The Party Place of Early Minneapolis
When we learn about the history of Saint Anthony Falls and early Minneapolis, we learn about the lumber and flour mills, the tunnels and tailraces, the waterpower and the growth of the city. But do you know what we don’t often learn about? Where did people go to have fun?
Ever since Father Louis Hennepin spread the word of the beauties to be found on the Mississippi River, tourists have flocked to the falls. Officers and families from Fort Snelling, visiting dignitaries, and eventually tour groups that came up the river on steamboats all made the trek. And what comes with tourists? Business opportunities.
Manasseh Pettingill’s Miracle Water
The most successful was the “Saint Anthony Mineral Springs” that was run by Manasseh Pettingill and opened in 1875. There was a hotel, a restaurant and public baths. Down a long flight of stairs to the riverbed, visitors were rewarded with ice cream, cigars or having their photograph taken.
But the main attraction was the mineral spring, or Chalybeate (kuh-LIB-ee-ut) Spring, named for its iron content. This magical water was touted for its medicinal benefits and sold throughout the city.
Bands played on the weekend, people danced and boat rides were available to tour the nearby Chute’s Tunnel.
By 1880, the park closed after it was being overtaken by rowdy teenagers who catcalled women, noise pollution from the ever growing mill district and factories, and um “people pollution” when the city began draining sewage into the river.
Things got really bad after the dams were installed and sewage, industrial and animal waste backed up in the metro area. Thankfully, the 1972 Mississippi Clean Water Act has started to steer things in the right direction - we still have a long way to go - and great opportunities to enjoy the river have returned.
Today, you can follow the long stairway down the Lower Path from Saint Anthony Main and explores the paths along the river. They give spectacular views of the Stone Arch Bridge, downtown across the way, and the surreal feeling of being in a forest within a metropolitan city. ,
