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From the 1680s forward, the area to include Minneapolis was "on paper" under the European rule of the countries of France, England, and Spain until finally becoming a part of the United States of America in 1784. France's occupation of the area came from the visit made by Father Louis Hennepin in 1680. By the operation of the Franco-Spanish Treaty of 1762, the area of Minnesota west of the Mississippi and south of the Hudson Bay watershed passed from the dominion of France to that of Spain. For the next 40 years it was under the proprietorship of Louisiana. In 1803, after briefly returning to French control, these lands were purchased from France and thereafter called the Louisiana Purchase (this was the area west of the Mississippi including part of the area to become Minneapolis). The area to the east of the Mississippi passed to England at the close of the French and Indian War (1763). This area, including parts of Minnesota (and Minneapolis), became part of the United States after the War of Independence. When the United States accepted the Virginia Colony's deed of cession (1783), the area became the (old) Northwest Territory. Out of this area were later carved the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and part of Minnesota.
To demonstrate the western reach of United States' power and the northern reaches of the Louisiana Territory, the U.S. military established Fort Snelling. The Fort Snelling site was formally acquired by Lieutenant Zebulon M. Pike from some of the Dakota chiefs in 1805. The land Fort Snelling encompassed took in nearly the complete area of present-day Minneapolis and almost half of the present-day city of St. Paul. The original Fort Snelling, headquartered at the junction of the Minnesota and the Mississippi Rivers, was established in 1819 to meet the rapidly changing conditions in the Northwest Territory. The first commanding officer was Henry Leavenworth; Josiah Snelling replaced Leavenworth in 1820.
The community of St. Anthony on the east side of the Mississippi River near St. Anthony Falls was surveyed and platted as a townsite in 1849, the same year the territory of Minnesota was established. In 1852, President Millard Fillmore approved an act of Congress reducing the Fort Snelling reservation, thereby opening the land west of the river to settlers, although most of the settlers did not receive clear title until 1855.
Also occurring in 1852 was the creation of Hennepin County by the Territorial Legislature. Hennepin County was named after Father Louis Hennepin, a Catholic friar of Belgian birth and an explorer in the service of France. Father Hennepin named the falls of the Mississippi "St. Anthony" after his patron saint, Anthony of Padua. Father Hennepin, in 1683, published his memoirs of the exploration in a publication, Description of Louisiana, Newly Discovered of the Southwest of New France.
The first commissioners selected the land to the west of St. Anthony Falls as the county seat although the settlement there was without municipal existence, or even a name. The first name selected by the county commissioners in October 1852, was Albion. However, it proved unpopular. Other names for the young community considered but discarded included All Saints, Lowell, Brooklyn, Addiseville, and Winona. The name Minnehapolis was selected by popular acclaim following schoolmaster Charles Hoag's proposal to the editor of the St. Anthony Express, George D. Bowman. The name came from a derivative of laughing waters, "Minnehaha," and the Greek suffix for city, "polis," or city of the falls. Bowman published the name in the paper in November 5, 1852 and in the November 12th issue it was given favorable review. The 'h' was dropped early on; the literal meaning is "city of waters".
Minneapolis was authorized by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature in 1856 as a town. In 1858 the town of Minneapolis government was organized. Then in 1866 under a legislative act, the city of Minneapolis was incorporated. However, the act established boundaries for the city that included St. Anthony for certain purposes although that city was allowed to retain its corporate existence as a separate municipality. Minneapolis was divided into four wards. The act proved unpopular with residents of both St. Anthony and Minneapolis, the result being that there was no election of city officers, hence the act did not become effective. At the next legislative session, another act of incorporation was passed and approved in 1867. This time, St. Anthony was not part of it. Dorilus Morrison was the first mayor. The two communities of Minneapolis and St. Anthony were not joined until 1872.
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City of MINNEAPOLIS, MN official site
City of MINNEAPOLIS, MN general information
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City of MINNEAPOLIS, MN newspaper
County of HENNEPIN, MN official site