West Side Milling District Park

The West Side Milling District Park lies on the near bank of the Mississippi in this photo, just where the Stone Arch Bridge (foreground) meets the bank.

Photo: National Park Service/Mississippi National River and Recreation Area

Site submitted by: Steve Lee

Location

River Mile 854.00 — Right Descending Bank

Significance

History

Description

A two-story stone sawmill about 20 feet square was built at the Falls in 1821 by soldiers of Fort St.Anthony (later named Fort Snelling) to saw logs cut on the Rum River for the new fort. In 1823 the soldiers built a grist mill in this same area to grind wheat. These pioneering mills were razed about 1879 (Frear, Dana. pp. 3-4). From the current 3rd Avenue South, to below 10th Avenue South, the West Side Mill District "featured an assemblage of mills and support industries that made it one of the densest concentrations of industry in the world. By the mid 1880's there were 25 flour mills, a woolen mill, a sawmill, and the city waterworks lining an extended canal." (Anfinson, Scott 1989-90)

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The Mississippi River Field Guide is provided by Friends of the Mississippi River.
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