above someclues. offers wha Grey like Cloud. Wethe larger do islands, not know exactly including and tilled farmers patches ofthe floodplain itself, approached again farms edge the bluff places in widened, re ed tended and farms to be farther back from the bluff rural, (the upriver edge ofSt.Paul’s urban growth) was more ov ex ture ofagricultural the products. shipping en loc bytheir oxcart grain to the river town to for distribution mi whe wa r ri processingimportant grain centers. and handling The sto- cheese and ice cream.make butter, er had be the 1870sand 1880scattle had and dairy raising farming ailroad expansion later thischapter. in anked second onlyto Winona wheat in In1863 shipping. es ach had e,lk h odnSa raeyna atns ee,to levee, the Golden like Star Creamery near Hastings’ ies,

c te g er te h aeSre rde urbandevelopment hadthe taken Lake Street Bridge, the corridor atthe end ofthe nineteenth century. le up to the river from Dayton down to the northern limits r l regional and national markets. When railroads al, ome important. Local entrepreneurs soon builtcream- e. Pike Island and someofthe floodplain lands this in

ehouses stored Hastings in some500,000bushels of nsively in Chapters 4 and 5 on navigation, in Chapter in 6 nsively Chapters in 4and 5onnavigation, . Land below the Lake Street Bridge down to Lilydale at. Hastings drewat. Hastings onahinterland that extended 60 of these businesses the two in cities are discussed to t farmers grewt farmers ontheir lands the MNRRA in corridor, re otews,and early thisregion farmers in brought s to the west, Th t aladMnepls fcus,alsobecame ofcourse, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Fa atnsi 88 they elevators builtgrain to cap- 1868, in d Hastings

di rmers around Hastings, as in other asin communities, rmers around Hastings, e 1895 and 1898 Mississippi Rivere 1895and 1898Mississippi Commission ve

small farms. Belowsmall farms. St.Paul, rsify due torsify cyclical economic depressions. By where agricultur al fields lay where thefl 23 . Farmers plant- 24 oo dplain none.” withareputation second to Merchant and Custom mill, ad Str le m be re the owners quickly fireAlthough soon destroyed the mill, er had in es falls aswell. Flour were mills the among earliest business- m in • Flour Milling ln ihtefrtaeadlme iln,flour milling Along withthe furtrade and lumber milling, e put had grown to 1,600 barrels per day. immediately rebuilt itsout- it.Bythe turnofthe century, in with acapacity of600barrels per day. Although itburned built the Lincoln Millonthe Flouring RumRiver in Anoka, sitesof mill upriver. In1880the Washburn MillCompany er W had his machinery. Crystal Lake (northwestern Minneapolis) 1857 by away cutting 50feet to ofabluff make room for 1858.EatonNininger in began constructing thein mill 1850s and Samuel S. Eaton completed in aflour mill development.nomic acquired Hastings the in flour mills Creek Fridley in (Manomin), Ve anative of opened by1867. Champlin in And John Banfil, ssential to understanding how itscommunities developed. ast one in Phalenast onein Creek and another near the Wabasha built it. ec s imported 6,000bushels from Iowa and Wisconsin. ill. By 1881 St. Paul had seven flour mills, including at including ill. By1881St.Paul had seven flour mills, illing wasilling important to communities above and below the

eitzel Dayton in builtaflour mill and fourteen years later

lo di rmont, first came to first St.Paul 1849moved and in to Rice rmont, in nk opee to eray1 85 local pioneers 1855, Anoka completed itonFebruary 1, h NR ordr u,lk ibrmlig flour timber like milling, but, the MNRRA corridor, ra ofarto nAgs 6 84 the company 1884, a great conflagration on August 16, eet Br eet

te w St. Anthony Falls and became important to their eco- not yet grown enough wheat to supplyit.Sothe own- a flour mill bya flour mill Creek. 1859onShingle In1860Frank in n,b 95 ithad become “a first-class by 1905, and, tion,

Flour milling grewFlour rapidly communities milling in above and Th Th many MNRRA communities. When owners ofamill d anew mill. A later owner putona20-by 50-foot 26 e history of flour milling in the MNRRA in e history corridor offlour milling is e millers atSt. Anthony Falls recognized the value idge Tw 25 e nty-six mennty-six worked atthe mill. A flour mill (Figure 6) St. Anthony Falls dominated flour milling . 27 where he built ahotel and 28 146 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION St. Paul Roller Mill Company near Wabasha Street Bridge, Wabasha near Mill Company Roller St. Paul FIGURE 6. FIGURE6. Society. Historical 1881. Minnesota 147 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:13 AM Page 147 Page AM 8:13 8/5/03 557016_Book_r 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:13AMPage148

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area in the twentieth century to challenge traders. the grain Started several organizations created farm the early during years of including the riggi accusedcritics the Chamber practices, ofmonopolistic ChamberMinneapolis ofCommerce. The Equityand other and challenged the tion to wheat, the marketing ofspring directed the Equityfirst itsatten- North Dakota 1911, in protest. The Equity gr to entrepreneursally and internationally, saw the opportunity l in to employment to underlay the economic growth ofmostthe corridor’s do • Marketing Grain and their history can be interpreted. mi Je storage cap o and by ofthe the twentieth beginning Peavey century, the Midwest. owned By1890Cargill elevators, 71grain the helped m ChamberMinneapolis ofCommerce. Joined by the flour be afterMinneapolis the Millers Minneapolis Association and Peavey movedMinneapolis, hisheadquarters to Th William Wallace and Frank Cargill Hutchinsonry: Peavey. center.” that itwould become the world’s leading exchange grain ished the means to market huge quantities nation- ofgrain wned bushels 18terminal of with26million facilities r wns and cities. These businesses provided the first lesadohrganmrhns Peaveyillers and and Cargill other merchants, grain

rae,a t lu iln rw and asrailroads estab- grew, asitsflour milling creased, ip on the marketing of the region’s grain, farmers began farmers to ip onthe marketing ofthe region’s grain,

ca min co gr m etn “revolutionizedome Tewton, the role ofthe grain Minneapolis in 1908and incorporated in Minneapolis under the laws of ey dd me hislargest buyer. Both became members ofthe ow ntrol grain buying, selling and shipping. and shipping. selling Two men ntrol buying, grain

