Minnesota Field Trip

Commercial activity gave rise to a series of increasingly sophisticated public transportation systems, both serving the intra-Anoka area and connecting Anoka to Minneapolis.

In 1884, horse-drawn streetcars began running between downtown Anoka and Champlin Park, facilitating easier access to the commercial and retail activity for residents. Success of the horse-drawn street car was short lived. Residents opted for the more mobile horse-drawn buses and put the horse-drawn street cars out of business, the first among many battles against buses streetcars would lose around the US.

During the late 19th century to 1913, horse-drawn bus services made daily trips between Anoka and Minneapolis. Passengers had the pleasure of long bumpy treks on unpaved, often heavily rutted, roads. Inclement weather made bus trips virtually impossible. In winter months, the main stations in Anoka served as the only viable access points to the Twin Cities. Unfortunately, for the many rural residents of the region, the same conditions that made trips into the Cities impossible made accessing the Anoka stations a difficult task in the winter.