Saint Anthony Falls Totally Explained

Everything about Saint Anthony Falls totally explained

Saint Anthony Falls, or the Falls of Saint Anthony, located near downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, was the only natural major waterfall on the Upper Mississippi River. The natural falls was replaced by a concrete overflow spillway (also called an "apron") after it partially collapsed in 1869. Later, in the 1950s and 1960s, a series of dams were constructed to extend navigation to points upstream.
The so-called Lower Saint Anthony Falls isn't part of the historic site: it's merely a second lock that was built just downstream of what is now officially referred to as Upper Saint Anthony Falls. These locks were built as part of the Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Navigation Project.

History

The indigenous people who lived in their vicinity called the falls by various names. The Ojibwe term was Kakabikah (Gakaabikaa, "waterfall over a cliff"). and the Dakota used Minirara (curling water) and Owahmenah (falling water). In 1680, the falls became known to the rest of the world when they were observed by Father Louis Hennepin, a Catholic friar of Belgian birth, who also brought the existence of Niagara Falls to the world's attention. Hennepin named Saint Anthony Falls after his patron saint, Anthony of Padua. The district's archaeological record is one of the most-endangered historic sites in Minnesota. A Heritage Trail plaque nearby says,

"For untold generations of Indian people the Mississippi River was an important canoe route. To pass around the falls, the Dakota (Sioux) and Ojibway (Chippewa) used a well-established portage trail. Starting at a landing below the site now occupied by the steam plant, the trail climbed the bluff to this spot. From here it followed the east bank along what is now Main Street to a point well above the falls."

Geology

Geologists say that the falls first appeared roughly 10,000 years ago several miles downstream at the confluence of the glacial River Warren (at present-day Ft. Snelling). These layers were the result of an Ordovician Period sea which covered east-central Minnesota 500 million years ago. The water churning at the bottom of the falls ate away at the sandstone, and after enough support had been removed, large blocks of the Platteville Formation would fall off. This process had been happening naturally since 8000 BC, with the falls having receded up from the Fort Snelling area to their location in the 1850s.

Industry

The first private land claim at the falls was made by Franklin Steele in 1838 — though he didn't obtain financing for development until 1847, in the form of $12,000 for a 9/10 stake in the property. On May 18, 1848 president Polk approved the claims made in St. Anthony, and Steele was able to build his dam on the east side of the river above the Falls, blocking the east channel. The dam extended diagonally into the river, was high, and was secured to the limestone riverbed. Its thickness tapered from 40 wide at its base to wide at the top. Steele dispatched logging crews to the Crow Wing River in December 1847 to supply pine for the his sawmill, and by September 1, 1848 sawing commenced using two up-down saws. He was able to sell the lumber readily, supplying construction projects in the booming town. The new community at the Falls attracted entrepreneurs from New England, many of whom had experience in lumber and milling. He had hired Ard Godfrey to help build and run the first commercial sawmill at the Falls. Godfrey knew the most efficient ways to use natural resources, like the falls, and the great pine forests, to make lumber products. Godfrey built the first home in St. Anthony, Steele had the town platted in 1849, and it incorporated in 1855.
By 1854, 300 squatters occupied the west bank of the river, and in 1855 Congress recognized the squatters' right to purchase the land they'd claimed. The west side quickly developed scores of new mills and consortia. They built a dam diagonally into the river to the north, which, along with Steele's dam created the inverted V-shape, still apparent today. Steele created the St. Anthony Falls Water Power Company in 1856 with three New York financiers. The company struggled for several years, due to poor relations with the financiers, a depression, and the Civil War. In 1868 the firm reorganized with new officers including John Pillsbury, Richard and Samuel Chute, Sumner Farnham, and Frederick Butterfield. Meanwhile, the St. Anthony Falls Water Power Company approved a plan for the firm of William W. Eastman and John L. Merriam to build a tunnel under Hennepin and Nicollet Islands that would share the waterpower. This plan was met with disaster on October 5, 1869, when the limestone cap was breached. The leak turned into a torrent of water coming out the tunnel. The water blasted Hennepin Island, causing a chunk to fall off into the river. Believing that the mills and all the other industries around the falls would be ruined, hundreds of people rushed to view the impending disaster. Groups of volunteers started shoring up the gap by throwing trees and timber into the river, but that was ineffective. They then built a huge raft of timbers from the milling operations on Nicollet Island. This worked briefly, but also proved ineffective. A number of workers worked for months to build a dam that would funnel water away from the tunnel. The next year, an engineer from Lowell, Massachusetts recommended completing a wooden apron, sealing the tunnel, and building low dams above the falls to avoid exposing the limestone to the weather. This work was assisted by the federal government, and was eventually completed in 1884. The federal government spent $615,000 on this effort, while the two cities spent $334,500.

Locks and dams

St. Anthony Falls was the upper limit of commercial navigation on the Mississippi until two dams and a series of locks were built between 1948 and 1963 by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The locks make commercial navigation possible above Minneapolis but, since the locks in Minneapolis are smaller than most of the locks on the river, the practical limit for many commercial tows is further downriver. Few barges go past St. Paul. Completed in 1963, the upper St. Anthony Falls dam is a horseshoe-shaped hydro-electric dam 93 feet (28 m) in height. The upper pool has a normal capacity of 3,150 acre feet (3,885,000 m³) and a normal level of 799 feet (244 m) above sea level. The navigation channel required alteration of the historic Stone Arch Bridge, which now has a metal truss section to allow ships to pass below.
   Completed in 1956, the lower St. Anthony Falls dam is a gravity-type hydro-electric dam 60 feet (18 m) in height, consisting of a 275 foot (84 m) long concrete spillway with 4 tainter gates. The lower pool (sometimes called the intermediate pool) has a normal capacity of 375 acre-feet (463,000 m³) and a normal level of 750 feet (229 m) above sea level.
   The pool below the lower dam has a normal level of 725 feet (221 m) above sea level.
   The upper and lower locks are each 56 feet (17 m) wide by 400 feet (122 m) long.
   The current around the spillway/falls is often swift and dangerous. In 1991, a small boat drifted too close and fell over one part of the dam. Two people onboard were killed, and two others had to be rescued by helicopter. Rescues at the site are usually much less dramatic, but continue to happen occasionally.

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