{"id":2872,"date":"2016-03-21T10:00:56","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T15:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/historyapolis.com\/?p=2872"},"modified":"2024-01-10T13:43:32","modified_gmt":"2024-01-10T19:43:32","slug":"minneapolis-1858","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mvt.rpw.mybluehost.me\/.website_3d6664ec\/2016\/03\/21\/minneapolis-1858\/","title":{"rendered":"Minneapolis: 1858"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Published March 21, 2016
\nKEVIN EHRMAN-SOLBERG<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It’s map Monday. Today, we are going back to the 1850s when Minneapolis was little more than a muddy village. Although the city saw a surge of development during the second half of the decade, it was still a far away\u00a0from the industrial metropolis it would become. The population in 1858 was a meager 4,238 residents. The roads were dirt tracks. There was no fire department. Sewage flowed into\u00a0the streets, and most city blocks existed in name only.<\/p>\n

This was a transitional period for the “Village of Minneapolis.” Although St. Anthony was still the larger town, Minneapolis was rapidly closing the gap. The main draw of Minneapolis over its sister city across the river was the shared headrace canal<\/a>\u00a0constructed in 1856. This waterway enabled\u00a0any mill along the canal to harness the power of the falls. The economic potential of this canal drew in industrialists from around the country. By 1858, “the town site of Minneapolis and [its] water power,” was making the pages of the Washington D.C. Evening Star.<\/em>\u00a0As new mills popped up, new residents moved into the city to work them. By the beginning of the next decade, Minneapolis was\u00a0an undeniable boom town.<\/p>\n