Perhaps you’ve strolled through Minnehaha Park before but missed a hidden gem. It is the John H. Stevens House Museum. This modest house holds the story of Minneapolis’s very beginning.
The John H. Stevens House stands as a testament to the city’s origins. Completed in 1850 the John H. Stevens House played a crucial role. Settlers gathered here to establish Hennepin County. They chose Minneapolis as the county seat within its walls. The first school district was also created here. This house was truly the civic and social center of early Minneapolis.
Jack Kabrud rightly says everything that happens in this city today started in this little house. It is amazing that it still stands.
John H. Stevens, a veteran of the Mexican-American War, arrived in Minnesota in 1848. He sought to improve his health. He persuaded the U.S. War Department to grant him 160 acres. This land was on the west bank of the Mississippi. Stevens operated a ferry to St. Anthony as part of the agreement.
Stevens and his wife Frances initially lived in relative isolation. They were next to Native American camps. The Dakota and Ojibwe tribes often visited their home.
The settlement grew around the John H. Stevens House. In 1852 the Territorial Legislature created Hennepin County. Seventy-one voters gathered at the house. They elected the county’s first officials unanimously.
At the first county board meeting the name Albion was selected for the county seat. Residents disliked this name. At a gathering in the John H. Stevens House, they proposed Minneapolis. It combines Dakota and Greek words for water and city.
Stevens moved to Glencoe in 1856 to pursue farming. The John H. Stevens House was moved several times. In 1896 a campaign saved it. Thousands of schoolchildren pulled it to Minnehaha Park.
The Minneapolis Journal spearheaded this effort. Joseph Zalusky, a participant, later co-founded the Hennepin County Historical Society. Stevens was unable to attend the moving due to illness.
Alderman Fred B. Snyder born in the house in 1859 praised its significance. He said no cottage had more sublime surroundings.
The Junior League of Minneapolis restored the house in the 1980s. They called the move the earliest example of historic preservation in Minneapolis.
The John H. Stevens House now sits near the Minnehaha Depot and Longfellow House. The rooms showcase exhibits and artifacts. They explain the key events and people that shaped Minneapolis.
Susan Larson-Fleming notes that the John H. Stevens House reflects how many people lived. It is unlike the mansions of great men.
A statue of Stevens has adorned Minneapolis parks since 1911. His daughter Katharine Stevens Winston commissioned it. The statue was moved to Minnehaha Park in 1935. It stands near the entrance to the John H. Stevens House.
Though currently closed for repairs due to fires in 2022 the John H. Stevens House will reopen. It will again welcome visitors to discover Minneapolis’s birthplace. Take a moment to appreciate the John H. Stevens House. Consider the humble beginnings of a great city. It all started here.