A Milling District Timeline

A Milling District Timeline. . , Pioneer Period, 1821–23 , Waterpower development at the Falls of St. Anthony began with construction of a gristmill and sawmill near the foot of 7th Avenue South by soldiers from Fort Snelling. The mill provided flour and lumber for the fort., The government mills in 1857., 1849 , Robert Smith of Alton, Illinois rehabilitated the government mills and organized the Minneapolis Mill Company. The original gristmill was torn down in 1866., 1856 , The west-side Minneapolis Mill Company worked with the east-side St. Anthony Falls Waterpower Company to build the Falls of St. Anthony Dam., 1858 , The Minneapolis Mill Company developed the first 235 feet of a waterpower canal., 1859 , William W. Eastman built the Cataract Mill, the first originally devoted to flour, on the west-side canal., 1860s , The Union, Minneapolis, Arctic, and Washburn B flour mills were built, drawing waterpower from the canal., 1869 , Attempts to tunnel under St. Anthony Falls to expand waterpower use resulted in their near-collapse., Break in Tunnel, Hennepin, 1870, Expansion, 1872 , The towns of St. Anthony and Minneapolis were joined as the City of Minneapolis., Construction of the waterpower canal, circa 1895., 1878 , A wooden rail trestle was built by the Minnesota and St. Louis Railroad over the power canal. In 1879, a trestle was built by the Minneapolis Eastern Railroad on the river side of the mills., On May 2, six mills were destroyed in an explosion at the Washburn A Mill; all were rebuilt within two years., The Humboldt Mill was completed; today, it is the earliest mill still standing in the district., Building the apron at St. Anthony Falls, 1870., Consolidation, 1880 , Charles A. Pillsbury and Co. added to their holdings with the purchase or lease of the Alaska, Empire, Excelsior, and Anchor mills., 1883 , The Stone Arch Bridge across the Mississippi was completed by railroad magnate James J. Hill., Stone Arch Bridge in 1884., 1889, 1891 , The Pillsbury Washburn Flour Mills Company, an English syndicate, absorbed the Washburn-Crosby mill properties; the Minneapolis Flour Manufacturing Company acquired others. In 1891, the Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company was created, absorbing the Crown Roller and other mills., 1894 , The Main Street Hydroelectric Plant was completed, followed by a generating plant on Hennepin Island in 1908. Hydroelectric power began to replace direct-drive waterpower., 1908 , Northwestern Consolidated Milling Company's Elevator A– the largest brick elevator ever built– was among new grain elevators added to the milling district., 1918 , The graceful Third Avenue Bridge was completed above the Falls., Decline, 1930 , The focus of the national flour market shifted to Buffalo, New York, Chicago, and other cities., 1931 , The Pettit, Zenith, and Galaxy were among west-side mills torn down., 1932 , The Consolidated Hydroelectric Plant of Northern States Power Company began to use abandoned mill sites for power generation., Aerial view of 1938., 1949 , The North Star Woolen Company moved to Lima, Ohio, and the building was converted to a warehouse., 1960 , Construction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Lock and Dam ended the west-side waterpower era., 1965 , The Washburn A Mill closed and flour production ended on the west side of the river., View of St. Anthony Falls with milling district in the background, 1947., Rediscovery and Revitalization, 1966 , Historian Lucille Kane's The Waterfall that Built a City was published by the Minnesota Historical Society., 1967 , Highway I-35W was built across the Mississippi River, downstream from the Falls., 1968 , The Fuji-Ya restaurant opened on the rebuilt foundation of the boiler house of the Columbia Flour Mill (1882)., 1971 , The St. Anthony Falls Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places., 1972 , The "Mississippi/Minneapolis" planning study set forth a new vision for public use of the Central Riverfront., Mississippi/Minneapolis, 1972., 1982 , Results of an intensive survey of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District were published as St. Anthony Falls Rediscovered., 1983 , The Washburn A Mill was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior., 1986 , Construction of West River Parkway and the first field archaeological investigations of the mill ruins began., 1988 , The St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board was established by the Minnesota State Legislature, and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board acquired the site of Mill Ruins Park., 1987–99 , The Crown Roller Mill, Standard (Ceresota) Mill, and North Star Woolen Company mill were among buildings renovated for new uses., 1989–90 , Scott F. Anfinson's Archaeology of the Central Minneapolis Riverfront was published by the Minnesota Archaeological Society., 1991 , The Washburn A Mill was nearly destroyed by a fire., 1999 , Phased construction of Mill Ruins Park by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board began., Mill Ruins Park construction, 2001, 2001 , The main tailrace was re-excavated as part of the development of Mill Ruins Park., Excavation underway, 2001., 2003 , A wood-plank surface forming a portion of West River Parkway was constructed along the historic alignment of the main waterpower canal deck.