History of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota

History of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota

The aim of this history was to present in a permanent form the key incidents in the history of Minneapolis, from its earliest settlement to its publication in 1895. The primary facts and events recounted were mostly obtained from living witnesses and participants. It was rare for a city with more than two hundred thousand inhabitants to have so many of its first settlers still alive. The city’s growth had been so extraordinary and unprecedented that many of its earliest settlers remained. Some information was also gleaned from the notes left by now-deceased writers who witnessed the events described. Great care was taken to verify the accuracy of all facts and incidents mentioned. While it might have been too much to hope that the work was entirely free from errors, it was confidently believed that any such errors were few and insignificant.

Biography of John Byers Heffelfinger

John Byers Heffelfinger, superintendent of city schools at Arkansas City, is a Kansas educator of wide and diversified experience and exceptional attainments. He began teaching in country schools when a boy and since completing his college cours had given his best thought and practically all his time to the profession. Mr. Heffelfinger was vice president of the Kansas State Teachers’ Association in 1912, and in 1916 was president of the Southern Kansas Teachers’ Association. The Heffelfinger family in America produced a number of noteworthy men. Mr. Heffelfinger is of German origin, though his people came to Pennsylvania about the middle … Read more