| One cans take cruises on the upper Mississippi | | | | patent rights to the land. In 1872 St. Anthony and |
| River through the city of Minneapolis. There are | | | | Minneapolis were joined together under the name |
| private and public cruises on paddle wheelers. | | | | of Minneapolis. The name, Minneapolis comes from |
| Advance reservations are a good idea. | | | | miinne,a Sioux word for water and polis is Greek |
| These tours describe the history and the growth | | | | word meaning city. |
| of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1680 a French | | | | The city grew because of the falls. The falls |
| Franciscan missionary, Father Louis Hennepin, was | | | | provided a source of power for the lumber |
| the first white man to see St. Anthony Falls. He | | | | industry. In 1869 St. Anthony Falls almost |
| named the falls for St. Anthony of Padua. The | | | | collapsed due to a geological fault. A cut-off wall |
| village of St. Anthony was settled on the east | | | | or apron was built. St. Anthony Falls is located |
| side of the Mississippi River. The falls provided | | | | north-east of downtown Minneapolis. It is the only |
| power for a grist mill that ground flour for the | | | | natural water falls on the upper Mississippi River. In |
| soldiers at Fort Snelling. The mill was built on a | | | | the mid twentieth century, locks and dams were |
| crag looking over the meeting place of the | | | | built to extend travel upstream. |
| Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. In 1849 the | | | | The tours includes upper St. Anthony Falls Lock |
| waterfall ran the first saw mill for profit. Settlers | | | | the northern extreme of twenty-nine locks along |
| from the eastern states moved in and occupied | | | | the Mississippi River. It has a drop of fifty feet. |
| the U.S military-reservation land on the west side | | | | The cruises float by Boom Island Park in the |
| of the Mississippi. In 1855 the illegal squatters got | | | | heart of historic Minneapolis Riverfront District. |