minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and the second most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city and the adjacent city of Minneapolis, form the core of the Twin Cities metropolitan area, the fifteenth largest such area in the United States with a population of 3.5 million. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 287,151. Saint Paul serves as the county seat of Ramsey County, the most densely populated county in Minnesota. Residents of Saint Paul are referred to as Saint Paulites.
Saint Paul began as a tavern started by Pierre Parrant, known as "Pig's Eye" (as he was blind in one eye), a man who sold liquor on the river flats below the current downtown area. The area around the tavern grew into a trading outpost known as Pig's Eye or Pig's Eye Landing, where Native Americans, European explorers, and American soldiers lived in close proximity. The city spans the Mississippi river, near the confluence of the Minnesota river. Later the city became a center for transportation and trading in Minnesota, as steamboats could not travel further upriver. In 1854, Saint Paul incorporated as a city and, in 1858, became the capital of Minnesota.
History
About 2000 years ago, the Hopewell culture Native Americans lived in the vicinity, burying their dead in mounds, now located in Indian Mounds Park. The Dakota Indians later used the same site to bury their dead.[1][2] From about 1600 to 1837 the Dakota Indians lived near the site of the Mounds.[1] In the early 1800s, a disparate group of fur traders, explorers, and missionaries came to the area for the protection that Fort Snelling offered. Many of these people had come south from Canada and were of French descent; others had come from the east after treaties with Native Americans officially opened the area.
In the early years, the settlers lived close to the fort along the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, but as a whiskey trade started to flourish, the military officers in Fort Snelling banned them from the lands the fort controlled, with one retired fur trader turned bootlegger, Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant particularly irritating the officials. By the early 1840s the area had become important as a trading center, a destination for settlers heading west, and was known as Pig's Eye or Pig's Eye Landing. In 1837, a treaty between Henry Schoolcraft and about 200 Dakota Indians displaced the natives from the site.[1] In 1841 Father Galtier established a Catholic chapel, Saint Paul's Chapel, on the bluffs above the landing, naming it in honor of his favorite saint and because of the pairing with Saint Peter's Church in Mendota, near Fort Snelling. About that time, the name of the settlement was formally changed to Saint Paul as a more worthy name than "Pig's Eye" and in honor of the new chapel. In 1847 Harriet Bishop came from New York and opened the city's first school.[3] German-Jewish pioneers formed Saint Paul's first synagogue in 1856.[3]
The Minnesota Territory was formalized in 1849 with Saint Paul named as its capital. In 1850, the city narrowly survived a proposed law to move the capital to Saint Peter when territorial legislator, Joe Rolette disappeared with the approved bill.[4] In 1854, Saint Paul incorporated as a city and, in 1858, Minnesota was admitted to the union with Saint Paul becoming the 32nd state capital.
Natural geography played a role in the settlement and development of Saint Paul as a trade and transportation center. The Mississippi River valley in this area is defined by a series of stone bluffs that line both sides of the river. Saint Paul grew up also around Lambert's Landing, the last place to unload boats coming upriver at an easily accessible point, some fourteen river miles downstream from Saint Anthony Falls, the geographic feature that defined the location of Minneapolis and its prominence as the Mill City. This made Saint Paul a gateway to the Upper Midwest for westbound settlers heading for the Minnesota frontier or the Dakota Territory. In 1858 more than 1,000 steamboats unloaded cargo and passengers at Saint Paul.[3] A cart and wagon road, the Saint Anthony Trail, to the Red River valley was the first manifestation, followed by the establishment of numerous railroads that were headquartered in Saint Paul, such as the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway, which are today part of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. For well over a hundred years, Saint Paul was a frontier town and a railroad town. Today it is more influenced by commerce and its function as the state capital. It has been called "The Last City of the East."
Geography
Saint Paul is located in east-central Minnesota. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 56.2 square miles (145.5 km²). 52.8 square miles (136.7 km²) of it is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) of it (6.07%) is water. The Mississippi River runs through the city, and forms a municipal boundary on the city's west, southwest and southeast sides. Minneapolis, the state's larger city lies to the west; Falcon Heights, Lauderdale, Roseville, and Maplewood are north; Maplewood is also to the east; the cities of West Saint Paul and South Saint Paul are to the south; and Lilydale, Mendota and Mendota Heights lie across the river from the city to the south. The city's largest lakes are Pig's Eye Lake, in the river, Lake Phalen, and Lake Como.
Neighborhoods
Main article: St. Paul neighborhoods
Saint Paul is noted for its neighborhoods; the city has been called "fifteen small towns with one mayor", owing to the neighborhood-based life of much of the city. But in fact Saint Paul is broken into not fifteen but seventeen City Districts. And while some City District boundaries perfectly overlap the boundaries of well-recognized neighborhoods, especially in wealthier areas, that's not the case throughout Saint Paul.
Saint Paul from Indian Mounds Park in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, east of downtown"
Saint Paul from Indian Mounds Park in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, east of downtown
The city's seventeen City Districts include
The "West" Side neighborhood seems oddly located to the south, but is so named because it is on the west bank of the Mississippi River. And the "East Side" conglomeration of more than 20 neighborhoods actually includes the entire eastern third of the city and its populace, including the Greater East Side, Payne-Phalen, Dayton's Bluff and Battle Creek City Districts.[6]
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Avg high °F (°C) 23 (-5) 30 (-1) 42 (6) 58 (14) 71 (22) 79 (26) 83 (28) 81 (27) 72 (22) 59 (15) 41 (5) 27 (-3)
Avg low temperature °F (°C) 6 (-14) 12 (-11) 24 (-4) 36 (2) 48 (9) 58 (14) 63 (17) 61 (16) 52 (11) 40 (4) 26 (-3) 12 (-11)
City
Saint Paul is governed with a variation of the strong mayor-council form of government.[12] The mayor is the chief executive and chief administrative officer for the city and the seven member city council is the legislative body.[13][14] The mayor is elected from the entire city, while members of the city council are elected from seven different geographic wards, which are comprised of approximately equal populations.[15][16]
In addition to the mayor-council system, Saint Paul is governed by a unique neighborhood system. Since 1975, the city has been split up into 17 City Districts, which are then governed by a District Council. The District Councils receive some funding from the city but are otherwise independently run. Most councils have significant power on land use issues.
State
Saint Paul is the capital of the state of Minnesota. The city hosts the capitol building, designed by Saint Paul resident Cass Gilbert, and the house and senate office buildings. The Minnesota Governor's Residence, which is used for some state functions, is on Summit Avenue. Saint Paul is also the county seat for Ramsey County.
Federal
Saint Paul is located in Minnesota's 4th congressional district, represented by Betty McCollum, a progressive Democrat, scoring 92% progressive by a progressive group[18] and 4% conservative by a conservative group[19] on a range of issues.
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