As grain merchantsAs grain strengthened Minneapolis in their le bo ated the by industry the start ofthe twentieth centu- man.” Wiemn fteerymlsaegn,the sites . While manyofthe early are gone, mills 29 th located 1884and in Minneapolis in “ensured Cargill establishedCargill awarehouse and offices in Minneapolis ChamberMinneapolis control in trading grain acity in Minneapolis. Minneapolis. “Peavey,”acity in historian says 30 and first capitaland first that allowed other businesses ng ofprices and against commissions As Minnesota’s production grain Cooperative Exchange became oneof to Chestnut and Sherman Streets. The location provided access itsnewbuilding elevator between onthe upper levee, l upper levee and estab- elevator, for aterminal building grain to unfairly criticized the organization. members to trade withgroups or individuals itbelieved the Chamber refused to allow its back. InOctober 1912, the Chamber fought prices. As the Equitygained strength, buildand aterminal possibly elevator to guarantee fair needed to organize analternative terminal marketing firm 1917 funneled through the city. The Equitybelieved it wo tized that the hoping river the withriver building water, bap- J. M. Anderson, Equity’sication President, ceremony, 1915 and completed the new 1917. in building At the ded- per farmers. The Federal Trade estimated Commission that 70 ished itsown exchange. grain The Equityquickly began

St. Paul, r uld againbecome shipping. afactor grain in ce ail lines and toail lines the river. The Equity broke ground in In 1914the Equitymoved itsoffices from Minneapolis Th nt of the grain grownnt ofthe the grain region in between 1912and e Chamber rejected the idea that St.Paul could estab- where the city had

promised free landalongthe 148 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION Although 36 ommon. “The ommon. c from Minnesota,from the ly-owned terminal elevator terminal ly-owned ve peratives were were peratives peratives peratives st cooperati 32 the marketing of grain in the Twin Cities, Twin of grain marketing the in the ust as some entrepreneurs saw an opportunity saw ust as some entrepreneurs J ht the same could be done for livestock. A. B. livestock. for done be sameht the could 33 34 movement of grain was increasing as well, increasing of grain was movement prompt- x during 1950s. In 1951, the Farmers’ the Union le In 1938, 121 coo elevator St. Paul at the occurred Many improvements By the 1950s, farm coo icalism of 1916,” Morlan, Robert historian said “is in 1940 aided this expansion. By the end of the 1940s, of the end By the this expansion. 1940 aided the country. St. Paul’s 1931 addition to the elevator, the to 1931 addition St. Paul’s country. the barge traffic. Second, it represented St. Paul’s determina- barge traffic. Second, St. Paul’s it represented rmers’ Union to expand its market. The Federal govern- rmers’ Federal The its market. expand Union to mp

d become the fir d become rge measure the accepted practice of today.” practice accepted the measure rge al center. ignificant roles. First, roles. ignificant campaign, regional part of the it was ng terminal elevators to upgrade their truck-handling facil- truck-handling their upgrade to elevators ng terminal to consolidate others thoug Northwestern and Minnesota of the Stickney, President the Western), recognized Chicago-Great the (later Railroad Minnesota area. Cities Twin in the stockyards for potential tion to compete with Minneapolis as a regional grain with Minneapolis as a regional termi- compete tion to n • Stockyards the Municipal Grain Terminal, Grain Municipal the historically two fulfilled s businessmen, by supported politicians, farmers, and to Mississippi Upper as an impetus facilities on the improve to Grain Terminal Association added a truck scale and dump, and scale a truck added Association Terminal Grain a car dump added and truck the expanded inand 1955 they dump, original of the bins, on top a headhouse an office and building. it could not replace Minneapolis as a grain trading center, replace not it could it di in Dakotas, Montana, and including Farmers’ the Union, Association (GTA), the formed Grain Terminal the allowing Fa in Mississippi the channel 9-foot of the completion ment’s in roadway i noted,As one historian expendi- ities. huge meant “This on facility their at St. Paul improving for GTA the by tures river.” the and river shipping corridor,in MNRRA the river and inMinnesota in nation. and the co rad la 31 urage the ion complex, 1955. fort to enco fort to . Today, these buildings are the only remains of only remains buildings the are these Today, . As the navigation history told in Chapter 5 shows, in Chapter told history navigation As the farmers, repre- in St. Paul elevator own however, their urn of river traffic,urn of river of the an expansion approved St. Paul

osters began the movement that led to the 9-foot channel 9-foot the to led that movement the began osters e St. Paul Municipal Grain Elevator and Sack House lie in the forefront and Sack Grain Municipal Elevator e St. Paul dustry, can be transported to St. Paul by the establishment the by St. Paul to dustry, transported be can the complex at the right. Minnesota Historical Society. Society. the right. Historical Minnesota at the complex illing industry, elevator terminal oil industry and linseed t d Equity elevator. The new addition included a 22,000- included addition new The d Equity elevator.

ommerce did not come back to the river, the to back come did not ommerce navigation and ish a grain exchange and terminal facilities. In 1917 the terminal and ish a grain exchange 149 project. In 1927,project. as part of its ef To independence. sented c bo re ol bushel, dock a loading elevator, and house a sack concrete 7) (Figure originalthe complex, Equity valuable and rare are but they of grain trading, history telling the for assets farm protest l ridiculous”“utterly it was that asserted “this Chamber that m in . . .” selling or agency. grain exchange of a small pretended of Th FIGURE 7. Farmers’ Union Grain Terminal Associat Terminal Grain Union FIGURE Farmers’ 7. 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:13 AM Page 149 Page AM 8:13 8/5/03 557016_Book_r 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:13AMPage150

