In 1849, when settlers arrived in the newly formed Minnesota Territory,
they disembarked at the rough shantytown known as St. Paul, home to fur
traders and a handful of merchants. Nearby was Fort Snelling, its
soldiers charged with keeping peace in the wilderness, its territory
later transferred to the burgeoning settlement at Minneapolis. Less than
four decades later, St. Paul had emerged as a mercantile, banking, and
railroading center, and Minneapolis had matured into the world's largest
flour-milling center. The story of how this came to be involves assorted
visionaries, savvy entrepreneurs, and government-supported expansion
that combined to make St. Paul-Minneapolis the region's undisputed
business, political, and educational center.
Historian Jocelyn Wills offers a business and entrepreneurial study of
the Twin Cities during its early years, with particular focus on the
individuals who took chances on and promoted the Cities' development.
Boosters, Hustlers, and Speculators shares the successes and failures of
a host of colorful characters who saw in the Twin Cities opportunities
for financial gain and regional fame: early fur trader Norman Kittson,
who built a lucrative trading network reaching to the Red River Valley;
speculator Franklin Steele, who over-reached at the Falls of St. Anthony
and was virtually bankrupt after the panic of 1857; milling visionary
William D. Washburn, whose confident investments catapulted
Minneapolis's milling district to international renown; railroad magnate
James J. Hill, whose calculated business decisions helped him realize
his dream of building a rail line to the Pacific. Most arrived with
limited means, and only some managed to realize their dreams, but all
contributed to the development of Minneapolis and St. Paul as the
region's leading manufacturing, banking, and transportation center. This
exhaustively researched book provides a firm foundation for
understanding the role the Twin Cities have played in the development of
the region and the nation from their earliest days.
