Marshall Terrace in Minneapolis in Hennepin County, Minnesota — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)

Prairie to Brickyard: The Landscape of Northtown

Photographed By McGhiever, August 15, 2023

1. Prairie to Brickyard: The Landscape of Northtown Marker

Inscription. Click to hear the inscription.

Looking across the Mississippi River from North Minneapolis toward the Northtown Yards, ca. 1928.

Land owners' names are shown in 1873 around the St. Paul and Pacific railway and the river.

The landscape around the Northtown Yards and the St. Anthony Parkway Bridge includes river bluffs, deep clay deposits, and rolling highlands. At one time it also included 40-acre Sandy Lake, marshes, and a creek near Lowry Avenue. The area was part of St. Anthony Township when it was organized from the Minnesota Territory in 1858. In 1872, Minneapolis and St. Anthony were joined as Minneapolis. In 1887, Minneapolis annexed the northwestern sections of St. Anthony Township as far as 37th Avenue N.E.

Early Upland Prairie Crossings
Indian trails traced the river's edge above the Falls of St. Anthony at the time of permanent Euro-American settlement. The river was the central highway for Indians and, for almost 200 years, the focus of Euro-American exploration and fur trade. Land surveys conducted in the 1850s noted a well-used path along the east bank of the Mississippi and the route

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of a territorial road between Point Douglas and Fort Ripley. Present-day Marshall Street roughly follows the route of the Red River Trail that carried oxcarts loaded with furs and goods—such as dried meat, Indian trade goods, and mail—from the Red River Valley to St. Anthony and St. Paul. The traders returned north with tools and other goods. By the 1870s, steamboats and railroads ended the oxcart era.

The upriver landscape above the Falls of St. Anthony contrasts with the dramatic cataract and the deep downriver gorge. The Platteville Limestone ledge that forms the falls, now protected by a concrete apron, transitions to an upriver gravel bed framed by deep sand terraces. Northtown-area soils are abundant in clay and gravel, and early investors took note of their potential for brick, tile, and pottery.

The flat terrain along the river terraces was well suited to future railroad construction, while the rolling kettle-and-kame landscape to the east invited park and residential development.

An 1867 map shows the dashed route of the Northern Pacific Railroad (1864), a small creek near Lowry Avenue, and the future route of Marshall Street along the Mississippi River.

Survey of the Mississippi River, 1899.

Botanical illustrations of hoary puccoon (left), and cottonwood (right).

Small parcels with crops near 35th

Prairie to Brickyard Marker (right) at the Northtown Railyard Overlook image. Click for full size.

Photographed By McGhiever, August 15, 2023

2. Prairie to Brickyard Marker (right) at the Northtown Railyard Overlook

Avenue and 2nd Street N.E., looking east, ca. 1928.

Surveyors and Botanists
In 1854, land surveyors described the Northtown area's stands of bur and black oak and willows, linden, elm, ash, hazel, and nettles. They also noted Sandy Lake, marshes and sections of burnt timber.

In 1936, a botanist observed that the area's prairies had contained many kinds of blossoming herbs and low shrubs, including pasque flowers in March or early April, and a successions of flowers until late June: "puccoons, bird's-foot violets, prairie phloxes, wild roses ... towards fall, sunflowers, blazing stars, goldenrods, and asters."

He wrote, "now there is little left of the natural upland prairie—a few strips along the railroad rights of way, a few hillsides too steep for cultivation, a few extra-barren sandy areas. No natural type of vegetation disappears more thoroughly under contact with civilization than the virgin prairie." These and other plants would have been used by Indians for medicinal and other purposes. Today, cottonwood trees along the river bank would be considered the primary evidence of native vegetation.

Northtown Farmers
Farmers claimed land across the Northtown area in the 1850s. At that time, one observer described Marshall Street as having fine farms and "numerous new and very comfortable

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houses of log and frame."

By the 1880s there were about a dozen farms north of present-day Lowry Avenue N.E. between Central Avenue and the river. Many settlers were from Maine. Natives of Prussia, including Wilhelm Ingenhutt and Ernest Hilgedick, and others from Ireland and Sweden were among European immigrants. Farmers sold butter and crops such as potatoes in daily Minneapolis markets.

Apfel Kuchen (Apple Cake) Mix a rich dough using plenty of butter and rich milk. Line a pan with this, cut in squares and cover with apples sprinkled thick with sugar and cinnamon. Bake until apples are thoroughly cooked.

Fist Cheese Take a pan of clabbered milk. Set over a slow fire. When the whey comes to the top, strain off and shape into balls. Let stand in warm place until it is ripe--that is, until it is strong.

Gertrude Ingenhutt's recipes, from Oil Rail Fence Corners, 1914.

Ernest Hilgedick farmhouse, 3483 2nd Street N.E., in ca. 1926 (later James Gresham School).

Photograph identified as John Ingenhutt, ca. 1900, possibly in front of the Ingenhutt house at 2902 Marshall Street.

Wilhelm Ingenhutt
Wilhelm Ingenhutt (1812-1878) and his family arrived in St. Anthony Township in 1863 from Prussia and remained on their 2902 Marshall Street farm until the 1920s. Ingenhutt and his sons and grandsons served on many township and City of Minneapolis boards and committees, and were involved in real estate development. William's son, Joseph, served as a director of the Germania Bank, as First Ward Alderman 1894-1898, and as a member of the Board of Park Commissioners, 1887-1891. He also operated a concrete business.

In 1870, the Ingenhutt's [sic] 66-acre farm included three horses, seven milk cows, and eighteen cattle. Crop production included 333 bushels of wheat, 150 bushels of oats, and 100 bushels of barley. The farm also produced 800 pounds of butter. By 1900 most neighboring farms were acquired for railroad or brickyard use, but the Ingenhutt's brick farmhouse remained until the expansion of the Riverside power plant after 1920. William's wife, Gertrude Mary (1815-1919), celebrated her 105th birthday on the Marshall Street property.

Although most farms disappeared from the Northtown area by 1920, market garden crops such as potatoes continued to be cultivated on larger parcels near the city's northern boundary at 37th Avenue N.E.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Agriculture • Environment • Roads & Vehicles • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1858.

Location. 45° 1.649′ N, 93° 16.15′ W. Marker is in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in Hennepin County. It is in Marshall Terrace. Marker is at the intersection of St. Anthony Parkway and California Street NE, on the right when traveling east on St. Anthony Parkway. The marker is at the Northtown Railyard Overlook. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Minneapolis MN 55418, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. River, Railroad and Industry (here, next to this marker); The 1925 Bridge and the Warren Truss (here, next to this marker); Columbia Park and Golf Course (a few steps from this marker); Park Planning and the Grand Rounds (a few steps from this marker); Northtown and the St. Anthony Parkway Bridge (a few steps from this marker); New Bridge Planning Process and Design (a few steps from this marker); Carl Ripken, Sr. (approx. ¼ mile away); MLB ★ Minnesota Twins Rod Carew All★Star Field (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Minneapolis.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 26, 2024. It was originally submitted on April 26, 2024, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota. This page has been viewed 39 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 26, 2024, by McGhiever of Minneapolis, Minnesota.