Minneapolis

History

The area that today comprises the Twin Cities was home to the Sioux tribe when it was first discovered in the late seventeenth century by Europeans—a French party headed by Father Louis Hennepin (for whom Hennepin County is named) that explored the area where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers meet and named the waterfall at the navigable head of the Mississippi River after St. Anthony. Permanent settlement began after the establishment of Fort St. Anthony by the U.S. military in the early nineteenth century. Settlers began arriving from the East, followed by immigrants from Germany, Sweden, Norway, and Ireland. In 1872 present-day Minneapolis was formed by the merger of cities on the east and west banks of the Mississippi. Fueled by its two major industries—timber and flour milling—and an abundant supply of immigrant labor, the city grew rapidly. Rail line expansion also made it a major transportation center. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul flourished through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as their infrastructure grew and civic and cultural institutions sprang up. A rivalry developed between Minneapolis, the state's most populous city and home of industrial giants such as Cargill and General Mills, and St. Paul, the state capital, venue of the state fair and home to the "gentry" that populated the Summit Hill neighborhood.

The 1920s saw a building boom in both cities. However, it stalled during the Depression years of the 1930s when most new construction was sponsored by government relief programs. The area's reputation for social activism grew during these years, when it became a focal point for the organized labor movement, as well as both the Socialist and Communist parties. The Twin Cities continued to flourish in the post-World War II decades, although the area's economic base shifted from the traditional lumber and milling industries to new areas, including farm machinery and electronics. Suburbs mushroomed in the region, which grew into the nexus of a seven-county metropolitan region, two-thirds of whose current residents are suburbanites. However, the cities themselves remained vigorous through major urban redevelopment efforts, including Minneapolis's Nicollet Mall and the networks of skywalks in both cities.