Itasca is an abandoned settlement in what is now the city of Ramsey, in Anoka County, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. [1]
Thomas A. Holmes and James Beatty built the Old Log Trading Post in 1849 at the townsite location. [2] Governor Alexander Ramsey suggested the site be named "Itasca (Itaska)" in honor of Lake Itasca. The village was officially named Itasca with the building of the Northern Pacific Railway through the site. [3] [4] Thomas Holmes and James Beatty owned the only two homes at the site in 1851. [5]
The platting of the village and the building of a hotel with John Culberson Bowers as the landlord occurred in 1852. Many other buildings, including the Stage Coach Barn [6] and the first post office in Anoka County, continued to be added. John C. Bowers was the first postmaster, a position he held for twenty-five years. There were unsuccessful attempts to make it the territorial capital.
The Itasca Village was near a heavily traveled Red River Oxcart Trail that brought goods and money to the town. Many people also visited the village while traveling the Mississippi River to Ramsey, Minnesota, on the Governor Ramsey steamboat. [7]
The village's prosperity declined when the removal of the Winnebago Tribe reduced trade in the region. The post office remained until 1879 and was the first mailing address of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry. [8]
Today the Itasca Village site serves as a highway rest stop along the U.S. 10 Route. The rest stop is known as the Dayton port rest area. There is a historical marker at the location. [9]
Washington County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 267,568, making it the fifth-most populous county in Minnesota. Its county seat is Stillwater. The largest city in the county is Woodbury, the eighth-largest city in Minnesota and the fourth-largest Twin Cities suburb.
St. Louis County is a county located in the Arrowhead Region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 200,231. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county in Minnesota by land area, and the largest in the United States by total area east of the Mississippi River. St. Louis County is included in the Duluth, MN–Superior, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Ramsey County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 552,352, making it the second-most populous county in Minnesota. Its county seat and largest city is Saint Paul, the state capital and the twin city of Minneapolis. The county was founded in 1849 and is named for Alexander Ramsey, the first governor of the Minnesota Territory.
Itasca County is a county located in the Iron Range region of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,014. Its county seat is Grand Rapids. The county is named after Lake Itasca, which is in turn a shortened version of the Latin words veritas caput, meaning 'truth' and 'head', a reference to the source of the Mississippi River. Portions of the Bois Forte and Leech Lake Indian reservations are in the county.
Anoka County is the fourth-most populous county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population was 363,887. The county seat and namesake of the county is the city of Anoka, which is derived from the Dakota word anoka meaning "on both sides", referring to its location on both banks of the Rum River. The largest city in the county is Blaine, the tenth-largest city in Minnesota and the sixth-largest Twin Cities suburb.
Aitkin County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,697. Its county seat is Aitkin. Part of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is in the county. The county was created in 1857 and organized in 1871.
Anoka is a city in and the county seat of Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 17,142 at the 2010 census. Anoka is the "Halloween Capital of the World" because it hosted one of the first Halloween parades in 1920. It continues to celebrate the holiday each year with several parades. Anoka is a northern suburb of the Twin Cities. U.S. Highways 10 / 169 and State Highway 47 are three of Anoka's main routes, and it has a station on the Northstar Commuter Rail line to Minneapolis.
Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 29,590 at the 2020 census. It was first settled as a place named Manomin where Rice Creek flows into the Mississippi river and the Red River Oxcart trail crosses the creek. Fridley was incorporated in 1949 as a village, and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area as a northern "first-ring" or "inner-ring" suburb. Most of the growth in Fridley occurred between 1950 and 1970. Fridley borders Minneapolis to the southwest. Neighboring first-ring suburbs are Columbia Heights to the south and Brooklyn Center to the west, across the Mississippi River.
Ramsey is a suburban city 22 miles (35 km) north-northwest of downtown Minneapolis in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 27,646 at the 2020 census. It is a northwest suburb of the Twin Cities.
Champlin is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,919 at the 2020 census. Champlin is a northern suburb of Minneapolis.
Coon Rapids is a northern suburb of Minneapolis, and is the second-largest city by population in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 63,599 at the 2020 census, making it the fifteenth largest city in Minnesota and the seventh largest Twin Cities suburb.
Blaine is a suburban city in Anoka and Ramsey counties in Minnesota, United States. Once a rural town, Blaine's population has increased significantly in the last 60 years. For several years, Blaine led the Twin Cities metro region in new home construction. The population was 70,222 at the 2020 census. The city is mainly in Anoka County, and is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.
Dayton is a city in Hennepin and Wright counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 7,262 at the 2020 census. Dayton is mainly located within Hennepin County, but a part of the city extends into Wright County as well. It is the northernmost city in Hennepin County and is a suburb of the Minneapolis–St. Paul "Twin Cities" metropolitan area.
Itasca is a word coined by Henry Schoolcraft and may refer to:
Manomin County was a county in Minnesota that existed separately for 13 years from 1857 to 1869. The land was originally split off from Ramsey County. When it was formed, it was the smallest county in the United States at roughly 16 square miles. It comprised the Fridley Township, named for Minnesota legislator Abram M. Fridley. Abram Fridley was the chairman of the county commissioners during the lifetime of the county. The population in 1860 was 136. It was merged into Anoka County in 1869. This land area currently makes up the unusual southward extension of Anoka County between Hennepin and Ramsey counties. The Manomin County Park in Fridley, at the confluence of Rice Creek and the Mississippi River remains near the former Manomin town site.
The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is a 72-mile (116 km) and 54,000-acre (22,000 ha) protected corridor along the Mississippi River through Minneapolis–Saint Paul in the U.S. state of Minnesota, from the cities of Dayton and Ramsey to just downstream of Hastings. This stretch of the upper Mississippi River includes natural, historical, recreational, cultural, scenic, scientific, and economic resources of national significance. This area is the only national park site dedicated exclusively to the Mississippi River. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is sometimes abbreviated as MNRRA or MISS, the four-letter code the National Park Service assigned to the area. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area is classified as one of four national rivers in the United States, and despite its name is technically not one of the 40 national recreation areas.
Anoka-Ramsey Community College is a public community college in Cambridge and Coon Rapids, Minnesota. Founded in 1965, the college annually serves more than 12,500 students as they pursue associate degrees that transfer as the first two years of a bachelor's degree, as well as certificate programs. Anoka-Ramsey Community College is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. The college also focuses on providing professional development and continuing education programs for working adults. Over 5,570 registrants enroll in these courses each year.
Rice Creek is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the northern suburbs of the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota in the United States. It is approximately 28 miles (45 km) long and drains a watershed of 201 square miles (520 km2).
Dayton's Bluff is a neighborhood located on the east side of the Mississippi River in the southeast part of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota which has a large residential district on the plateau extending backward from its top. The name of the bluff commemorates Lyman Dayton, for whom a city in Hennepin County was also named. On the edge of the southern and highest part of Dayton's Bluff, in Indian Mounds Park, is a series of seven large aboriginal mounds, 4 to 18 feet high, that overlook the river and the central part of the city.