History of the Saint Paul Garden
Club
Thirty-two women, with an active interest in gardening and civic improvement, founded the Saint Paul Garden Club in
1927. That year, members planted
1700 tulips in Rice Park, entering into what was to become a long, nurturing relationship with Saint Paul's oldest park. A few years later, the club landscaped city
property near the Capitol in
cooperation with city park development, another partnership that was to continue to grow through time. Then, in 1934, Saint Paul Garden Club was accepted into the
Garden Club of America, paying
entrance fees and dues of $186.
With WWII upon us, the club held study groups on Victory Gardens,
teaching how to rotate crops and
interplant flowers and vegetables. Later,
in 1944, members worked throughout the summer, cleaning up, planting and landscaping Camp Savage,
which housed Japanese Americans.
Our efforts in civic plantings touched off the
1950's. Tulips were planted on Kellogg
Boulevard by the Public Library. Bird-attracting shrubs were planted at Katherine Abbott Girl Scout
Camp in Mahtomedi. The project was well received by members and continued for a number of years. Another project
(recently of particular interest) was the Petunias, planted in 1956, making Saint Paul the "Petunia City".
The Petunia remains the City flower today, as noted a few months ago by the local Public
Television station as it asked it's viewers to name the City's flower!
In the 1960's we developed a close relationship
with the Minnesota Landscape
Arboretum. We helped establish the Azalea and Rhododendron experimental garden. When more land was needed, we purchased 97 additional fertile farms acres for
the Arboretum.
During this time, SPGC was awarded a Bronze medal
by the Minnesota Horticulture Society
for promotion and support of the Minnesota
Landscape Arboretum. All guests of the 2003 Zone XI Meeting received a Clematis plant, currently under
development by Dr. Harold Pellet at the Landscape Plant
Development Center.
Also of note in the 1960's, members marched to the
State Capitol to protest billboards posted along the new highway. Additionally,
we organized and hosted a statewide
panel discussion on Dutch elm disease.
In the 70's, the garden club re-introduced Swede Hollow to the Saint Paul community. Our first clean up of Swede Hollow
began in 1973. The relationship
continued to expand and grow. Guests of the 2003 Zone XI Meeting will tour the park, viewing the results of the thirty year project as well as our most recent wild flower
plantings. We received the much
coveted GCA Founders Fund Award in 1977 for this project, and later, in 1985 won honorable mention in GCA's Zone XI Competition for our landscape design project
on the plantings and maintenance of Swede
Hollow Park.
A horticultural initiative in 1987 by the Saint
Paul Garden Club introduced the
Minnesota Green Project to the State of Minnesota.
The purpose of this project was all encompassing. To coordinate horticulture
related organizations, local and state governments, and businesses to support visible community improvements
and encourage conservation and land stewardship through landscape improvements in a variety of settings. Minnesota
Green continues today with countless
member organizations, all committed to conservation
and stewardship of our land.
In the 90's, Gibbs Farm became a focus of the
Saint Paul Garden Club. The largest project, reconstructing the 1850's Soddy
House residence; right down to
planting the Soddy roof! Gibbs Farm was a finalist for Founders Fund Award in 2001.
Our roots go deep. In celebration of our 75th
anniversary, members, many of whom are direct descendents of our Founders, once
again planted tulips in Rice Park!
Daily, as we pass through the picturesque
centerpiece of downtown Saint Paul's cultural core, the members of the Saint Paul
Garden Club hope that you, too, will
come to enjoy the roots of our City. Welcome
to Rice Park! Welcome to our home, Saint Paul!
History of the City of Saint
Paul
Minnesota is the only state to result from three separate United States land expansions: The Louisiana Purchase, the War for Independence
and a small cession by Britain
in about 1813. Zebulon Pike had examined the area of present day Minneapolis and had
purchased land from the Sioux. A fort
was established, named Fort
Snelling
after the commander, Colonel Josiah Snelling. After
several years, Joseph Plympton took over command and
decided to chase out the 137 people that were camped on the fort's property. He
forcibly removed them out of the boundaries
and the people began heading in two general directions, some moving east along the Mississippi
and others heading up north. People refusing to move once again found themselves at the mercy of soldiers, sending them
even further away, about 5 miles eastward, where Saint Paul's first credited resident was already in residence,
Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant. Parrant was a French-Canadian whiskey dealer who ran his
business out of the local caves to elude
the military leaders. In 1844, Parrant moved on to
Sault Ste. Marie, and the establishment he left behind kept the name Pig's Eye.
Father Lucien Galtier arrived a short time later,
building a log cabin church dedicated to Saint
Paul. In 1850, at the New Years address, Father Galtier asked the town leaders that their community be
renamed. With the approval of the people, he announced: "Pig's Eye,
converted thus shalt be, like Saul; Arise, and be, henceforth, Saint Paul!"
Saint Paul experienced quicker growth after the name change.
