Being that we have a hundred people running for Library Board seats, this is what the Library website says about the founding of Minneapolis:
"The community of St. Anthony on the east side of the Mississippi River near St. Anthony Falls was surveyed and platted as a townsite in 1849, the same year the territory of Minnesota was established. In 1852, President Millard Fillmore approved an act of Congress reducing the Fort Snelling reservation, thereby opening the land west of the river to settlers, although most of the settlers did not receive clear title until 1855. Also occurring in 1852 was the creation of Hennepin County by the Territorial Legislature. . . . <snip> "The first commissioners selected the land to the west of St. Anthony Falls as the county seat although the settlement there was without municipal existence, or even a name. The first name selected by the county commissioners in October 1852, was Albion. However, it proved unpopular. Other names for the young community considered but discarded included All Saints, Lowell, Brooklyn, Addiseville, and Winona. The name Minnehapolis was selected by popular acclaim following schoolmaster Charles Hoag's proposal to the editor of the St. Anthony Express, George D. Bowman. The name came from a derivative of laughing waters, "Minnehaha," and the Greek suffix for city, "polis," or city of the falls. Bowman published the name in the paper in November 5, 1852 and in the November 12th issue it was given favorable review. The 'h' was dropped early on; the literal meaning is "city of waters". "Minneapolis was authorized by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature in 1856 as a town. In 1858 the town of Minneapolis government was organized. Then in 1866 under a legislative act, the city of Minneapolis was incorporated. . . ." <snip> http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/history/eh4.asp Ray Marshall Hiawatha ------------------------------ Message: 12 Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2005 14:31:35 -0500 From: "Steve Brandt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Mpls] Minneapolis: What's in a name? Here's what the public library's web site says: "Minneapolis was authorized by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature in 1856 as a town. In 1858 the town of Minneapolis government was organized." It goes on to say that some land claims filed by previously settled squatters were accepted in 1855. But it sounds like 2006 or 2008 are arguably the sequicentennial years for city government, even though people settled here earlier. Of course, I defer to real historians such as Penny Petersen or Kathy O'Brien. Steve Brandt Kingfield *********************************** REMINDERS: 1. Be civil! Please read the NEW RULES at http://www.e-democracy.org/rules. If you think a member is in violation, contact the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[email protected] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
