Minneapolis, Minnesota City History and Historical Figures

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Fun City Facts
A marker on the 13th step of the Colorado capital building in Denver, Colorado is precisely 1 mile above sea level.

Boeing's final assembly plant, the world's largest building, is located in Everett, Washington.

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Minneapolis, Minnesota

City History
Historic People

City History

The Dakota Sioux were the region's sole residents until explorers arrived from France in about 1680. Built between 1820 and 1825 by the United States Army nearby Fort Snelling spurred growth in the area. Circumstances pressed the Mdewakanton band of the Dakota to sell their land, allowing people arriving from the east to settle there. The Minnesota Territorial Legislature authorized present day Minneapolis as a town on the Mississippi's west bank in 1856, then incorporated as a city in 1867, the year rail service began between Minneapolis and Chicago.

Minneapolis grew up around Saint Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the Mississippi. Millers have used hydropower since the 1st century B.C., but the results in Minneapolis between 1880 and 1930 were so remarkable the city has been described as "the greatest direct-drive waterpower center the world has ever seen." In early years, forests in northern Minnesota were the source of a lumber industry that operated seventeen saw mills on power from the waterfall. By 1871, the west river bank had twenty-three businesses including flour mills, woolen mills, iron works, a railroad machine shop, and mills for cotton, paper, sashes, and planing wood. The farmers of the Great Plains grew grain that was shipped by rail to the city's thirty-four flour mills. By 1905 Minneapolis delivered almost 10% of the country's flour and grist.

Minneapolis made dramatic changes to rectify discrimination as early as 1886 when Martha Ripley founded Maternity Hospital for both married and unmarried mothers. When the country's fortunes turned during the Great Depression, the violent Teamsters Strike of 1934 resulted in laws acknowledging worker's rights. A lifelong civil rights activist and union supporter, mayor Hubert H. Humphrey helped the city establish fair employment practices and a human relations council that interceded on behalf of minorities by 1946. Minneapolis contended with white supremacy, participated in desegregation and the African-American civil rights movement, and in 1968 was the birthplace of the American Indian Movement.

During the 1950s and 1960s as part of urban renewal, the city razed about two hundred buildings across twenty-five city blocks, destroying the Gateway District and many buildings with notable architecture.

Minneapolis had a quiet beginning as a center for trade; however, it became a prime location for the flour industry and eventually grew into the state's business and transportation center. In Minneapolis, you will see the vibrant recreational and cultural offerings of a booming metropolis. Downtown Minneapolis is dotted by glittering skyscrapers with a network of Skyways. Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet, and Lake of the Isles offer a beautiful backdrop for activities from rollerblading and biking to archery,
Sailing and much more.

Historic Figures

Taoyateduta, Sioux leader (1810–1863)

Taoyateduta, Sioux leader (1810–1863)
Taoyateduta was a chief of the Mdewakanton Sioux tribe. His name means "His Red Nation," but he became known as Little Crow, mistranslated to visiting whites. He took control of the tribe by 1849, the year Minnesota became a United States territory. Taoyateduta was among the Sioux leaders who from 1837 to 1851 ceded what is now Minneapolis MN.

April 20, 2024

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