On This Date in Minnesota History: November 25

November 25, 1969 – The Minnehaha Historic District was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places on this date.¹ In addition to the infamous Minnehaha Falls, some historic structures are located in the park²:

Minnehaha Falls
Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain November 25, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included.  

The John Harrington Stevens House, built in 1849 or 1850 near St. Anthony Falls, was moved to Minnehaha Park in 1896. According to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, the home has the distinction of being the first wood-frame dwelling built west of the Mississippi. It was in this home that the name Minneapolis was suggested, and the government of Hennepin County was organized. In 1896 over 10,000 school children helped pull the house to Minnehaha park and in 1982, the home was situated in its current location.2

John Harrington Stevens House
Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain November 25, 2013, as long as acknowledgement included.  

A small train station officially named Minnehaha Depot but also known as "the Princess Depot" was built in 1875; it was a stop on the Milwaukee Road railroad and provided easy access to the park from Fort Snelling, downtown Minneapolis, and downtown St. Paul. The depot handled as many as 39 round trips per day; it was once integrated into the region's streetcar system. In 1964, title was transferred to the Minnesota Historical Society. The Minnesota Transportation Museum has assisted in the restoration of the building. The depot is open on Sundays from 1:30 to 4:30. The 50th Street / Minnehaha Park station of the Hiawatha light rail line currently serves the park.²

Minnehaha Depot
Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain November 25, 2013, as long as acknowledgement included.  

A building known as the Longfellow House is also on the park grounds and provides some history of the park. It houses a small collection of historical photographs and is the main informational site for the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, a 50-mile (80 km) automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian parkway (a designated National Scenic Byway) that circles through the city. The house was built in 1906 for Robert "Fish" Jones, who owned and operated Longfellow Zoological Gardens, which succeeded the original zoo in the park. The home is a 2/3 scale replica of the Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site, the long-time home of poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Jones donated the Gardens to the Park Board in 1924.2

Longfellow House

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longfellow_House

¹http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Register_of_Historic_Places_listings_in_Hennepin_County,_Minnesota

²http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnehaha_Falls