History of the Shingle Creek and West Mississippi Watersheds
Based on artifacts found in various locations it is known that Native Americans of the Woodland period spent time in the Shingle Creek/West Mississippi (SCWM) area. A number of ritual or non-burial mounds, including several adjacent to Palmer Lake, were surveyed by T.H. Lewis (1898). According to Where the Waters Gather and the Rivers Meet: an Atlas of the Eastern Sioux, (Durand 1994), the Dakota (Sioux) called Shingle Creek “Omnina Wakan Wakpadan,” or Spirit Refuge Creek.
White settlers began arriving in northwest Hennepin County in 1850-51. One of the most famous early pioneers was Pierre Bottineau, who served as a translator and mediator between the growing white community and the Native Americans who lived in or traveled through the area. Bottineau claimed land that became known as Bottineau’s Prairie, and later became part of Osseo. Hennepin County Road 81 has been named Bottineau Boulevard in his memory.
Reverend Edward D. Neill, who in 1881 compiled a History of Hennepin County and Minneapolis, described Brooklyn Township in its early settlement days:
"The surface is very level and consequently nearly destitute of lakes. The few that exist are shallow with low, marshy shores. Palmer Lake in Sec. 26, through which Shingle Creek flows, is the largest. A variation from the uniform level occurs in the southwest, where a small corner reaches on the rolling clay beyond the sandy belt. The extensive marshes yield abundance of good wild hay, most of which can be cut by machines. The timber is small, though a little of the larger growth is found in the northeast near the river, and in the southwest on the clay. The bluffs along the river are low and sandy. The Mississippi River is navigable here and small steamers ply up and down. Shingle Creek flows across the township from west to east." (Brooklyn Historical Society 2001)
Early settlers found the area to be excellent farming. Much of the southern part of SCWM developed as truck farms for growing vegetables and flowers. The northern, sandier soils were perfect for growing potatoes and the northern Brooklyn Township area became one of the leading potato growing areas in the nation. Osseo Road, now called Brooklyn Boulevard, was built on former Indian trails and served as main transportation corridors between the important transportation and trade centers of the villages of Robbinsdale and Osseo and the markets of Minneapolis and beyond.
As early as the 1860’s the banks of the Mississippi River were lined with sawmills from Shingle Creek south to central Minneapolis, busily supplying wood products for the fast-growing area. Shingle Creek’s earliest European name was Bohannon Creek after John C. Bohannon, one of the earliest settlers in the area, through whose land the creek flowed. In 1862 Rufus Farnham built the first sawmill on its banks to produce shingles and the creek began to be called “Shingler’s Creek.” The history of this area is commemorated with a statue in Minneapolis’ Webber Park of a lumberman; a number of historical exhibits at the North Mississippi Regional Park Interpretive Center provide more background.
By the turn of the 20th century, Minneapolis was growing and looking to annex land. To avoid annexation many of the settled areas in the Brooklyn and Crystal Lake Townships began incorporating as villages or cities: Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Brooklyn Center, Osseo. As growth spread north and west Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Plymouth, and Champlin incorporated as well. Most of the old sawmills on the Mississippi and Shingle Creek gave way to industry or housing with only a few lumberyards remaining.
As the post-World War II housing boom began the last of the old farms in the southern part of the watershed were sold and subdivided and the area became almost completely urbanized. In the 1990’s with the completion of a new Metropolitan Council Sewer Interceptor, the agricultural and lightly developed northern areas began rapidly developing. The entire watershed will likely be urbanized within the next 10-20 years.
White settlers began arriving in northwest Hennepin County in 1850-51. One of the most famous early pioneers was Pierre Bottineau, who served as a translator and mediator between the growing white community and the Native Americans who lived in or traveled through the area. Bottineau claimed land that became known as Bottineau’s Prairie, and later became part of Osseo. Hennepin County Road 81 has been named Bottineau Boulevard in his memory.
Reverend Edward D. Neill, who in 1881 compiled a History of Hennepin County and Minneapolis, described Brooklyn Township in its early settlement days:
"The surface is very level and consequently nearly destitute of lakes. The few that exist are shallow with low, marshy shores. Palmer Lake in Sec. 26, through which Shingle Creek flows, is the largest. A variation from the uniform level occurs in the southwest, where a small corner reaches on the rolling clay beyond the sandy belt. The extensive marshes yield abundance of good wild hay, most of which can be cut by machines. The timber is small, though a little of the larger growth is found in the northeast near the river, and in the southwest on the clay. The bluffs along the river are low and sandy. The Mississippi River is navigable here and small steamers ply up and down. Shingle Creek flows across the township from west to east." (Brooklyn Historical Society 2001)
Early settlers found the area to be excellent farming. Much of the southern part of SCWM developed as truck farms for growing vegetables and flowers. The northern, sandier soils were perfect for growing potatoes and the northern Brooklyn Township area became one of the leading potato growing areas in the nation. Osseo Road, now called Brooklyn Boulevard, was built on former Indian trails and served as main transportation corridors between the important transportation and trade centers of the villages of Robbinsdale and Osseo and the markets of Minneapolis and beyond.
As early as the 1860’s the banks of the Mississippi River were lined with sawmills from Shingle Creek south to central Minneapolis, busily supplying wood products for the fast-growing area. Shingle Creek’s earliest European name was Bohannon Creek after John C. Bohannon, one of the earliest settlers in the area, through whose land the creek flowed. In 1862 Rufus Farnham built the first sawmill on its banks to produce shingles and the creek began to be called “Shingler’s Creek.” The history of this area is commemorated with a statue in Minneapolis’ Webber Park of a lumberman; a number of historical exhibits at the North Mississippi Regional Park Interpretive Center provide more background.
By the turn of the 20th century, Minneapolis was growing and looking to annex land. To avoid annexation many of the settled areas in the Brooklyn and Crystal Lake Townships began incorporating as villages or cities: Robbinsdale, Crystal, New Hope, Brooklyn Center, Osseo. As growth spread north and west Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove, Plymouth, and Champlin incorporated as well. Most of the old sawmills on the Mississippi and Shingle Creek gave way to industry or housing with only a few lumberyards remaining.
As the post-World War II housing boom began the last of the old farms in the southern part of the watershed were sold and subdivided and the area became almost completely urbanized. In the 1990’s with the completion of a new Metropolitan Council Sewer Interceptor, the agricultural and lightly developed northern areas began rapidly developing. The entire watershed will likely be urbanized within the next 10-20 years.
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