History of St. Anthony Falls

St. Anthony's Falls is the only waterfall on the entire length of the Mississippi River. It served as a spiritual place for Native Americans who once lived in the region before it was discovered by Europeans in the early 1600's. Named by French priest and explorer, Father Louis Hennepin, the Falls served as an attraction and place of wonder before becoming the industrial heart of a burgeoning American western expansion.

The power of the Falls was first harnessed for lumber milling and later it turned the grindstones of countless flour-mills. Before 1900, the power of St. Anthony Falls had made Minneapolis into the lumber and flour milling capital of the world. In 1882 the first electrical power ever generated through hydro generators in the Western hemisphere was produced here by the Brush Electric Company.

Because of seasonal fluctuations in water there is no 'natural' or constant flow of the Mississippi's water arriving in Minneapolis. Old time photos showing crashing Falls may have been shot during the River's annual flood season. To provide predictable water flow to keep the mills running all year long, a series of federal reservoirs was established. Lakes Winnibigoshish, Gull, Big Sandy, Leech, Pokegama and Cross Lake slowly dole out spring snow-melt water to keep the Falls running all year long.