Powderhorn History

The harm that the construction of Highway 35W inflicted on South Minneapolis is well known. It destroyed hundreds of homes and did lasting damage to the historic southside African American community in the Central, Bryant and Kingfield neighborhoods . I have also long heard neighborhood lore that the construction of 35W destroyed an underground spring which fed Powderhorn Lake, contributing to the lake's poor water quality. I spent time researching this story to better understand what may have happened.  To understand the ongoing water quality issues faced by Powderhorn Lake it can be helpful to understand the lake's natural history as well as the environmental impacts of the city that grew up around the lake.  The glacial drift left behind by the last ice age covers an older underground topography of more ancient valleys and rivers. Powderhorn lake is home to an ancient Mississippi river tributary valley that flows south to Lake Hiawatha.    Powderhorn Lake is natur...

One of my favorite places to go to understand the history of Minneapolis and how our city was shaped is Mapping Prejudice. The Mapping Prejudice Project  identifies and maps racial covenants; clauses that were inserted into property deeds to keep people who were not white from buying or occupying homes. The maps they created demonstrate how structural racism created the housing landscape in Minneapolis, legally defining who could live where and thus who had access to owning a home and in what areas of the city. The racial covenants inserted into many deeds in Minneapolis were the basis for the federal government's redlining policies developed during the creation of the Federal Housing Authority in the 1930s. Mapping Prejudice also presents individual stories of people of color who purchased non-covenanted homes in white neighborhoods, and the often violent backlash they faced from their white neighbors. Many of us are familiar with the story of the Lee family, who purchased a home...