A time of environmental and cultural change

A time of environmental and cultural change. Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. , By the 1850s, the growth of Saint Paul was altering the landscape., In the 1850s the Dakota were forced to leave, and Saint Paul's early settlers occupied the land. Immigrants established the North Star Brewery here, and expanded a cave in the bluff to store beer. Railroads filled in the land's marshes and it became a busy rail yard with gas and oil storage areas. After the railroads abandoned the site, community members began working to reclaim it and restore it as a park. Today this special place is once again a natural area where birds and wildlife thrive , a sanctuary for enjoying nature and history in the heart of the city., 1855 The North Star Brewery began production., 1868 Railroads began filling in the mouth of Phalen Creek., 1920s Rail operations in the area reached their peak., 1970s The land was largely abandoned by the railroad and most buildings and tracks were removed over the next decade., 1990s Friends of Swede Hollow and other East Side community members joined with the Lowertown Redevelopment Corporation to acquire the land and transform it into a public park. Community leaders spent thousands of hours of volunteer time advocating, planning and raising funds to secure and clean up the land., 2002 The land was purchased from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad with key leadership from the Trust for Public Land, National Park Service, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and community members organized as the Lower Phalen Creek Project., 2003 Hundreds of volunteers pitched in to remove more than 50 tons of trash from the land. The site was graded and planting work began in 2004., 2005 The Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary opened to the public.