Geography of the Twin Cities

Development

Part 3: Railroad Era

David A. Lanegran Geography Department Macalester College

Jackson Street Shops of Great Northern. These early railroad construction and repair shops were built in the Trout Creek Valley and the mainline from St. Paul to Minneapolis. The site was somewhat constricted, so it was necessary for the railroad to build a large facility further out from the city. Most of these structures have been demolished and the Empire Builder industrial park, developed by the St. Paul Port Authority.

The coming of the long haul railroad enabled businessmen in the Twin Cities to extend their market areas over an ever increasing territory. Eventually the railroad would provide important links between New York and other east coast cities and among the cities of Japan and China. Although the Twin Cities were first developed during the Steam Boat Era, they reached their greatest rates of growth during the time of the steam locomotives. Here we see the Come Shoes of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The railroads were big business and needed large amounts of land for their repair shops, marshalling yards, and other facilities. They were among the first important industries to move to the outskirts of the city. These building have been converted to Bandana Square today.

This view shows the Milling District of Minneapolis from the railroad tracks. The sign is for the North Star Blanket factory. Although the founders of St. Anthony expected the city to develop as a diversified manufacturing center like the towns of New England, Minneapolis soon became very specialized in lumber and flour milling. This specialization was made possible by the large market areas, or hinterlands, created by the railroads. The only major manufacturer that stayed by the falls was this blanket factory that had a major contract to make blankets for the railroad.

The Emerson Newton Implement Company. This building, now called Thresher Square, is an example of the manufacturing companies that could not locate in the Milling District. This company and others made equipment for the rapidly mechanizing agricultural sector of the upper Midwest economy. This company was headquartered in Batavia, Illinois. As the agricultural region became increasingly commercial, Minneapolis and other cities in the region took on the role of supplying all the needs of the farmers.

The entrance to the Newton building with its fine terra cotta figures tells us of the pride the early capitalists had in their companies and their products.

This Appliance Parts building located in the warehouse district of Minneapolis is an example of the warehouses that were built to supply the needs of the expanding rural and small town populations in the upper Midwest.

The is Yoerg's Brewery, located below the Cherokee Heights bluffs on St Paul's West Side. It represents two significant aspects of urban development. Before planning became established, businesses would locate wherever they felt they enjoyed a local advantage; workers would then move to these places of employment. The result was a pattern of very mixed land use. The Yoerg brewers were attracted to the soft sandstone found in the bluffs. They excavated caverns in the sandstone for aging their beer. The other point illustrated in the slide is the impact of the national marketing, made possible by the railroad. Yoerg and several other brewers set-up in the Twin Cities to provide fresh beer for the German and other European immigrants and their descendants in the area. The various brewers provided special varieties that appealed to honed tastes. Howeve, they could not compete with the lower-priced beers made with preservatives and shipped into the market on trains. Gradually all the local brewers in the Twin Cites closed. Scores of businesses in the Cities faced the choice of expand or be swallowed up by firms with a national agenda.

St Anthony Park in Ramsey County was an early attempt (1874) to create an elite community for the population living on the East Bank of the Mississippi in the initial falls settlement known as St. Anthony. The plan did not work because of the growth of the west bank.

In 1875, the City of Minneapolis was beginning to grow rapidly in response to the new jobs created in the industrial sectors. These jobs are called "basic" because their output was sold outside of the city and brought money into the community. The needs for all sorts of services are met by people in "non-basic" jobs. These jobs are necessary and circulate dollars within the community. By 1875, suburbanization had begun. In the next two decades, the city would dramatically increase in size.