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area fourth leading by industry value ofproduct. meat-packing however, ranked asMinnesota’s By 1900, plant opened. For theirten first years the yards struggled. and January1888 in stock the packing first the year, first produc their task was to the strike best price for possible the fee; li animal veterinarians, pens, co in in Stickney began marketing cattle by the end ofthe year. from St.Paul. Convinced he had secured what he needed, stoc the could take which r South St.Paul. Hechose the site for itslocation near his te e then invited the investors and arepresentative ofthe west- ed hosted ameeting interests ofbusiness St.Paul in and invit- Stickney 1886, sume much ofMontana’s cattle. OnMay 3, Tw ofthe livestock. Stickney believed that“shrinkage” the shorter would trip cost less and reduce to injuries and wo Montan in convention i Heengaged includ- vision. anumber ofpotential investors, had thepastu es than watch western Stickney wanted cattle go to Chicago, to but these mostlyfed cattle ontheir way to Chicago. Rather tle each year. The Twin Cities had several smallstockyards, Tw we stockyards estimated that railroads carried some75,000 gJmsJ il Neigctl,he wentng James to J. acattlemen’s Hill.Needing cattle, ailroad and because ofitsproximity to the Mississippi, rn cattle ranchers North to Oaks.Now in hisfarm commit- ve oteetrrs,Stickney acquired onland options in d to the enterprise, ta dustries to South St.Paul. According to Jerome Tewton,

his article his article “The“The stockyard of Business Agriculture,” stern and cattle through St.Paul to Chicago each fall, a representative from the western cattle ranchers. Hill uld be 400miles shorter to St.Paul than to Chicago. The in in stock. merchants Commission handled sales for aset blish alarge stockyardblish and slaughterhouse St.Paul. in Th In 1886StickneyApril acted quickly to realize his

n rvddtefclte n evcs(od water,any provided the and facilities services (food, Cities and the region to the west and north could con- Cities residents ate the beef from about this manycat- er.” e stockyards drew meat-packing plants and related 39 Th rage andgr e stockyards received 5,831rail cars oflive- a to sell hisidea. Heargued that it ain toain feed cattle. Proponents of yrs waste away downriver, kyards’ manager s) for selling andbuying s) forselling 40 38 37 in establishedof the nation’s plants five leading meat packers, m the decentralized. business Bythe 1980sonlyseven com- the as stockyards and associated operations began declining, itsheydayduring following World War II.Bythe 1960s, closed 1952. in Thirty-six worked firms atthe stockyards ca state,” but Minneapolis and Hastings alsohad and butMinneapolis Hastings breweries.state,” we tion butonlytwentieth population. in A dozen breweries 112 breweries and ranked nationally fifth beer in produc- know-how needed for brewing. In1887Minnesota had who enjoyedGerman immigrants beer and who had the the Twin Cities alsoprovided aheavy concentration of under to the bluffs cool and age their beer. Minnesota and along thisreach allowed brewers to excavate tunnels deep provided forstorag F and fresh water was abundant. Fromand hops, St. Anthony product. Minnesota’s lands could produce malt the barley, cent major Minnesota thetwo industryin first decades ofthe Kirk Jeffrey, “enjoyed more rapid growth than anyother did li that centered onithelped South St.Paul become aregional ch hav creating thousands ofjobs.Both companies may 1919, openedCompany South plant St.Paul in a$14million in le br the river valley’s geology aunique way. in To make beer, breweries employedproducts. the other Unlike industries, thatIt isalsoanindustry gave to rise nationally recognized co • Brewing alls downstream, the Mississippi River the Mississippi valley’salls downstream, geology ve y, ission firms remained. firms ission ewe

me in 1925 andme in remained alarge employer untilitsplant rridor that can be traced to Minnesota’s territorial days. ea South St.Paul. according to“Meat-packing,” historian re e chosen site due the to Mississippi the availability of tc etr Sit ror uay n isn four and Wilson, Cudahy, Armour, stock center. Swift, atadhp,and they needed aplace to storemalt and hops, their ury.” p,

Th in rs la c. uay amajorclean Chicago ice. meat Cudahy, packer,

e stockyards and the Twin Cities railroad network

t al “the number onebrewing center the in St. Paul, ne 41 ed Brewing isanother river the MNRRA in industry Swift and started Company 1897. in Armour & ed

kno e. The softSt.Peter Sandstone bluffs wl ed ge 42

(Figure 8) of th e pr oc s,go ae,bar- water, good ess, 43 150 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:23 AM Page 151

In Minnesota, brewing began in St. Paul, and St. Paul would dominate the state’s beer production. Most St. Paul brewers were German immigrants who started their businesses soon after arriving. One of these immigrants, Anthony Yoerg, opened the first brewery in St. Paul in Nationally,Americans had been making beer since the 1848 (a year before Minnesota became a territory). colonial era, but production took off in the mid-1800s, and Although he initially located on the east side of downtown, the number of breweries increased around the country. in 1871, Yoerg moved his brewery to the west side bluffs at After pasteurization was perfected in 1875, bottled beer Ohio Street, two blocks south of what is Water Street today. became popular and beer bottling a common industry. By Here he built a large stone brewery and excavated nearly a 1900 refrigerated railcars allowed brewers to distribute mile of caves for cooling his beer. their beer widely.44 Determined to become a major brewer, he designed a

FIGURE 8. Cattle pen, South St. Paul Stockyards, 1930. Photo by Peter

Schawang. Minnesota Historical Society. By this time, four of the nation’s

five leading meat-packing companies had lcoated at the stockyards.

151 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:23AMPage152

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area W Exchange Streets in mi the 1880s. The Banholzers dugcaves that extended ahalf- it into oneofthe more successful breweries St.Paul in by old breweryold storage. for in Fr and to nationally recognized beers. Untilpurchased by of which would give birthto the state’s largest breweries Fr itwasSeventh destroyed Street neighborhood, by fire. present-day Shepard Road and Drake Street the in West opened 1853.Builtontop in near ofthe bluffs Company, si he moved to the west 1872, in built astone building. Then, hemovedbrewery to burned, in ahouse near in probably the second the brewery St.Paul, in brewery’s cave and foundation atthe bottom ofOhioStreet. the brewery close. The onlyremains asof1981were the through Prohibition (1919to 1933).Not until1952did k the labelUsing “Yoerg’s Cave Aged Beer,” Yoerg’s successors by He was 20,000barrels selling per year by 1881and 35,000 steam-powered plant capable ofproducing 50barrels per day. used anearby sandstone hillfo brewery capable ofproducing 6,000barrels per year. He Emmert however, builtitinto awell-known By the 1880s, in 1889 and left the to business hissons. They had different principal remnantsprincipal ofBruggermann’s plant are the caves. brewery, 1905itclosed. and in As with Yoerg’s brewery, the cavesit in excavated into In1900he the sold bluff. the For ept the going business through allthe depressions and de ed ed te te

limde,i 87 the closed. business 1897, in died, illiam

1901. Happy to be rid of a competitor, Hamm used Hamm the to1901. Happy be ofacompetitor, rid le 1891, making himoneofthe state’s making largest brewers. 1891, more than 25years he made beer atthissite and stored rsection and ofSmith Kellogg Boulevard. After the re

er er

lfsna aah tet just150yards nearbluffs fromWabasha Yoerg. Street, Th Another brewery, called the North Mississippi BruggermannIn 1853Martin established what was de t,hwvr and however, sold the brewery to Theodorests, Hamm c meti 86 the CityBrewery, near Eagle and ick 1866, Emmert in ick and made and William Banholzer reconstructed it, ep and had manychambers. ayear Butwithin after re e more two breweries opened St.Paul in 1855, in