The town's prime spot on the Mississippi
allowed it to be a shipping port since its earliest days. Saint
Paul's fortunes would change in 1848, when Wisconsin became a state. The borders drawn
up for the newly created state ended
at the Saint Croix River, which left the small
settlements clamoring for government protection from the Native Americans. The
following year, Henry Sibley successfully lobbied the government to declare a
new territory called Minnesota.
On March 3, 1849, Minnesota became a territory and a few weeks later on the
stormy night of April 9th, a steamboat had delivered the news that Saint Paul was chosen as the capital of the
territory. In six years, the population had hit 4,716 due to the Irish and
Swedish immigrants that were flowing in. A primitive capitol was constructed along with a courthouse, attached to a
small prison. In 1858, after a decade of rapid growth, Minnesota finally became a state. Alexander
Ramsey, a politician from Philadelphia
was brought in to serve as the first governor. Saint Paul stood at the beginning of a new golden age with the rapid
mechanization of the north. Railroads had finally reached the city and the new technology had made it easier than
ever to bring in more immigrants. It
was during this 30-year period (1870-1900) that many of the city's current houses and now-historic downtown buildings were
built. A new capitol was constructed after a disastrous fire, with its tall
dome rising over the skyline. The tallest skyscraper west of Chicago
was built in Saint Paul, the Pioneer Press
Building. The city
swelled to roughly 110,000 by 1885,
about a 275% increase in 5 years!
The late 19th century
began a strong rivalry between Saint Paul and
neighboring Minneapolis.
Formerly, Minneapolis
was a small isolated settlement, but after the milling companies and railroads had reached the city, it exploded in
population. Throughout the 1880's, Saint Paulites were fearful that Minneapolis would overtake them, becoming the
state's largest city. In 1890, both
cities had decided to inflate their population counts, beginning the Census War
of 1890. Both cities tipped off the
federal government to the other's dishonesty, touching off an investigation on both cities. Saint Paul experienced many milestones during
this period,
including the beginning of the mass transit
(streetcars), and the creation of
the first sewer and water systems. Saint Paul became the most northern terminus on the Mississippi and thanks to the work of railroad tycoon, James J. Hill, Saint Paul became a major railroad center for the northwest.
Through the roaring twenties into the 1930's, Saint Paul had experienced a massive growth ;n their skyline. First National Bank had shot up to
a massive 417 feet while the new City
Hall and the US. Post Office
complimented, rising about the commercial blocks of yesteryear. During the
Great Depression of the 1930's, Saint
Paul suffered like
many other cities; the
jobless, homeless and welfare recipients increased while gangs took up
virtual ownership of the city. The
city became the home to famous gangsters like Ma Barker, "Creepy"
Carps and "Baby Face"
Nelson. The police chief, Dick O'Connor, made an unbelievable deal granting gangsters safety as long as they didn't endanger the city, but they were free to inflict their terror upon neighboring areas. The deal never materialized as violence still
haunted the streets of Saint Paul; bank
robberies, millionaire kidnappings, and bloody murders were commonplace. A crackdown by the FBI brought many
of these gangsters to trial at the Federal Courts Building
(now the Landmark
Center).
The city's population peaked at about 310,000 in
1950, but then the age of
suburbanization had begun and the
city faced a sharp decline. Even historical areas like Summit Hill were falling apart as the middle and upper class
retreated to the suburbs. The Capital
City Partnership was formed, bringing
together corporate leaders who
pumped $1 billion into downtown
renewal. The city introduced to the nation the idea of district councils, jurisdictions within the city
that worked on a smaller scale to help repair and revitalize neighborhoods. Gentrification began in
some of the city's historic districts as
people began to move back into the city. The 1980's reversed the population
decline, posting a small boost for the
1990 census.
Downtown was building a variety of super block projects to expand the commercial and business bases of the city. However, the 1990's brought to Saint Paul a depression in business, as
downtown hit a slump, loosing more of their tenants. The major retail center of the 80's was a shadow of its former self, but not
all was lost.
One major emigration wave had mixed effects on
the Saintly City. Hmong people,
refugees from the Vietnam War, had become Saint Paul's fastest growing minority group and as they poured in, two major effects took place. The specialty businesses they had started
revitalized the Midway and several
declining retail areas. However, it
increased the welfare in the city and
dealing with the language barrier was difficult. Still, the Hmong had brought talented professionals, intelligent students, and the city
more tax revenue after a short time.
To reflect the diversification of its
neighbors, Saint Paul soon adopted a more cultural approach for the 90's, building a new History
Museum, Science Museum,
and a Children's Museum. Now, Saint Paul is currently
considered to be coming of age, experiencing
a refreshing renaissance that has
changed people's opinions. For the
first time, Saint Paul
actually houses a major league sports team, the Minnesota Wild (hockey). The 2000 census posted a growth of 15,000 people for the city, the highest in 50
years. Crime is going down and
property values are climbing up. Saint Paul has headed
into the new century as a capital
city with challenges
to face but a stronger sense of hope than it has
had in a long time.
(Edited
from Twin Cities History :www.twincitiespaqe.com )