Timeline
10,000 BCE
Glacial River Warren falls is formed near what is now downtown St. Paul and begins its slow journey upstream due to natural erosion.
8,000 BCE
The falls move past Bdote, the confluence of Mni Sota Wakpa (Minnesota) and Haha Wakpa (Mississippi). The Dakota refer to the falls as Owamniyomni.
1680
Father Louis Hennepin visits and names the Falls of St. Anthony.
1805
Lieutenant Zebulon Pike negotiates a treaty with several Dakota representatives, to acquire land that includes the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers and St. Anthony Falls.
1820–23
Colonel Josiah Snelling oversees the construction of Fort Snelling and the first mills at the falls.
1820–1860
The falls area is a tourist attraction, drawing visitors from the eastern United States, the Deep South, and Europe.
1838
A treaty with the Ojibwe opening up settlement east of the Mississippi is ratified. Franklin Steele claims land on the east side of the falls.
1848–1910
“Sawdust Town”: Minneapolis is a national leader in lumber production.
1851
Treaties of Traverse des Sioux and Mendota open up land west of the Mississippi for settlement.
1854–55
First permanent bridge across the Mississippi is built at Nicollet Island. Village of St. Anthony is incorporated.
1855
Congressman Robert Smith of Illinois buys land on west side of the falls.
1856
Minneapolis Mill Company and St. Anthony Falls Water Power Company are incorporated by land owners on each side of the falls.
1856–58
Waterpower companies construct a V-shaped dam to funnel water to each side of the river.
1858
Minnesota becomes a state. Local residents of Minneapolis vote to become a city.
1860
Eliza Winston, an enslaved person who travelled to St. Anthony with her owners for the summer, is granted freedom by a Minneapolis court.
1866
C.C. Washburn builds his first flour mill in Minneapolis, later known as Washburn B Mill.
1867
Minneapolis is incorporated.
1869
Tunnel collapse threatens the falls.
1870–84
The falls are restored and protected by an apron, dam, and underground dike built by the US Army Corps of Engineers.
1870s
“New process” of milling flour by gradual reduction revolutionizes the industry.
1872
St. Anthony and Minneapolis merge into one city.
1874
First Washburn A Mill opens.
1878
Washburn A Mill explodes, killing 18 workers and destroying much of the west side mill district.
1880
Second Washburn A Mill opens.
1880–1930
“Mill City”: Minneapolis leads the nation in flour production.
1880
Washburn Crosby wins the gold, silver, and bronze medals at the first and only International Millers’ Exposition. They promptly begin selling “Gold Medal Flour.”
1881
Pillsbury A Mill opens, the largest mill in the world for three decades.
1882
The nation's first central hydroelectric plant begins operating on Upton Island, providing lights for Washington Avenue businesses and a 257-foot light pole in Bridge Square.
1883
James J. Hill’s Stone Arch Bridge opens, bringing passenger trains into the heart of downtown Minneapolis.
1897
The Lower Dam hydroelectric plant is built and leased to the Twin City Rapid Transit Company.
1904
The last sawmill located at the falls shuts down.
1916
Peak year of Minneapolis flour production, averaging 49,000 barrels per day.
1920
Saw milling above the falls draws to a close.
1921
"Betty Crocker" is created as a way to answer an outpouring of baking questions from customers who participated in a Gold Medal picture puzzle promotion.
1920–50
Many flour mills are dismantled; bridges and railroad trestles are cleared from the district.
1956
Lower St. Anthony Lock and Dam opens.
1957
Northern States Power becomes the sole licensee of waterpower at the falls.
1963
Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam is completed, opening the river above the falls to navigation.
1965
Washburn A Mill closes.
1965
Poppin’ Fresh, the Pillsbury Doughboy, is born.
1968
Fuji Ya restaurant opens, built atop flour mill ruins. It is the first step in the redevelpment of the riverfront for non-industrial uses.
1971
St. Anthony Falls Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
1973
Pracna on Main restaurant opens in a rehabbed Main Street saloon building.
1978
Last passenger trains cross the Stone Arch Bridge.
1983
Washburn A Mill is designated a National Historic Landmark.
1994
Stone Arch Bridge reopens for bicycles and pedestrians.
1996
St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail opens.
2001
Mill Ruins Park opens.
2003
Mill City Museum opens.
2006
Guthrie Theater and Mill City Farmers Market open.
2015
Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock closes.