Upperto 48 n remained a wn,

Sixth andPle r storag e. Emmertdied in asant, 47 small o where he peration. 46 45 Star Brewery–bought 1900. itin and then the Jacob Schmidt Company–formerly the North 1897. bankrupt in Another owned firm itfor three years, the succumbed brewery to itaswell. went As aresult, ness, who had taken overand the by busi- 1894allthree sons, and others.Hamm Stahlman died oftuberculosis 1883, in producing 40,000barrels per year buthad fallen behind the largest brewery the state. in Bythe he mid-1880s was created from atleast 1876to what 1879, would become, he come Having bluffs. to St.Paul withonlyafew dollars, ed he excavat- at west the far end ofthe cityatthat time, Road, age excavated one 1855, on July 5, to became andwith itssandstone once cliffs fresh home water, ly renovated and expanded. The new brewery could produce Schmidt moved which he complete- to the Stahlman facility, Brewing Company. When the plant burned 1900, in late years 1884Schmidt butin bought out Koch. Fifteen 1880s, into th 1879 Reinhold Koch took control and builtthe company two and smallbuildings used acave atDaytons In Bluff. named opened1855. DreweryTwo itin and Scotten, men, North Star Brewery was the third company to in begin wo e Brewery, started 1860by in Andrew wasT. onthe Keller, in Fo W r William Hamm after hisfather’s death, barrels. In1903, 5,000. By1882the plant’s output had jumped to 26,000 had an the brewery until hisown death 1931.Under in s ak atthe intersection ofGreenbrier and Minnehaha. ast bank,

to limHm,the brewery became anational leader. Hamm, illiam ryasltrKle odi oHm,who wouldur years make later it Keller sold itto Hamm, at least four the breweries. Pittsburgh Oneofthe four, three levels ofcaves deep amile into the sandstone uld make itinto anationally recognized company. The

systems onthe river. Locating hisbrewery onFort

bo the largest brewery west ofChicago. By1878Hamm hitpe thmn who opened hisCave BreweryChristopher Stahlman, beganHamm hiscareer atPhalen Creek. The creek, Schmidt not did found the North Star Brewery but osted production from 500barrels per year to e second largest brewery west ofChicago by the r Schmidt changed the to name the Jacob Schmidt of themostela 50 borate stor- 49 152 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:24 AM Page 153

Brewery were the other two breweries in Minneapolis. In Chapter 7 1891 the four companies merged to form the Minneapolis Brewing and Malting Company, which the next year built

the Grain Belt Brewery. (Figure 9) • H ATRSO GIUTR,CMEC,INDUSTRY TRANSPORTATION AND COMMERCE, PATTERNS THE OF AGRICULTURE, Prohibition and consolidation led to a dramatic 200,000 barrels per year. Jacob Schmidt died in 1911 and decline in the number of breweries in Minnesota. In 1900 left the business to his daughter, Maria, and his son-in-law, the state had 50 fewer breweries than it did 20 years earli- Adolph Bremer. Bremer’s brother, Otto, an executive with er,and by the start of Prohibition in 1919, only 51 brew- the National German American Bank of St. Paul, joined the eries remained (down from the 112 in 1887). The Steffan- company shortly after. When Adolf died in 1939, Otto ran Kuenzel Brewery in Hastings became a casualty of the company until 1951 and then sold it to the Pfeiffer Prohibition. Founded in 1885 on Ramsey Street on the Brewing Company. Other breweries existed in St. Paul at levee, it operated up to 1919. The brewers who survived various times, but those discussed above were among the Prohibition did so by bottling pop and other drinks.53 most important.51 Brewing sites are important for the local and national Minneapolis had a dozen breweries near the riverfront stories they represent. The history of brewing involves the by the late nineteenth century. Built in 1850, John Orth’s stories of early immigrants, particularly Germans, and how brewery was the first and was located where the old Grain their ethnic origins influenced the development of beer Belt Brewery now stands. By 1880 Minneapolis counted making. This history leads into the political and social four breweries. Two operated on the west side river flats, or aspects of Prohibition nationally and locally. Many German Bohemian Flats, near the University of Minnesota’s West immigrants chose the Democratic Party for its stance Bank. “These two breweries,” says archaeologist Scott against Prohibition. Caves that once stored beer became Anfinson, “dominated the landscape of the river flats into hideouts for illicit clubs, defying Prohibition. the early twentieth century.” Both employed people living in Bohemian Flats. Orth’s Brewery and the Germania FIGURE 9. Meuller and

Heinrick’s Brewery, at

lower levee at foot of

Fourth Street,

Minneapolis, 1880.

Minnesota Historical

Society. 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:24AMPage154

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area t ke River. piroquesMississippi and Furtraders used canoes, the relationship ofthe river’s communities to the re be at best.falls had becomeThis was irregular, undoubtedly falls than below. By1881steamboat navigation above the ex Tr Development Tr gr human-made caves alsohave been used to store cheese and hnMnepls stea than Minneapolis, be craft traveled almostaseasily above the St. Anthony Falls as bo hav li to the steamer carried PossiblyRapids. settlers onthisvoyage, the steamboat, ca deliveringtrips flour to the company’s postupriver butalso steamboatCompany worked above falls.Itmade several an American Fur the falls.Bythe summer of1849, steamboats plied the river fewAlthough above number, in tral to their lives. and fewer and fewer people considered cen- the Mississippi te cities the area in grew and asthe area’s transportation sys- boat steamboat In1855low landing. water stranded the steam- for church services. ari m vle,new transportationm evolved, systems replaced the river c

ow re asnesadsple. nMyo 80 another rried passengers and InMay supplies. of1850, ansportation modes often determined the nature and c te lo el ho hs rdcs aswell asbeer.th ofthese products, Itasca Vil eived navigation little improvement work. And other ause the river above the fallswas often shallow and a it how they far had to carry their e access to large ports from which to acquire and deliver es bo nt of business developmentnt ofbusiness the MNRRA in corridor and w it.Furtraders located to their postsnear the river, H. M.Rice nsportation and Economic Railroads replaced steamboats more quickly above the natural and has been little Although written about it, Steamboats maintained the corridor’s tieto the river.

