When Minnehaha flowed with whiskey : a spirited history of the falls /
Cooper, Karen E.,
When Minnehaha flowed with whiskey : a spirited history of the falls / Karen E. Cooper. - 224 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-212) and index.
Introduction: The lay of the land -- "Westward the jug of empire takes its way" -- The Long Tail of Longfellow -- Monetizing the Falls -- Four long years to create a park -- The sandman of Minnehaha Falls -- Morally questionable people having fun -- Corruption reigns -- The neighborhood responds -- Conclusion: Setting the stage for the modern park.
Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis has been a much-loved place for a very long time. Native people visited the Falls for millennia before 1855, when Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha put its "laughing waters" into the American imagination. Tourists from the cities in the East soon began arriving on new railroads to view its picturesque loveliness. And Minnehaha Regional Park is still a favorite place for walking, biking, and glorying in the sights and sounds of the famous waterfall. But from the 1880s until at least 1912, Minnehaha Falls was a scene of surprising mayhem. The waterfall was privately owned from the 1850s through 1889, and entrepreneurs made money from hotels and concessions. Even after the area became a city park, shady operators set up at its borders and corrupt police ran "security." Drinking, carousing, sideshows, dances that attracted unescorted women, and general rowdiness reigned--to the dismay of the neighbors. By 1900, social reformers began to redeem Minnehaha Park. During the struggle for control, the self-indulgent goings-on there became more public and harder to ignore.
168134226X 9781681342269
2022933905
Minnehaha Falls (Minn.)--History.
Minnehaha Falls (Minn.)--Social life and customs.
Minnesota--History.
When Minnehaha flowed with whiskey : a spirited history of the falls / Karen E. Cooper. - 224 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 23 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-212) and index.
Introduction: The lay of the land -- "Westward the jug of empire takes its way" -- The Long Tail of Longfellow -- Monetizing the Falls -- Four long years to create a park -- The sandman of Minnehaha Falls -- Morally questionable people having fun -- Corruption reigns -- The neighborhood responds -- Conclusion: Setting the stage for the modern park.
Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis has been a much-loved place for a very long time. Native people visited the Falls for millennia before 1855, when Longfellow's Song of Hiawatha put its "laughing waters" into the American imagination. Tourists from the cities in the East soon began arriving on new railroads to view its picturesque loveliness. And Minnehaha Regional Park is still a favorite place for walking, biking, and glorying in the sights and sounds of the famous waterfall. But from the 1880s until at least 1912, Minnehaha Falls was a scene of surprising mayhem. The waterfall was privately owned from the 1850s through 1889, and entrepreneurs made money from hotels and concessions. Even after the area became a city park, shady operators set up at its borders and corrupt police ran "security." Drinking, carousing, sideshows, dances that attracted unescorted women, and general rowdiness reigned--to the dismay of the neighbors. By 1900, social reformers began to redeem Minnehaha Park. During the struggle for control, the self-indulgent goings-on there became more public and harder to ignore.
168134226X 9781681342269
2022933905
Minnehaha Falls (Minn.)--History.
Minnehaha Falls (Minn.)--Social life and customs.
Minnesota--History.