The American Cyclopædia (1879)/Saint Paul
SAINT PAUL, a city and port of delivery, capital of the state of Minnesota and of Ramsey co., on the Mississippi river, 2,200 m. from its mouth, 8 m. in a direct line E. S. E. of the falls of St. Anthony, and 350 m. N. W. of Chicago; lat. 44° 52' 46" N., lon. 93° 5' W.; pop. in 1860, 10,401; in 1870, 20,030; in 1875, about 36,000. It was formerly confined to the left bank, the site embracing four distinct terraces, forming a natural amphitheatre with a southern exposure, and conforming to the curve of the river, which, here flowing N. E., by an abrupt circular sweep takes a S. E. course. The city is built principally upon the second and third terraces, which widen into level, semicircular plains, the last, about 90 ft. above the river, being underlaid with a stratum of blue limestone from 12 to 20 ft. thick, of which many of the buildings are constructed. The original town is regularly laid out, but the newer portions are irregular. The principal public buildings are the capitol and the custom house, the latter including the post office.
Saint Paul.
By vote of the people of Ramsey and Dakota counties, a portion of the territory of the latter, on the opposite bank of the river, embracing what was known as “West St. Paul,” was ceded to St. Paul in November, 1874. This adds to the city about 3,000 acres, constituting the sixth ward, and from 1,200 to 2,000 people. The statistics below are exclusive of this addition. Tables of mortality show St. Paul to be one of the healthiest cities in the United States. A beautiful tract of 300 acres, lying on the shore of Lake Como, has been secured for a public park. St. Paul is remarkable for the expansion of its wholesale business. This trade in 1869 reached a total of $7,500,000; in 1871, $12,890,029; and in 1873, $19,459,246. It is the centre of 11 railroads, over which arrive and depart 96 trains daily, viz.: the Lake Superior and Mississippi; Stillwater and St. Paul; St. Paul, Stillwater, and Taylor's Falls; West Wisconsin; North Wisconsin; Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul; St. Paul and Chicago; Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Minnesota; St. Paul and Sioux City; and St. Paul and Pacific (two branches). It is the practical head of navigation on the Mississippi river, 5 m. below the mouth of the Minnesota, its most northerly navigable tributary. An average of 50 steamboats and 100 barges trade with this port, comprising a total carrying capacity of 45,000 tons, operated by 1,630 men. The average length of the season of navigation is 7½ months, and the number of steamboat arrivals about 815 annually. There were in 1873 six national banks, with an aggregate capital of $2,150,000, three private banks, and a savings bank. The average daily deposits were $3,432,141; loans and discounts, $3,603,079; and sales of exchange, $30,987,024. There are a fire and marine and a life insurance company. The total assessed valuation of real and personal property in 1874 was $27,444,047, about 50 per cent. of its actual value. The total bonded debt was $1,140,254, and the total tax levy 2¼ per cent. The principal manufactures are agricultural implements, sash, doors, and blinds, printing and blank books, ale and beer, boots and shoes, and wagons and carriages. The capital invested in manufactures in 1873 was $3,500,000, the number of persons employed 2,646, and the value of manufactured articles $5,350,000. There are two extensive grain elevators, one of which, completed late in 1874, is the largest in the state. In 1873 there were shipped 1,458,800 bushels of wheat and 180,112 bbls. of flour. The city is divided into six wards, and is governed by a mayor and a council of three members from each ward. The police force is under a chief, appointed by the mayor. The streets are lighted with gas, well graded and partially paved, and a system of sewerage is in progress. The city is supplied with water from Lake Phalon, 3 m. distant. It has a paid fire department and a fire-alarm telegraph. Two lines of street railway, 4 m. in extent, are in operation. In 1873 there were published four daily, four tri-weekly (one German), and 12 weekly (two German, one Swedish, and one French) newspapers, and two monthly periodicals. There are ten public school buildings, which cost $300,000. The number of departments is 55, and of teachers 73. The total enrolment of pupils for 1874 was 3,833, average enrolment 3,000, average daily attendance 2,586. There are also a female seminary and several private schools of high grade. The Roman Catholics have several institutions of learning, and have recently secured a large tract of land in the vicinity for an industrial school. The state reform school is located here. There are a commercial and business college, an academy of natural sciences containing 126,000 specimens, and a state historical society. The city contains four public and four private circulating libraries, the former including the state law library and those of the historical society and academy of sciences, and comprising together about 24,000 volumes. The charitable institutions include a Catholic and a Protestant orphan asylum. The number of churches is 38, viz.: 3 Baptist, 1 Congregational, 4 Episcopal, 3 Evangelical, 1 Jewish, 5 Lutheran, 7 Methodist, 4 Presbyterian, 7 Roman Catholic, 1 Swedenborgian, 1 Unitarian, and 1 Universalist.—The first building was erected on the site in 1838, and it was simply an Indian trading post for several years. It was laid out into village streets in 1849, and a city government was obtained in 1854, when it contained about 3,000 inhabitants. It derived its name from that of a log chapel dedicated to St. Paul by a Jesuit missionary in 1841.