mushrooms. The cool, dark cave dark mushrooms. was climate idealThe for cool,

to ats and depended and itstribu- uponthe Mississippi

re c eive their trade lage (later Ra Governor Ramsey tAoa and the town temporarily used it at Anoka, 55 mers operating ab operating mers sy,which would establish a msey), goo ds and take fursout. The ,c ompleted avoyage to Sauk goods goods 54 ov e the falls did not e thefallsdid and furs. As began operati RiverMississippi until bridges were built.Entrepreneurs co Fe not soand manydid they not did last long. 1881, may have paddled onthe river above St. Anthony after hoped to compete withrailroads. While somesteamboats p acquired the RumRiver postand began aswing running later ferry at Louis Robert, Anoka. Antoine’s brother, established arowboatpost atthe mouth ofthe RumRiver, who owned the furtrade Antoine Robert, of1849, spring Brown’s grog shopacross the river. Inthe fallof1848or shows Brown’s Ferry Coldwater from running Camp to Smith’s area ofthe Ft.Snelling map 1837and 1838 in segr n rih,which were essential ifsteamboatsassengers and freight, rdr ferries provided way therridor, primary across the rries • rries Even after railroads expanded through the MNRRA ng ferries at theearl iest sett leme nts. Lt.E.K. 56 154 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION 58 59 rts quickly employed it employed rts quickly a Hastings. Started in 1854 Hastings. Started and shipping facilities at 57 orage perated at perated ferries o ferries e U.S. government built the first wagon road first wagon built the government e U.S. opographical Engineers,opographical temporari- that a branch ies at both ends of the MNRRA corridor lasted up to lasted corridor MNRRA of the ends at both ies Th (Ramsey). The Red River Oxc River Red The (Ramsey). illiamFelton, their farmers and Wisconsin it brought The T Ferr ng the ferry’s service. ferry’s ng the d on the Mississippi River Commission map Mississippi that d on the River ut 1850. One road, Douglas, Point from ran which at basha Street Bridge opened. John Goodspeed started a started Goodspeed John opened. Bridge Street basha their journey between the Twin Cities and the Red River Red the and Cities Twin the between journey their di rridor may have been at Dayton. It is the only ferry indi- only ferry It is the at Dayton. been have may rridor

te cludes Dayton, which dates to 1898. Ferries helped pro- Dayton, helped cludes 1898. Ferries to dates which ng direct contact with the river, the with contact number ng direct increasing but the as built in 1895. One of the last ferries in MNRRA the ferries last as built in of the 1895. One ngth of the MNRRA corridor. James Simpson conducted James corridor. MNRRA ngth of the illage alley. In 1855 some 300 oxcarts passed over the road on road the over passed oxcarts In 1855 some 300 alley. bo an from 1883 to 1887 at St. Paul Park. In the latter year, latter In the Park. 1887 at St. Paul to 1883 an from lo away. people begin drawing would railroads and of roads corridor, MNRRA the through approved Congress after in Territory in Minnesota the military$40,000 for roads a mouth, River’s St. Croix the Fort bank to east the along entire the traveled road The $10,000. Ripley, received le Military Road,The for it, survey called the as most people in the construction 1851, started government federal the and Itasca to road the pushed builders In 1852 the year. next V in V in constructed military Other roads St. Paul. to way their to (St. Paul Road Mendota–Wabasha the 1850s included the Ellis the Hastings Road. and and Road) La Crosse of Engineers in 1831, Corps ly split the from and surveyed rivers, and streams cross To they militarybuilt the roads. Wa 1854, ferry by Anderson and Fridley at ferry Truax the and r railroad built a combined Company Railway Island Rock the Park, Mississippi the at St. Paul over bridge pedestrian and en and earliest One of the century. of nineteenth end the lastinglongest by W st growing the to produce Bridge Spiral until the active remained ferry The Hastings. w co ca in 10) (Figure • Roads one from

st St. Paul in st St. Paul We r to operate r to te per levee to to per levee Douglas Ferry, Hastings, four miles of south about ferry from the up ferry from On September 11,On September 1855,Anoka and Elm Creek the

Several well-known Minnesota pioneers received grants received pioneers Minnesota well-known Several r. operate a operate run ferries in St. Paul in 1850. James M. and Isaac N. M. and in 1850. James in St. Paul run ferries rry Company made its first trip. its first trip. made rry Company

ho sent their Red River Oxcart supply trains across the supply trains across Oxcart River Red their ho sent ve ng, a char R. Irvine won and John ongest running ferries in the MNRRA corridor. runningongest ferries in the MNRRA corridor. the upper landing. Daniel F. Brawley also received a charter also received Brawley F. landing. Daniel upper the to 1852. The ferries plied the river until 1859, river the plied ferries The 1852. the when Goodhue acquired charters to run a ferry at the lower land- lower at the run a ferry to charters acquired Goodhue i to Fe ferry big enough to carry a team of horses or oxen across the across oxen or of horses a team carry to big enough ferry & Oakes, Borup was customers Rum. One of his largest w ri 155 1902. Minnesota Historical Society. This was one of the earliest and the earliest one of was This Society. Historical 1902. Minnesota l FIGURE 10. Point FIGURE Point 10. 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:24 AM Page 155 Page AM 8:24 8/5/03 557016_Book_r 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:24AMPage156

