"We arrived at St. Anthony about noon Friday, April 27th, 1849. There was no place where one could get accomodations for man or beast." Referring to the land now occupied by the city of Minneapolis, he wrote: "We followed the old Indian trail from the mouth of Crow River to the western bank of of St. Anthony. It was an unbroken, beautiful wilderness. With the exception of the old military building on the bank opposite Spirit Island, there was not, and for aught I know never had been, a house or sign of habitation from Crow River to a mile or two below Minnehaha."

Through Mr. Steele, Mr. Stevens learned that the government intended reducing the size of the Fort Snelling reservation, and he obtained permission from the Secretary of War to hold the claim he had

IN THE WHOLESALE DISTRICT

CREAM OF WHEAT BUILDING

marked out, provided only that he "maintain a free ferry for the crossing of government troops," troops," for which he was under bonds.

Mr. Stevens built the first house on the west side of the river in 1850, and his oldest child had the honor of being the first white child born in Minneapolis. He did everything in his power to stimulate and foster the growth of the settlement. He

laid out the streets and platted the land. When settlers began to arrive, he cut one hundred acres of his claim into lots (now the most valuable property in the city) and gave them away, with the provision that "each recipient should build a house thereon not to cost less than $300."

His home was church, town hall and general place of entertainment. The first school was organized within its walls, and it was there the name Minneapolis was chosen

harmoniously with their red neighbors.

The infant colony contained twelve houses in the spring of 1854, but that summer immigrants began to flock in from the New England and Middle States. At that time the only means of reaching Minneapolis, other than by crossing the prairies on the tedious prairie schooner, was to go to St. Louis or Dubuque and board a Mississippi steamer bound for St. Paul. Occasionally a steamer would reach a point just below St. Anthony Falls, but this was so rare an occurrence, that a prize of several hundred dollars was offered to the steamer

LUMBER EXCHANGE

that could perform this desirable feat.

Settlers were obliged to have a permit from the Secretary of War to perfect their claims, but as many came without this most necessary authorization, claim jumping was. frequent and there was much bad blood shown. The officers from the fort pulled down shanties and were "generally tyrannical unless openly bribed." A year later, after a decision made in Congress, claimants were able to obtain an undisputed title.

eagerness to gain a foothold in it, or were ready to sacrifice any and everything if by so doing they could gain a share of its treasures. Immigration increased enormously."

The year 1856 was one of great prosperity in Minneapolis, but it was a boom time and land brought prices far in excess of its real value. Men seemed to lose their reason in the desire to acquire property. Distressing reaction came the following year, and during the next decade the town was the scene of intense suffering. There were no crops to depend upon and no industries to bring in funds from abroad.

F. R. SALISBURY

MASONIC TEMPLE

B. F. NELSON

"Wild cat money" was the only currency to be had, and it seemed for a time that the promising young settlement must perish. Added to severe financial depression, one public disaster followed another, and then, to add clouds on clouds, the Rebellion blackened the land.

Many people sought other homes, but there were many others whose infinite faith in the ultimate prosperity of the city could not be shaken, and to their fidelity and endurance Minneapolis owes her prosperity.

The town government was or

city in the world, but since a concerted effort is being made throughout the State to save the trees the industry has decreased. The city still retains first place as a distributing and manufacturing point. Her factories make more sashes and doors than any other city in the world. Lumber from the Pacific coast, Washington and Idaho are shipped to Minneapolis for manufacturing purposes.

Two organizations of vital importance to Minneapolis were formed in 1856. A group of men, who were strenuous workers in making the city, incorporated the Minneapolis Mill Company on the

UNIVERSITY ARMORY

west side of the river and the St. Anthony Falls Water Power Company on the east side. The

last named company was initiated by Franklin Steele, J. Sanford, Fredrich Gebhart, J. S. Prince and Richard Chute, and the west side company owed its origin to R. P. Russell, C. C. Washburn, Dorillus Morrison, M. S. Olds, George Huy, Jacob Elliot, Robert H. Smith, George K. Swift, B. F. Brown and B. F. Friday. Mr. W. D. Washburn, whose

IN MEMORY OF STUDENTS WHO DIED IN THE PHILIPPINES

influence upon the development of Minneapolis has been of such beneficent and lasting importance, was one of the partners and chief workers in the development of the water power. "A copper dam was built to hold the water in check, and the solid limestone rock which forms the bed of the river, varying from eighteen to forty feet in thickness, was blasted out and a canal thus formed." Boom companies had organized some years previously, and with the development of the water power mills were

JAMES T. WYMAN