Not only does this park have a waterfall and hiking trails, there is also rich history in Minnehaha Park. This guide will give you a glimpse of history in Minneapolis.
Furthermore, many of these spots also offer tours on the weekends. Make sure to call ahead or visit their website to reserve a time and day.
Longfellow House
In 1907, the Longfellow house was designed off of the Massachusetts home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The historic home now serves the community as an interpretive information center and is run by the Minneapolis Park board.
Minnehaha Depot provides history in Minnehaha Park:
This gingerbread train station was a frequent stop to many rail workers. It is also known as “the princess depot”.
John H Steven’s house moved to provide history in Minnehaha Park
This birthplace of Minneapolis was the first structured home in the city of lakes. It was built the year of 1849. It was relocated to Minnehaha Park from its original spot near St Anthony Falls in 1896.
Significant Statues around the park
The statues below provide rich history in Minnehaha Park.
- Chief Little Crow mask was created to see the world through his eyes
- John H Stevens was the first settler in Minneapolis and if the statue is true to size, he was a short man
- Gunnar Wennerberg was a composer and educator, politician, and poet
- Song of Hiawatha is a controversial poem and statue about an Ojibwa warrior in love with a Dakota women.
- Statue of poet and educator, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
John H Stevens 
Sioux Chief Little Crow 
Gunnar Wennerberg 
John H Stevens 
Hiawatha and Minnehaha
Summary of the History of the Longfellow Gardens 
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Make reservations for tours at the following websites
- https://www.mnhs.org/minnehahadepot
- http://www.johnhstevenshouse.org/
- https://www.minneapolisparks.org/parks__destinations/historical_sites/longfellow_house/
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All Day Park Favorites
Favorite Shoes for Walking the Park
Minnehahah Park seems like a great place to visit on my first visit to Minneapolis! I love discovering natural areas on my adventures to new places. The waterfall I think would be the most exciting to check out!
I really love reading about a place’s history, however I have a friend who lives in Minneapolis, she might know about it. I’ll share it with her!
Minehaha Park sounds like a gem that has to be visited. I hope I get to see it one day. Thank you for sharing this with us.
So much history in this place! And it’s nice that they honor noble people by putting their statues everywhere. 🙂
What an amazing history you shared. I love going to historical parks as it bring you back in time. I wish to visit that soon!
I love learning the history of different places! This was so informative – thank you for sharing!
I love learning the history of places, thanks for sharing.
I love this park! it looks beautiful and sharing its history is very beneficial! I hope I will see it one day
This park doesnt’ look like an ordinary one. Definitely something worth visiting.
I love things like this. It looks so fun. Honestly, you had me hooked at the beginning with waterfalls and hiking. lol
this history seems to be very interesting and amazing one.,.glad you shared this with us..found it very lovely and amazing..great work though..
This sounds like a great park to visit. So many interesting things! I would love to go one day!
I like learning the history of every park that I visited coz it makes the experience complete. Thanks for virtually bringing us to Minnehaha Park!
Yay MPLS! Hello fellow Minnesotan!
My kids and I love going to the Falls, the trails are fun to walk through and explore. It’s like a hidden nature place to escape the city life (without actually leavning the city)… Kind of like the Eloise Butler Garden and other various locations ; )
I love this park. It looks like such a nice place to visit with the family.