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area h rsigst nw,plans for the town began. the site known, crossing Street Bridge in Anoka. As soon asthe government made ov 1852 they builtbridges over Coon and Rice Creeks and one ex ically. Railroad development Minnesota in provides a relationship to mostdramat- the Mississippi its inhabitants’ Railroads • it sothey could touch and smell it. pe be si they werealleled often the river, enough far back that the aw er ex to 65 miles northwest to St.Cloud and more than 125miles extended lines outwardnext decade, from some Minneapolis through duChien Prairie and southern Minnesota to the Milwaukee and St.Paul completed from Chicago aline important connections withChicago. In1868the another outlet to the Atlantic Ocean. Railroads made two 1870 connected providing the Twin Cities and Duluth, opment ofthetown. “Old Cott road the military alsoinfluencedCottage the devel- Grove, co ment erected bridge the across first the a Vermillion River, 1888 and was replaced 1898. in mi railroadsCivil War, had laid tracks from 50 Minneapolis re the St.Paul and Pacific onDecember 6, and one-half later, railroadthe first from St.Paul to St. Anthony. Onlyayear loc leading leading Vo g ached Fridley days and six later Anoka. Bythe end ofthe ec

ve amp pa a oaigaogteras not the river.gan locating Bridges along carried the roads, peoe h ie;nolonger they did haveople over to get the down river; by er e,“grew up gel, we le ay hts and sounds ofthe river faded. Hotels and stores ldgiais Minnesota’s steamed train the first along al dignitaries, te

re s southward toward Fairbault. ofthe Bythe beginning nd the RumRiver atthe current location ofthe Main Roads and bridges began the process oftaking people

st Benson. begun 1868and completed in A line in from River. the Mississippi While the early roads par- d someofthebridges first the in MNRRA corridor. In d bridge, in 1856. in The bridge remained useuntil in d bridge, le ofthespeed ed from Grey Cloud Island to Stillwater.”

in Railroads transformed the MNRRA corridor and

h iws. nJn 8 82 crowded with 1862, the Midwest. OnJune 28, where the and coverage Military RoadMilitary crossed thetrail age Grov 62

with which railroads e Village 61 The go The ,” states 60 At good ve rn- ya and St.Paul railroad Large (short line). Milwaukee, Chicago, and Northern Pacific; Great Northern; and SaultSte. Marie; Th however, railroads began to converge district. onthe milling roa norail- CreekShingle north upto Minneapolis in Dayton, the MNRRA corridor. from the mouth of Onthe west side, e Great Northern Railroads ran parallel to each other along the the Northern northMinneapolis Pacific to Ramsey, and the river to th si over and ran the below Mississippi Street the west Bridge, Chicago Great Western Railroad crossed under the Robert ya ahuge railroad Omaha. Near the mouth ofPhalen Creek, & Minneapolis St.Paul, Chicago Great and Chicago, Western; Milwaukee &St.Paul; Chicago, &Northern; Burlington Th per across from the Lower Lock and Dam. The railroad dis- lines ov clearlymaps reveal the extent to which railroads had taken and other cities. Grand Forks, Great Falls, new railroad connected and Minneapolis St.Paul to Seattle, Manitoba opened the second transcontinental railroad. The the Minneapolis and Twin Cities. InJune 1893the St.Paul, t the Northern Pacific finished thetranscontinen- first 1888, li Minnesota and mostofthe nation. Two transcontinental li Minnesota connecting the Twin Cities withChicago viaa Company opened through alsorunning southern aline Tw al railroad, running through running Minnesota from Moorhead toal railroad, s ie Terira rcsly o h otpr,outside ast side. The railroad for the mostpart, tracks lay, nes crossed Minnesota before 1900.OnSeptember 8, ne through Iowa. de r rd er ey e railroads crowding into St.Paul included the Chicago, in ds lay onthe west side justabove Nicollet Island and ds ran near the river. north Minneapolis, in Beginning sed below St. Anthony but converged St.Paul. in again

lfsps ot t al untilcoursing away from the pastbluffs South St.Paul, la oc

onie rmS.Pu,the railroads fannedDownriver out. The from St.Paul, Th By 1900railroads linked the Twin Cities to much of

in iis and1870the in Minnesota Central Railway Cities, n c lddteS.Pu n uuh inaoi,St.Paul Minneapolis, cluded the St.Paul and Duluth; e 1895 and 1898 Mississippi Rivere 1895and 1898Mississippi Commission ds near the river St.Paul in and From Minneapolis. upied the creek’s former valley. e west above Milwaukee, Bend. Pine The Chicago, 63 64 156 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION The ly 200 68 ar where ne where 1860s, ly as the rying degrees, many for said be same can the (Figure 11) (Figure anions. Railroads steadily filled in wetland the filled steadily anions. Railroads va

70 mp To the river. Other railroads built up and down the val- the down built up and railroads Other river. the ome the back alley of rail depots and rail-oriented and depots of rail alley back ome the co

rminal, in rebuilt built and was Union Depot the and

c 69 ng, river, the separating toward out bluff the bulged oping Holman Field on Lamprey Lake, on Lamprey oping Field Holman been had which Railroads took over the floodplain in St. Paul, floodplain the over took because Railroads Between 1875 and 1920, 1875 and “Rail Between a became St. Paul Overall, changes most dramatic some of the landscape te rd illing more of the floodplain and further shaving back shaving further and floodplain illing of the more l i ch

more to do with the railroads than the river.” the than railroads with the do to more be s earlier the Dakota had landed with Hennepin and his and with Hennepin landed had Dakota the s earlier rfront that once had been the vibrant heart of the city of the vibrant heart the been had once that rfront f

e. Pollution made the river itself offensive to the eye and eye the to offensive itself river the made e. Pollution the MNRRA corridor have occurred at St. Paul. By the at St. Paul. occurred have corridor MNRRA the l ve gan building around it. Between the upper and lower and upper the it. Between gan building around rly 1900s, railroads had already altered the old riverbed, old rly 1900s, the altered already had railroads ar

dustries, trackage, by undesir- and crowded inaccessible ad en wns in corridor. the wa nd y, ve ant to St. Paul than at any time before or since. . . . the . since. or at any time before than St. Paul ant to ng into the wetland created by the mouths of Phalen Creek Phalen of mouths the by created wetland the ng into a rail- became landing lower The Cave. of Carver’s ng much to build- began Railroads grade. low, even floodplain’s of the i as ear Brook Trout and ye Fr cut They outward. Mississippi the riverbank pushed and tracks, for room more make Bluff to Daytons back destroy- i ro in filled and bluff the back cut railroads So the two. the to City.” to built businesses facilities and the and Railroads development. riverfront dominated them accommodate “Rails,” asserts, Hesterman industrial location, “dictated often valley within river the industrialand development had same held for commercial development. “By 1920,” development. commercial for same held impor- concludes, less Hesterman was probably river “the t ri in ea bluffs,the the into flowed that original the and streams Mississippi. During 1930s, 1920s and the city began the de le bluffs.the 1880, 1884 and 1915. The Minnesota Valley Railroad laid Railroad 1880,Valley Minnesota The 1915. 1884 and businesses landing and upper at the in floodplain the tracks be la had in ab nose.” d rail- 65 te and promo uraged uraged co effect of railroads on the on of railroads effect amines the the amines ex 67 or. opment, as a demise river’s the hastened which l 66 rrid ve aul Hesterman, Mississippi St. Paul,” and “The in pro- St. Paul, like most cities, en P Railroads quickly undermined the river’s importance river’s the undermined quickly Railroads de

