John H. Stevens House050

When the Stevens House was built beside the Falls of St. Anthony in 1850, it was the first wood frame dwelling west of the Mississippi. But that was just the first of the many distinctions it would earn, as its nickname, "the birthplace of Minneapolis," attests. In its earliest days, the house served as a social and civic center for settlers arriving in the area, and it was inside its walls that names were chosen for Minneapolis and Hennepin County, their streets platted, and the first school district formed. Over the next 50 years, the house hosted everything from church services and weddings to court proceedings and Native American council meetings. The house's current location, in Minnehaha Park, is its third. In 1896, more than 10,000 schoolchildren moved it from where it was built beside the falls to the park area. In 1982, schoolchildren again helped move it, this time inside the park, where it's now owned and maintained by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.