A young friend once asked, "Why is there Minneapolis?" Shortly after that question, we visited Saint Anthony Falls. In 1680, Father Louis Hennepin became the first recorded white person to see the only waterfall on the Mississippi River. He named it the Falls of Saint Anthony. By 1823, the falls were driving the industries that built Minneapolis. The first sawmill and grist (flour) mill were built here between 1820 -1823 to provide lumber and flour for Fort Snelling. As white settlement increased, the village of St. Anthony incorporated on the East Bank of the river in 1855, three years before Minnesota statehood. The settlement of Minneapolis, on the West Bank, was incorporated as a town in 1856. The two communities merged in 1872.

Logging and lumber production were the first industries. Minneapolis led the nation in saw milling to 1887. Lumber declined in importance as logging moved north, and the last saw mill in Minneapolis closed in 1904. Flour milling was the next big industry, and Minneapolis led the country in flour production from 1880 - 1930. Despite fires and a truly colossal explosion in 1877 that nearly destroyed the West Bank Mill District, flour mills grew in number and size. The Washburn Crosby Mill, on the West Bank, and the Pillsbury "A" Mill, on the East Bank were the biggest. For a time, the Pillsbury "A" Mill was the largest in the nation. The Washburn Crosby Mill closed in 1965. The Pillsbury "A" mill closed in 2003. It was the last working flour mill in the Mill District.

Just like the early saw mills, the flour mills used the power of falling water for much of their history. Tunnels and canals were dug to transport water to mills away from the falls. A horseshoe shaped dam was built above the falls between 1856 and 1858. It funneled water into these "power tunnels." Many of these tunnels still exist, though only one has been restored to carry water. These tunnels, and their water, were strictly controlled by two water power companies that eventually merged. Wooden and later concrete aprons were built over the falls to keep it from eroding into a rapids. The first hydroelectric plant in the country was built at Saint Anthony Falls in 1882. The lumber and flour mills supported a host of ancillary industries such as iron works that made mill machines and cooperages for making barrels. There were other mills, too, including the North Star Woolen Mill. All the unprotected spinning wheels and belts in the mills resulted in many injuries and more than a few deaths. That made Minneapolis a leader in another industry: prosthetic limbs.

Milling of any kind requires raw materials. Saw logs for the lumber mills floated down the Mississippi River each spring and were caught by a boom above the falls at Boom Island. Here they were sorted by marks and sent to the proper saw mills. Railroads developed and moved west to bring wheat to the flour mills and ship the flour across the country. Nine railroads served Minneapolis by 1918. The Stone Arch Bridge was finished by the Saint Paul, Minneapolis, and Manitoba Railroad in 1883. The Manitoba was run by James J. Hill and later became the Great Northern Railroad. Other familiar roads in Minneapolis included the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault St. Marie (Soo Line), Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific (Milwaukee Road), and the Northern Pacific.

As milling declined, so did the Mill District. By the 1960's, the district was blighted. Many of the mills and other buildings had been razed. This unfortunate trend was reversed in the early 1970's and today the area has a new life. Parks line the river. Condos and businesses have filled many of the remaining mill buildings. The Mill City Museum occupies the remains of the Washburn Crosby Mill. An art festival, fireworks, and other festivities happen every year. The Mill District has changed time and again over the last one hundred ninety years, but the only waterfall on the Mississippi River is still there.

Links:

The Mill City Museum:http://www.millcitymuseum.org/
The MInnesota Historical Societyhttp://www.mnhs.org/
The Hennepin History Museum:http://hennepinhistory.org/default.aspx
The Minneapolis Public Library:http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/history/
Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Board:http://www.mnhs.org/places/safhb/index.shtml