Chicago, Burlington & Northern continued down the Chicago, down continued Burlington & Northern ds left the railyard in downtown St. Paul, in downtown side, railyard by the side ds left Hastings. But above miles several again ds converged st as well. From the Minnesota River into St. Paul and then and St. Paul into River Minnesota the From st as well. wnriver to Hastings, to wnriver in floodplain ran the that railroads rridor. He also rridor. ad ntral element in the city’s success and identity. St. Paul identity. and success in city’s the element ntral a a on and its impact on the economy of a city in MNRRA the economy its impact on the on and acilities built by James J. Hill and steamboat magnate steamboat Hill and J. James acilities built by ail connections rather than their tie to the river. Symbolic river. the tie to their than rather ail connections illed in the floodplain and located their tracks and stations and tracks their located and in floodplain the illed ngs and other businesses located along the railroads had lit- had railroads the along located businesses other ngs and ro ce As railroads development. rail early subsidize to bonds sold f there, followed. quickly businesses transfer and warehouse F traffic, on steamboat relied Davidson William Commodore commodities and passengers the captured but as railroads on steamboats, carried once warehouses, the build- transfer i river. with the do to tle vides the most comprehensive description of railroad expan- of railroad description most comprehensive the vides si co for transportation. Towns began growing up around their up around growing began Towns transportation. for r on the Station of this change, Park Fridley is named Fridley immedi- Commission map was 1898 Mississippi and River Pacific Northern and Northern Great the to adjacent ately Railroad. city’s landscape and its relationship to the river. Overall, river. the to its relationship and landscape city’s cities other for used be could that offers a model Hesterman co the in and St. Paul and the Chicago, the and St. Paul and rail- Burlington & Northern ro Chicago,The Burlington at Newport. & until diverging rail- two The bluff. side east the along continued Northern ro Hastings,opposite Chicago, the Milwaukee, St. Paul and side. west the on downriver headed city and the into crossed The we do corridor. MNRRA the is now in what bluffs the were near and lit- character physical Overall, corridor’s the altered railroads St. Paul. milling the outside tle district downtown and 157 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:24 AM Page 157 Page AM 8:24 8/5/03 557016_Book_r 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:24AMPage158

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area h iysbgnig,and not justdowntown. for Thethe city’s city, beginnings, city government asatool to transform the riverfront since ri are responsible for the development ofthe St.Paulasserts, Hesterman asmuch aseconomic demand, subsidies, Public ly supported development business the floodplain. in be Wa across from downtown St.Paul. The citybuiltShepard and system has barred the river from the rest ofitsfloodplain ec ar one ofthe river’s largest backwaters the metropolitan in ve e osystem qualities have largely disappeared. leveeA high gun by early railroads and settlers. And St.Paul constant- a. the Although the field stillfloods water, high during nrRasotit h iebd continuing the processrner Roads out into the riverbed, fot Eooi neet,h tess had used the he stresses, rfront. Economic interests, ele ab be followed by the opening ofthe entire nine-foot channel ex o scape. While railroads had kicked river-related activities this photograph captures theriver as acommercial navigation route before locks anddams. Taken 1931, in 11. RailroFIGURE P ool to h t alrvrrn,the 9-foot channel brought ut ofthe St.Paul riverfront, amp lo ov ctric powerctric to the company.

2. Photo by St.Paul Daily News. Minnesota Historical Society. t ali 90 alsotransformed the city’s land- w St.Paul 1940, in e Lock No. and Dam 1by yielding itsclaim to hydro- Th le e completion ofLock No. and Dam 2atHastings, , per suaded the Ford Motor to Company locate ads andlow water theMississippi undermined River i mmediately prior 71 to thef looding of looding 158 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION 76 75 ut 50 square miles. The miles. square ut 50 . As the Ferry Street Ferry As the . peared natural. peared bo a d or apd or (Figure 12) (Figure atically. Freeway construction began in the began construction Freeway atically. the transportation patterns, transportation the and demography

am As communities in the MNRRA corridor expanded corridor MNRRA in the As communities ed Bridge is near river mile 855.5, river is near Bridge avail- was no bridge th Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis and the Ferry in the Bridge Minneapolis and Avenue th dr e Mississippi River Commission maps show the Commission mapse Mississippi show River

e nc ue No bridges spanned the Mississippi River between the between Mississippi the River spanned No bridges Th the Mississippi the below crossed bridges Only three for a distance of some 16 miles. Above Anoka, Above of some 16 miles. a distance only for more and more of the land within the MNRRA corridor. within MNRRA the land of the more and more nd

w Newport. This bridge also served pedestrians. The pedestrians. also served bridge This w Newport. ue ng bridge crossed from near Inver Grove Heights to just Heights to Grove Inver near from crossed ng bridge ome lost in a landscape it gave birth to. As the metropol- As the birth to. it gave inome lost a landscape i iance on cars and trucks meant the road system had to had system road the meant trucks and on cars iance en ture and extent of bridges across the Mississippi the the by across of bridges extent and ture d of the nineteenth century. Bridges followed the settle- the followed Bridges century. nineteenth d of the le pa c lo fl to onomy of the area. onomy of the maining two bridges jumped the river at Hastings. One was river the jumped bridges maining two ivided between railroad and wagon bridges. From north to north From bridges. wagon and railroad between ivided aul, together, riverbanks the equally stitched 20 bridges re bridge. famous spiral the other the and bridge a railroad on the early military roads and as railroads pushed lines pushed as railroads and military early roads on the spanned of bridges number valley, a growing the through of traffic flow the changed Bridges Mississippithe River. and connected they communities the for commerce and in Twenti Anoka in Bridge Street ab metropolis, covered had which surging and population growing area’s metropolitan rel ex • Bridges be ec na en St. to Minneapolis city limits the down From pattern. ment P d south,Twentieth, those at included bridges wagon the Plymouth, Hennepin, Tenth, Washington, Franklin, Lake, bridges Smith railroad (High),The Robert. and Wabasha lines. of different a number served An 1887 railroad Hastings. to down Bridge Street Robert sw Bridge is at about river mile 871.5 and the Twentieth the mile 871.5 and river is at about Bridge Av 1950s. Once the focus of the area’s residents, area’s of the had focus the river 1950s. Once the be remaine land less and Less itan population grew, population itan houses, crept roads and businesses in 74 Lower 72 The e downtown 73 their streetcars. urban and suburban expan- ons along th Commuter trains,Commuter streetcars ti operated operated lerated lerated pair opera re promoted urban and suburban expansion away suburban expansion urban and promoted

ey this happen, streetcars the to electricity providing by

any converted to electricity and pushed the line the to pushed and electricity to any converted from about 840,000 to nearly two million. By 1980 two nearly 840,000 to about from

