On July 4, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson announced the Louisiana Purchase. The United States had bought the western half of the Mississippi River watershed from France. Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark out west and Lt Zebulon Pike up the Mississippi River. Pike’s commander, General James Wilkinson, ordered Pike to discover the Mississippi’s source, make alliances with the Chippewa and Dakota, stop intertribal fighting, assess the fur trade, observe the weather, and secure the best sites for military posts.
On September 21, 1805, Lt. Zebulon Pike landed his boats on the big island at the confluence. That island is now Pike Island. About noon on September 23, Pike says he “had a bower or shade, made of my sails, on the beach, into which only my gentlemen (the traders) and the chiefs entered.” He gave a speech telling the Dakota that America now owned both sides of the Mississippi.
Pike wanted the Dakota to sign a treaty granting the U.S. land at the confluence, St. Anthony Falls, and the St. Croix River’s mouth for military forts. After the Dakota signed, Pike boasted to Wilkinson that he had acquired the land “for a song.”
The Americans made little effort to take control of the area from the Dakota until 1819, when Colonel Henry Leavenworth arrived to build a fort. One year later, Colonel Josiah Snelling replaced Leavenworth, and on September 10, Snelling set the fort’s cornerstone.
Finished in 1824, Fort Snelling became the regional center for intertribal gatherings and negotiations. Although in Dakota territory, the Chippewa, Menominee, and Winnebago also visited the fort. Fur traders soon located across the river at Mendota, nearby at Camp Coldwater and just up the Minnesota River.
On Pilot Knob, overlooking the confluence, the Dakota had long placed their dead on scaffolds. They called this hill Oheyawahi or “the hill much visited.” But, on this hill, the Mdewakanton and Wapekute bands of the Dakota signed the Treaty of Mendota in 1851. By this treaty, they gave up their lands west of the Mississippi for a reservation on the Minnesota River.
They returned 11 years later, following the Dakota Conflict of 1862. This time the American military put them in a prison camp below Fort Snelling. What must they have thought, to be at the center of the earth, looking up at Oheyawahi?
After the Treaty of Mendota, the Army realized that the frontier had moved west and sold the Fort in 1857. But six years later, after the Civil War started, the Army reclaimed the fort. From then until 1946, Fort Snelling served important roles during the Mexican Revolution, the Spanish-American War, World War I and World War II. Today the walls of the frontier fort and the two cavalry barracks, completed in 1904, loom above the river on the Mississippi’s western bluff.
on the Mississippi River in what was to become the Twin Cities.
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Josiah Snelling
Colonel Josiah Snelling (1782–20 August 1828) was the first commander of Fort Snelling , a fort located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in Minnesota. He was responsible for the initial design and construction of the fort, and he commanded it from 1820 through 1827. He had a reputation for being tough and fair-minded, but also had a mean temper when he was drunk. His second wife, Abigail Hunt Snelling, extended hospitality to visitors to the fort. She also founded a Sunday School for the fort's children and assisted families from Selkirk's Colony .
Lieutenant Colonel Henry Leavenworth was originally chosen to locate the fortification at the mouth of the St. Peter's River (the prior name of the Minnesota River) in 1819. His expedition started out in Green Bay, Wisconsin in May 1819, ascending the Fox River , then portaging to the Wisconsin River and following it downstream to its confluence with the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin . He remained at Fort Crawford with his soldiers until supplies arrived in August, 1819, and then the expedition traveled upriver to the confluence with the St. Peter's River. His soldiers originally built a winter settlement, known as Cantonment New Hope, two miles (3 km) up the St. Peter's River from the confluence. The next spring, in anticipation of flooding, he moved the troops to higher ground at a site known as Camp Coldwater , a mile up the Mississippi from the confluence of the rivers. Leavenworth was later relieved of his duty in August 1820 and succeeded by Colonel Josiah Snelling.
Two Minnesota streets, one in Minneapolis (Snelling Street), the other in Saint Paul (Snelling Avenue), in Minnesota's capital city, are named after him.
