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Minnesota History Center

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Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Minnesota History Center
Phone:
+1 651-259-3000

Hours:
Sunday12pm - 5pm
MondayClosed
Tuesday10am - 8pm
Wednesday10am - 5pm
Thursday10am - 5pm
Friday10am - 5pm
Saturday10am - 5pm


Saint Paul is the second largest city in the state of Minnesota in the United States, the county seat of Ramsey County, and the state capital of Minnesota. The origin and growth of the city was spurred by the proximity of Fort Snelling, the first major United States military presence in the area, and by its location on the Upper Mississippi River, with the northernmost natural navigable port on the mighty river. Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was established in 1819, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in order to establish American dominance of the fur-trading industry on the rivers. As the whiskey trade started to flourish, the military officers in Fort Snelling banned the distillers from the land the fort controlled, with one retired French Canadian fur trader turned bootlegger, Pierre Pig's Eye Parrant particularly irritating the officials. In 1838, Parrant moved his abode and operation downstream about 5 miles to the north bank of the river in what is now downtown Saint Paul. There Parrant established the area which became known as L'Oeil de Cochon and the new location began to be settled by French Canadians. An 1837 treaty with the natives secured the city for white settlement. In 1841, the settlement was named Saint-Paul by Father Lucien Galtier, a priest from France, in honor of Paul the Apostle. By the early 1840s the area had become important as a trading center, a stopping point for settlers heading west, and was known regionally as Pig's Eye or Pig's Eye Landing. The Minnesota Territory was formalized in 1849 with Saint Paul named as its capital. In 1854, Saint Paul incorporated as a city and in 1858, Minnesota was admitted to the union with Saint Paul becoming the capital of the 32nd state. Natural geography played a role in the settlement and development of Saint Paul as a trade and transportation center. The Mississippi River valley in this area is defined by a series of stone bluffs that line both sides of the river. Saint Paul developed around Lambert's Landing, the last place to unload boats coming upriver at an easily accessible point, some 14 miles downstream from Saint Anthony Falls, the geographic feature that defined the location of Minneapolis and its prominence as the Mill City. This made Saint Paul a gateway to the Upper Midwest for westbound settlers heading for the Minnesota frontier or the Dakota Territory. In 1858 more than 1,000 steamboats unloaded cargo and passengers at Saint Paul. At first, a cart and wagon road, the Saint Anthony Trail to the Red River valley, led from Saint Paul, followed by numerous railroads that were headquartered in Saint Paul, such as the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway, which are today part of the BNSF Railway. For well over a hundred years, Saint Paul was a frontier town and a railroad town. Today it is more influenced by commerce and its function as the state capital. It has been called The Last City of the East.The flavor of the city has been defined by its people. Throughout its history, first-generation immigrants have been dominant, introducing their languages, religions, and cultures. The influx of peoples is illustrated by its institutions, built by French, French Canadian, German, Swedish, Irish, Czech, Austro-Hungarian, Polish, Italian, Mexican, Somali and Hmong people.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

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