Cars acce and trucks By the early 1900s, the Twin Cities possessed “One of “One 1900s, early By the possessed Cities Twin the

ed rbanks clearly characterize St. Paul as a river town in town as a river St. Paul characterize rbanks clearly r. istrations grew from some 2,500 in 1905 to about some 2,500 in 1905 to from grew istrations ys that harken back to the steamboat days. steamboat the to back harken ys that 1914, completed Railway Electric Southern St. Paul the lp gan in 1946,Automobile cars. acquired most households mp r company completed tracks up to the Coon Rapids Dam, Coon the up to tracks completed r company rs, II started, horses,War buggies,World As wagons. and

ew on away from the river. The Great Depression delayed the delayed Depression Great The river. the from on away ve ve 159 an 800-square-mile outer city surrounded the pre-1920 the city surrounded outer an 800-square-mile si impact of automobiles, boom economic a new but when be reg 1950 747,000 in 2.4 million 1940 and After in 1983. to began city center the outside businesses suburbs and the urban population 1970 the 1920 and Between mature. gr ri in corridor MNRRA the running through began trolleys and relation- century, spatial the redefining twentieth early the the and people between home and and work ship between ri wa • Trucks and to Cars Streetcars them back. Large terminals, back. them 1, No. Terminal like Rock Red heritage. navigation Southport,and St. Paul’s restored have and Barge fleeting supplying workers and materials for the dam’s construction. dam’s the for materials and supplying workers on gas engines, initially ran cars the Although 1914 the by co Also 1939. until about regularly ran streetcars The Anoka. in Hastings, from train ran The Hastings. to tracks through Grove, By Inver and in an hour. Pine about Bend St. Paul to 1920s,the street- replacing began trucks and however, cars ca still Cities Twin only the of the Twin City Rapid Transit Company. In 1913 a street- Company. Transit City Rapid Twin of the ca Hydro Station below St. Anthony Falls, St. in 1897, below Hydro Station completed he from central cities and away from the river. Businesses and Businesses river. the from away and cities central from lines. the along locating began neighborhoods nations’the ” . . . systems streetcar model 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:24 AM Page 159 Page AM 8:24 8/5/03 557016_Book_r 557016_Book_r 8/5/038:25AMPage160

RIVER OF HISTORY: A Historic Resources Study of the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Brid or The the historic bridges are gone. County. Fortunately, not all from St.Paul to Dakota fi Wa manual. In1859the si one- half acre and size floated in itdown to their crossing men from the town cut out ofice aslab nearly 1858, 10, li n deliveredCompany the origi- KeystoneCarnegie Bridge w Bridge opened 1888and in 1854. Anthony in The High Mi by ed the suspension bridge erect- ov Brid High the original Bridge, or are ind to Pe the ferry atRamsey provided away across the Mississippi. brid the few bridges these in reaches. they unless had they along journey, lived near oneof Cities, was wagon the next spring. andNininger stack italong the bankto sell to steamboats bridge allowed loggers to cut wood onanisland near li al High Bridge in onemil- Bridge in al High on pieces, ke rst to cross the Mississippi te as replaced 1987. in The

ople in Minneapolis and Minneapolis ople St.Paul in not did have to travel far er rs h ie,atog on nfo,by horse a or in going although onfoot, cross the river, el basha Bridge became the ividual and discussion , National Register listed

ges. ges. Accordi

ge w ge ge and the first bridge first the and ge the Spiral Hastings igible. Manyare gone,igible. where they lodged it the Mississippi River,the Mississippi Many bridges merit Residents devised ofNininger oneofthe mostcreative iginal Robert Streetiginal nneapolis and St. as completed in not soquick astoday. Above or below the Twin with a 78 ng to the 388-page against opposing banks. opposing Theagainst Emigrant Aid JournalEmigrant Aid of February 77 hc uiessdvlpdi h NR ordr rather corridor, developed MNRRA the in businesses which One goal ofthischapter was to provide the context in Summary the longest concrete arch bridge–the at4,119feet, Mendota Bridge–opened. Itwas, Robert Street Bridge. That sa arched, 1885 and replaced 1926by in the now historic,

brid me year another concrete arch ge in the world. the in ge 79 160 Chapter 7 • THE PATTERNS OF AGRICULTURE, COMMERCE, INDUSTRY AND TRANSPORTATION sippi River Bridge at Anoka, at Bridge sippi River Minnesota, 1905. e looking for transportation routes that take them to them take that routes transportation for e looking e and more people recognize the many amenities the many amenities the recognize people more e and ar ntage of the metropolitan area’s inhabitants thought inhabitants area’s metropolitan of the ntage or

ttervrdrn hi al ciiis Tdy howev- Today, activities. during daily their river ut the ce ey e interested in the river’s history, in develop- the its role in river’s the e interested ,m NRRA corridor’s southern and northern ends, northern and southern corridor’s NRRA existed. few where bridges bo FIGURE Missis 12. the at remained important longer Ferries Society. Historical Minnesota M er per a They river. the to Mississippi back coming are and offers ar area, metropolitan of the ment and businesses the and evolution. area’s the underlay that systems transportation Th it. from river,the away than rather Each new transportation method redefined that rela- that redefined method transportation new Each

r. ationship of businesses and the area’s residents to the to residents area’s the and ationship of businesses ds. Urban population growth,ds. Urban population evolving these to tied ve than to produce a list of all the different businesses. a list different of all the produce to than the affected transportation how show to was goal Another rel ri tionship. Navigation interests, Navigation builders tionship. road and railroads their accommodate to its valley or river the all transformed en systems,transportation smaller and a smaller that meant 161 557016_Book_r 8/5/03 8:25 AM Page 161 Page AM 8:25 8/5/03 557016_Book_r