Snelling, born in 1782, was the son of a prominent Boston banker. He married Elizabeth Bell and fathered a son, William Joseph Snelling , in 1804. His wife died in 1810. He was recognized for his performance at the Battle of Tippecanoe , and was assigned to command Fort Harrison during the winter of 1811–12. [1] on the Wabash River at the present site of Terre Haute, Indiana. During the War of 1812 , he received the rank of Captain and was sent to Fort Detroit , where he met and married Abigail Hunt. They had 5 children, Mary, Henry Hunt Snelling, James, Marion and Josiah. After the size of the army was reduced in 1815, Snelling spent about four years on the northern border of New York. In 1820, Snelling was promoted to Colonel of the 5th Regiment of Infantry and sent to oversee the construction of Fort St. Anthony . Snelling was concerned about the unhealthy living conditions of the temporary quarters at Cantonment New Hope on the St. Peter's River. He traveled upriver from St. Louis and arrived at the cantonment on September 5, 1820, and immediately started the relocation and design of the new fort. Colonel Snelling located the fort on a bluff above the river junction, and with the aid of Lieutenant Robert McCabe, designed the fort as an elongated diamond. The western point of the diamond had a large round tower, about thirty feet high and thirty feet in diameter, with musket ports in the sides a cannon on the top. The eastern point of the diamond was designed with a half-moon battery. Two smaller batteries on the north and south sides were built for infantry and cannon . Eight interior buildings of the fort were built from locally-quarried limestone, while two other buildings were built from white pine, cut from around the Rum River area. The fort had no formal architect. All of the manpower of designing and building the fort came from Snelling's own troops.
The heavy limestone walls of the fort were constructed on a scale beyond many other frontier fortifications, suggesting America's intentions toward westward expansion. Major General Brown had the opinion that a frontier fort of this nature should be built for permanency and independence, since the distance from any other military posts would make assistance difficult to obtain if any battles would break out. On the other hand, the idea of a large, permanent fortress to rule over the entire territory may have been overkill, since the usual pattern of westward expansion was to build temporary fortresses ahead of the line of settlement, shifting soldiers along the way.
The Army, recognizing the importance of fresh fruit and vegetables in a soldier's diet, made post commanders responsible for establishing gardens. Colonel Snelling started cultivation in 1820, planting corn and potatoes in about 90 acres (360,000 m 2 ) of river bottomland. Over the next few years, construction of the fort and cultivation of the gardens took priority over military duties. Snelling recognized that the fort should strive toward self-sufficiency, especially since the government stopped paying for seed in 1821 and since the government often delivered spoiled food or starving cattle. By 1823, nearly 200 acres (0.81 km 2 ) were being cultivated, about half of which were used for growing wheat. Snelling established a grist mill at Saint Anthony Falls to grind the wheat into flour, using millstones from St. Louis. About 100 barrels of flour were produced in 1823.
In order to deal peacefully with the Indians, Snelling partnered with Indian Agent Lawrence Taliaferro . Taliaferro built a council house west of the fort in 1823, where he carefully distributed government food and supplies and provided other services to the Indians. Taliaferro's cooperation with the Indians ensured good relations and helped to avert open hostilities between the Ojibwe and the Sioux.
Colonel Snelling's health began to decline in early 1826, and the prescribed treatment of opium and brandy accelerated his alcoholism. He left the fort in October 1827 and died in Washington, D.C. the following summer.
Papers of Josiah Snelling are available for research use. They include photocopied letters written by Josiah Snelling, military commissions and related documents from his service in the Massachusetts militia (1803-1808) and the United States infantry (1809-1820), documents relating to the Connecticut state militia during the Revolutionary War, and a journal kept by Colonel Snelling as commandant at Fort Snelling
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A 370-passenger, sternwheel motor vessel. Luxurious interior decor has carpeted main deck, ships lanterns, captain chairs and oil paintings of local river characters that are part of the historical upper river history. Daily trips from downtown St. Paul to historic Ft. Snelling at 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00. Company also has similar 315 passenger vessel Jonathan Padelford. Both Sternwheelers Available for Charter. |
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This personal diary documents events both significant and mundane in the life of Colonel Josiah Snelling, commanding officer at Fort Snelling from 1821-1825, and again from 1825-1827 before his death in 1828. The majority of the journal's entries encompass the spring and summer of 1827. They are supplemented by miscellaneous entries and memos dated 1825-1828. Among them are a speech by the Ojibwe chief Strong Earth, a statement of conditions for a duel, ledgers of debts Snelling paid and incurred, a reference to the re-burial of Snelling's deceased daughter, Elizabeth, and a few detachment orders.
