The Point

The Point. Peninsula Point Two Rivers Historical Park. , Peninsula Point is formed by the confluence of two great rivers. Throughout its history it has been the meeting place of many cultures. Now Peninsula Point Two Rivers Historical Park, "The Point," is a meeting place for you to discover the rich history of the land, the rivers and the people that have met here., The Point was a campground for American Indians who honored this Point as a sacred place. It was a wayside rest for explorers, travelers, pioneers and settlers. Logs met the boom and sawmill at The Point. Ferry boats and steamboats docked here. Waste water was treated at a plant on this site. Today The Point is a historical park. It is a gathering place for everyone to discover the rich history of this place where the Rum and Mississippi Rivers meet., Explorers met American Indians at The Point as they probed the land for resources and sought opportunities for trade, HIGHWAY OF EXPLORATION., New England lumbermen and timber speculators cruised the Rum and Mississippi Rivers in search of pineforests needed to build the new farms and towns from Anoka to New Orleans. The pineries on the upper Rum River supplied millions of logs to the sawmills located downstream from The Point, LOG BOOMS MEET SAW MILLS., Anoka families and friends gathered at The Point to picnic and to celebrate the Fourth of July in the woods, FIREMAN'S GROVE., Fur trappers and traders gathered here to exchange European goods for furs, pelts and hides harvested by American Indians. European and Indian cultures began to weave the cloth of their history together, WHERE CULTURES MEET., Travelers stopped to camp here as they journeyed across the territory. Foot paths, the Red River Oxcart Trail and the Military Road all passed through Anoka near The Point, TRAVELERS' WAYSIDE REST (future)., Prehistoric Indians met at The Point to form hunting and war parties before traveling up and down these river highways in what is now Minnesota, THE CIRCLE OF LIFE., Settlers built homes, businesses and farms from lumber sawn and milled in Anoka near The Point, RIVER HIGHWAYS., A uniquely rich and diverse interactive ecology with national impact, WHERE LAND AND WATER MEET., Immigrants from New England and Europe stepped ashore here to meet new neighbors in the growing town of Anoka, BRIDGING THE MISSISSIPPI., You are here, THE MEETING PLACE, Between 1850 and 1870 the Rum and the Mississippi became "working rivers" for lumbermen., In the fall loggers traveled upstream to the "pineries" and cut logs throughout the winter which were floated in "rafts" downstream to the sawmills located here at Anoka and at St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi.