Talk:Saint Anthony Falls

Falls of St. Anthony?
I've lived in Minneapolis all of my life, and have never, in my entire lifetime, once heard anyone use the words 'Falls of Saint Anthony'. It's always been 'Saint Anthony Falls' to everyone I've talked to, and a lot of the tourism literature as well. Even if 'Falls of Saint Anthony' is the official name, I think that the common name is so overwhelmingly preferred probably trumps it. Google sez: Falls of Saint Anthony, 2,110 hits; Saint Anthony Falls, 10,900 hits; and St. Anthony Falls, 12,300 hits. If anyone objects to my moving the article to 'Saint Anthony Falls' from 'Falls of Saint Anthony', please respond with why so we can figure something out. --AsianAstronaut 04:51, 2004 Jul 11 (UTC)

Upstream dam?
Does anyone know what the next dam is upstream from St. Anthony Falls? The St. Cloud Dam is the first one I know of, but I have no idea if there are any dams in between.--Daveswagon 18:04, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

There is a lowhead dam across the river at Dunn Island near Coon Rapids, MN. This dam does not appear to have a lock or set of locks with it, so it would also impede river traffic. I would suspect this was initially created to supply power for a lumber mil, though flower is also possible. (discovered through following the river up from St. Anthony Falls via Google Earth.) --Rusty 12:05, 16 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Presumably that dam covered the "rapids" for which the city was named? Wahkeenah 12:23, 16 September 2006 (UTC)


 * From what I have read, there is no upper dam. Even the two SAF locks only make the upstream navigable from smaller barges anyway.--76.203.49.140 15:21, 3 August 2007 (UTC)

Saint Anthony Falls
There is a major collision here vis-a-vis the article Saint Anthony Falls and the List of locks and dams of the Upper Mississippi River. The two locks and dams above Lock and Dam No. 1 are Lower Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and Upper Saint Anthony Falls Lock and Dam; these are treated in Saint Anthony Falls, an article which is great about the history of the falls, but wholly inappropriate for a series of articles that describe what the Army Corps of Engineers, along with the U.S. Coast Guard has established. These two upper locks and dams came later after the numbering system was established. To state it bluntly, Wikipedia has a problem acknowledging that these two locks and dams exist. For this article, the lock and dam just upriver from the bridge is barely mentioned, even though its presence is obvious in every image. The actual Saint Anthony Falls is in fact a man made artifact, a hydroelectric dam. Saint Anthony Falls is a finished article that needs to be ripped apart.--Ace Telephone 08:51, 3 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I do not see any cited material that refers to those entities by those names. Please explain yourself (or just read the explanation I just added to the Saint Anthony Falls article). Also: please take this discussion over to that article's talk page.--76.203.49.140 15:16, 3 August 2007 (UTC)


 * While the current spillway is obviously man-made, it was built over the south portion of the actual waterfall in order to protect its crumbling ledge. With that concrete apron in place, a portion of the flow was directed through the hydroelectric plant on the north bank, and the rest of the river's flow was directed over the spillway to the south. According to my map, there is the Falls of St. Anthony, then the Upper Lock (together making up the Upper Lock and Dam), then the Stone Arch Bridge, then the St. Anthony Falls Lower Lock and Dam, then the I-35W bridge and the 10th Avenue bridges. I'm sure we can improve the articles without getting all bent out of shape, collapsed, and submerged. Baseball Bugs 15:38, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
 * And having re-looked at the articles, I don't see where the alleged problem is. Baseball Bugs 16:11, 3 August 2007 (UTC)
 * I don't get it. The article describes anything related to the Falls whether they be the locks and dams or the falls themselves or a short history of the milling. .:DavuMaya:. 18:43, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Historic District
I just noticed St Anthony Falls Historic District redirects to here. Would people who know more about the district expand a new section. .:DavuMaya:. 18:17, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

1680
Founded in 1680? Technically I think it was about 10,000 years ago when the River Warren Falls moved upstream on the Minnesota River past Fort Snelling. Saint Anthony Falls then moved upstream on the Mississippi River gradually until the first industrialists started using the falls for mechanical power (around 1840), at which point the movement of the falls accelerated. The apron was then built to prevent additional movement of the falls. The "founded" field should probably be deleted, since the falls were initially natural.--Appraiser (talk) 18:49, 8 July 2008 (UTC)
 * I think they're confusing "founded" with "found". :) Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? 18:50, 8 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Oh lol right, sorry. I meant ... uh "Revealed to the European aristocrats in 1680" :) I get it now it doesn't make sense, I'll remove it. .:davumaya:.

Awesome source for downfall of milling
Here is an awesome source I just found for the downfall of the milling empire. This will probably be useful for History of Minneapolis too. .:davumaya:. 23:10, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Newton Winchell and the end of the Ice Age
St. Anthony falls is important in the development of 19th century geology because the MN state geologist Newton Winchell calculated the end of the last Ice Age by measuring the rate at which the falls were cutting back and the distance from the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers (or maybe a moraine - I'll check before I say anything). This date was very influential in worldwide thought about ice ages, and is still one of the best dates available for deglaciation of mid-continental North America. I'm thinking of adding a section on that. Awickert (talk) 23:16, 16 October 2008 (UTC)

What Amount of Power was/is Available
The amount of power generated by the falls would, I think, be a useful/interesting fact to record (including change, if any, over time); is the value in the vicinity of 50 horsepower, 500 horsepower, or greater than 50,000 horsepower? Comparing this power value to other falls that were used for power (I'm thinking of the falls that helped propel Lowell, Mass. to prominence) would be useful. For example, I remember reading about a Roman built mill in France that, at an estimated 9 horsepower, was the most powerful machine in the world at that time. Dan Aquinas (talk) 14:04, 5 June 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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I have just modified 7 external links on Saint Anthony Falls. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070513131533/http://www.millcitymuseum.org/history.html to http://www.millcitymuseum.org/history.html
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20080625011425/http://www.millcitymuseum.org/education/curriculum/TeacherGuide-Power.pdf to http://www.millcitymuseum.org/education/curriculum/TeacherGuide-Power.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120205042932/http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/history/engineering/ to http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/history/engineering/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070420010726/http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/history/eh4.asp to http://www.mpls.lib.mn.us/history/eh4.asp
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120205042932/http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/history/engineering/ to http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/history/engineering/
 * Added tag to http://www.mnpreservation.org/pdf/tenmostendangeredinsert2008.pdf
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070620174608/http://www.mrdbridges.com/history.php to http://www.mrdbridges.com/history.php
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20150610065909/http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/Projects/tabid/18156/Article/571138/upper-st-anthony-falls-lock-closure.aspx to http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/Projects/tabid/18156/Article/571138/upper-st-anthony-falls-lock-closure.aspx

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Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:List of contributing properties in the St. Anthony Falls Historic District which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 15:18, 17 October 2023 (UTC)