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Residents of Novosibirsk love trains and are proud of the fact that their city played a significant role in the history of the grand Trans-Siberian railway, which spans the breadth of Russia. The railway is such a part of Novosibirsk identity that it is even depicted on the city’s emblem, along with the bridge that crosses the Ob river and two Siberian sables standing on their hind legs.
In the city, there are as many as five monuments to trains, and an open-air locomotive museum is located in the vicinity of the train station Seyatel’. The museum has more than 100 steam locomotives, diesel locomotives and carriages, reflecting the history of rail transportation in Russia from pre-revolutionary times to the present day. Wondering around the stationary trains and comparing your height with the diameter of the gigantic iron wheels of the first steam locomotives is all very well, but why not climb inside the carriages and see how the nobility once traveled across Russia in pre-revolutionary times? These tours will however need to be booked in advance. The museum opens from 11:00 until 17:00 every day except Mondays.
Novosibirsk spans both sides of the river Ob. In the early twentieth century, the border of two different timezones passed right through the city which led to a strange situation- morning on the east bank started one hour earlier than on the west bank! The two-kilometer covered metro bridge that crosses the river is considered the longest in the world. Due to the fluctuations in temperature across the year (on average +30 °C to -30 °C), during the summer the metro bridge expands, and in the winter it contracts by half a meter. To counter these effects, the bridge’s supports are equipped with special rollers that allow it to move.
The repertoire of the theatre can be viewed on its official website . The theatre season runs from September to July, and comprises mainly classical performances, like the ballet “The Nutcracker” by Tchaikovsky, Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor” and Verdi’s “La Traviata”.
Weekends are best spent at the Novosibirsk zoo . The zoo is known for breeding big cats, although surrounded by controversy, hosts a successful crossing of a tiger and lion, which of course would not otherwise breed in wildlife. Ligers, or exotic cubs of an African lion and Bengal tigress, feel quite comfortable in the Siberian climate and even produce offspring. The zoo is open to visitors year-round, seven days a week, and even has its own free mobile app, Zoo Nsk .
Every year at the beginning of January, the festival of snow culture takes place bringing together artists from across Russia and around the world to participate in a snow sculpting competition. The tradition started in 2000 inspired by the snow festival in Sapporo, Novosibirsk’s twin-city.
Despite the fact that Akademgorodok was built half a century ago in the middle of the uninhabited Siberian taiga, architecturally it was ahead of its time. No trees were destroyed for its construction, and houses were built right in the middle of the forest. A man walking through the woods would seemingly stumble upon these structures. At that time, no one had built anything similar in the world and ecovillages only became fashionable much later.
For residents of the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok is a different world. When you step out the bus or car, you are immediately on one of the hiking paths through the forest, between the scientific buildings and clubs. On a walk through Akademgorodok, it is possible to unexpectedly encounter art-like objects handmade by residents of the city which have been erected as monuments and some monuments fixed up by city authorities. For example, the monument to the laboratory mice, which knits a strand of DNA on to some needles, can be found in the square alongside the Institute of Cytology and Genetics. In Akademgorodok there are many cafes and restaurants, in which it is possible to rest after a long walk. Grab a coffee and go to eat at Traveler’s Coffee , or eat lunch at the grille and bar People’s or Clover .
Winters in the Akademgorodok are slightly colder than in the city, so wrap up. Spring and summer are usually wetter, so waterproof boots are recommended. In the summer the Ob sea provides respite from the heat, so do not forget your swimsuit to go for a dip.
