On this date in Minnesota History: June 28

Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis, Minn.

June 28, 1964 – President Lyndon Baines Johnson visited Minneapolis on June 27 and 28 to raise money for the upcoming Democratic national election campaign, bringing in “approximately $335,000 to $395,000”¹ over the two days. On this day, he made a stop at Minnehaha Park “for the annual Svenskarnas Dag festival with an estimated 75,000 to 100,000 persons,” and then crossed the park to view Minnesota’s famous Minnehaha Falls with Sen. Hubert H. Humphrey and Gov. Karl Rolvaag. A memorial plaque showing a Minneapolis Tribune photo and caption of LBJ’s visit to the falls, along with LBJ’s footprints in concrete, can be found near where he stood.

¹Minneapolis Sunday Tribune; “Johnson Trip Swells Party Coffers”; June 28, 1964; p. 1A.
²Minneapolis Morning Tribune; “LBJ Acts Like a Native at Svenskarnas Dag Fete”; June 29, 1964; pp. 1B & 8B.

President Lyndon B. Johnson, Senator Hubert H. Humphrey and Governor Karl Rolvaag enjoy the spray from Minnehaha Falls. On that day in 1964, however, Minneapolis was experiencing a drought. In order to create the beautiful displays of the falls pictured here, the city had to open many fire hydrants, upstream and out of sight, to feed water to the creek.




President Lyndon B. Johnson's footprints in concrete overlooking
Minnehaha Falls.

Photos taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain June 28, 2013,
as long as acknowledgement included.