Industrial Development - Sawmills and Anoka During Maturation of The Railroad Network
Population growth and expanding rail networks would pull Anoka out of its industrial slump. Immigrants in search of the American Dream, and veterans claiming their 40 acres promised by the Homestead Act of 1862, flocked to the Upper Midwest. This population growth and rail-based expansion of market connections would bring unprecedented accumulation of wealth to the Twin Cities. |
Early settlers in what would become the northern suburbs (Dakota County)  |
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The great industrial wealth within the immediate Twin Cities found its way to Anoka in 1872 when a Minneapolis mill-owner William Washburn, saw potential in Anoka's existing mill sites to gain an edge in the growing market. Washburn would have had access to higher log traffic on Anoka's Mississippi River banks, however he saw the tree-lined banks, comparatively gentle current and falls, and lighter log traffic of the Rum River as an asset. Washburn assumed he could produce higher quality timber from undamaged logs. Additionally, Anoka had yet to become a significant player in the timber industry. The demand for land was low and therefore new construction was far less expensive in Anoka than Minneapolis. Washburn opened Anoka's largest operation along side the existing small-scale mills. The success of the Washburn mill and the growing regional market inspired the development of other high-production mills on the river. By the late 1870s Anoka was calling itself "The Largest Lumbering Town in Minnesota." The sawmills had a short-lived success. By the mid 1880s, Anoka's timber industry significantly declined. The town began looking to cultivate new industries. |