Among the exhibits of the museum is one dedicated to world funeral culture — hearses, memorial jewellery from the hair of the deceased, samples from a specific photo-genre of "post mortem", a collection of funeral wear from the Victorian era, deathmasks, statues and monuments. There’s also an impressive collection of coffins. One of them, resembling a fish, was manufactured on a special visit to Novosibirsk by a designer coffin-maker from Africa, Eric Adjetey Anang, who specializes in the production of unusual coffins.
Surprisingly, the crematorium itself does not look at all gloomy in appearance and definitely does not look like infernal scenes from movies, or like crematoriums of other cities that gravitate towards gloomy temple aesthetics. The Novosibirsk crematorium is decorated in “cheerful” orange tones and is surrounded by a park with a children’s playground nearby. A visit to the museum then leaves you with mixed feelings.
Tourists from all over the world go down into the Moscow metro to take a ride and a few selfies in the most famous underground museum. The Novosibirsk metro is also quite a museum in itself — it has 13 stations, the most beautiful of which is Gagarinskaya, Sibirskaya and Rechnoy Vokzal.
The ultramodern Gagarinskaya station is like a real cosmos underground. Its technologically themed design includes marble walls with metallic elements, dark blue backlighting and portraits of Yuri Gagarin. The Sibirskaya station looks like an underground treasure trove, decorated by Altai masters craftsmen with mosaics of precious Siberian stones. The Rechnoy Vokzal station is framed with ten glowing stained glass windows depicting the largest cities of Siberia, including Novosibirsk itself, Omsk, Barnaul and others. The platform resembles a big ship sailing on the Ob, from which ancient Siberian cities are visible through its windows.
The easiest way to get to Novosibirsk is by plane with Aeroflot or Novosibirsk airline S7 with one-way tickets from Moscow costing from 200-250 USD. If you decide to take from the train from Moscow, you’ll have to travel approximately a third of the Trans-Siberian Railway. That’s 3,300 kilometers over almost a three-day journey.
There are many great hotels in Novosibirsk. Amongst the best include a four-star Doubletree hotel by Hilton , which is located near Lenin Square (per room from $200). After renovations and repairs, the congress-hotel Novosibirsk has improved (per room from $100) and is located across from the train station. Less expensive but of a similar standard is the four-star River Park hotel near Rechnoy Vokzal metro station, which costs $80 per night.
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A new commander, Col. Josiah Snelling, took charge in 1820 and over the next four years, he supervised construction. Upon completion of the new military complex, Gen. Winfield Scott came from Washington D.C. to inspect the fort. ... Riverboat traffic began modestly in 1847 with 47 vessels arriving in Saint Paul—including the riverboat Lynx ...
The Josiah Snelling is named for the commandant who designed and built Fort Snelling in the 1820s. ... boat is driven by its big paddle wheel.it carries 315 passengers and crew and leaves from ...
Bdote is where the Minnesota River (Mni Sota Wakpa) meets the Mississippi River (Wakpa Taŋka), and it's what many Dakota consider to be their place of creation. ... Colonel Josiah Snelling, the fort's namesake who oversaw its construction, also owned enslaved people. While the names of many enslaved people who were brought to Fort Snelling ...
Snelling, born in 1782, was the son of a well-to-do Boston baker. [1] He married Elizabeth Bell and fathered a son, William Joseph Snelling, in 1804; his wife died in 1810.He joined the army in May 1808 and was recognized for his performance at the Battle of Tippecanoe.He was assigned to command Fort Harrison during the winter of 1811-12. [2] on the Wabash River at the present site of Terre ...
He was the second child of Josiah and Abigail; their first, Mary, had been born in 1813. They had three more children who survived past infancy: James, born in 1822; Marion, born in 1825; and Josiah, born in 1827. A lieutenant colonel by 1818, Josiah Snelling was promoted to full colonel of the Fifth Infantry Regiment on June 1, 1819.
Travel through 10,000 years of human history to explore how this area sacred to the Dakota became Minnesota's first National Historic Landmark—Historic Fort Snelling. The Shape of Water. The Mississippi River was a small tributary 12,000 years ago. It joined the massive Glacial River Warren not far from this spot. Melting glaciers fed both ...
