Minnehaha Falls Park In Minneapolis

As one of Minneapolis’ oldest and most popular regional parks, the Minnehaha Historic District features Minnehaha Creek with its falls and glen. This cascade and stream have attracted Native Americans, settlers, tourists and entrepreneurs since the beginning of Minnesota history. The central feature of the park, Minnehaha Falls, rests near the original mouth of Minnehaha Creek where it formerly emptied into the Mississippi River. Once called Little Falls or Brown’s Falls, the cataract was a popular tourist attraction on the “fashionable tour” by steamboat up the Mississippi River during the 1840s and 1850s. The falls have always been a favorite subject of artists and pioneer photographers, beginning with Alexander Hesler’s daguerreotype in 1852. One who never visited them, however, spread their fame worldwide. In 1853, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow commemorated Minnehaha Falls in his famous poem, “The Song of Hiawatha.” Minnehaha Park shows inspired foresight in urban planning. Noted American landscape architect Horace W.S. Cleveland sketched the master plan in 1883, as part of the Grand Rounds system of parks and parkways. The plan emphasized the natural beauty of the riverbanks and lakes, and proposed a linked series of open spaces, woods, vistas and recreation areas along the waterways. The park also includes several historic sites within and surrounding Minnehaha Park. The Minnehaha Princess Station is an ornate Victorian train depot built in the 1870s by the Minnesota Central Railway. The John H. Stevens House nearby was moved to the park in 1896 from its original location west of St. Anthony Falls. The Greek-revival house was built in 1849 and is regarded by some as the birthplace of Minneapolis. The Longfellow House also stands within the vicinity of the park. Robert F. Jones built the home in 1906 to complement his Longfellow Gardens and Zoo. The 10-room, two-story Georgian house is a replica of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Source City of Minneapolis