Josiah Snelling, Jr. was born in 1783 and lived the early portion of his life in Boston. He began moving west early in his long military career. ... became a full colonel in 1820 and was given control of the 5th Infantry Regiment stationed in the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Upon arrival at his new post, ...
The Josiah Snelling river boat travels the Mississippi past the West Publishing building, circa 1977. Photo courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society. #ThrowbackThursday.
The replica paddlewheel "Josiah Snelling" operated out of Harriett Island on the Mississippi River in St. Paul. The boat offered day cruises on the stretch of the river between downtown St. Paul upriver to Fort Snelling and back. The boat was also available for charter. The photograph was taken in 1976.
Josiah R. Snelling was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1782. In 1820, Snelling arrived in the area that would become Minnesota Territory in order to take over the project to build "Fort St. Anthony," the army installation at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. Fifteen years earlier, the U.S. Army had ordered Lt. Zebulon Pike to explore the Mississippi River and select ...
Biography. Colonel Josiah Snelling (1782-20 August 1828) was the first commander of Fort Snelling, a fort located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in Minnesota. He was responsible for the initial design and construction of the fort, and he commanded it from 1820 through 1827.
the well-known canoe route up the Fox River, over a por tage, and down the Wisconsin to its junction with the Mis sissippi, then up that stream by keelboat to the mouth of the Minnesota. By such crude methods of transportation the book doubtless reached Fort Snelling. The diary is a treasured possession of Mrs. William
One year later, Colonel Josiah Snelling replaced Leavenworth, and on September 10, Snelling set the fort's cornerstone. Finished in 1824, Fort Snelling became the regional center for intertribal gatherings and negotiations. Although in Dakota territory, the Chippewa, Menominee, and Winnebago also visited the fort.
Josiah Snelling became a full Colonel in 1820 and was given control of the 5th Infantry Regiment stationed in the Upper Mississippi River Valley. Inscription. An Appreciation He served with distinction in the Indian wars of the old northwest border and in the War of 1812. ...
The following year Col. Josiah Snelling assumed command and within 2 years essentially completed the fort. Originally called Fort St. Anthony, in 1825 it became known as Fort Snelling. Fort Snelling guarded the vast region between the Great Lakes and the Missouri River. Few expeditions departed from the fort to attack the Indians, but officials ...
Colonel Josiah Snelling (1782-20 August 1828) was the first commander of Fort Snelling, a fort located at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in Minnesota. He was responsible for the initial design and construction of the fort, and he commanded it from 1820 through 1827. He had a reputation for being tough and fair-minded, but also had a mean temper when he was drunk. His ...
A 370-passenger, sternwheel motor vessel. Luxurious interior decor has carpeted main deck, ships lanterns, captain chairs and oil paintings of local river characters that are part of the historical upper river history. Daily trips from downtown St. Paul to historic Ft. Snelling at 10:00, 12:00, 2:00 and 4:00.
This personal diary documents events both significant and mundane in the life of Colonel Josiah Snelling, commanding officer at Fort Snelling from 1821-1825, and again from 1825-1827 before his death in 1828. The majority of the journal's entries encompass the spring and summer of 1827.
Novosibirsk Reservoir or Novosibirskoye Reservoir (Russian: Новосиби́рское водохрани́лище), informally called the Ob Sea (Обско́е мо́ре), is the largest artificial lake in Novosibirsk Oblast and Altai Krai, Russian Federation.It was created by a 33 m high concrete dam on the Ob River built in Novosibirsk. [1] The dam, built in 1956, provides a water ...
Enjoy your trip with Russian speaking Guide and Professional Driver! My name is Lapin Vitaly. I'm a guide and professional driver offering personal services here in Novosibirsk for different types of travelers.
The two-kilometer covered metro bridge that crosses the river is considered the longest in the world. Due to the fluctuations in temperature across the year (on average +30 °C to -30 °C), during ...
Currency: Russian Ruble (RUR) Time zone: UTC / GMT +3. Country dialing code: +7. Telephone area code: 383. Average daily Novosibirsk January temperature: -14°C / 7°F. Average daily Novosibirsk July temperature: 25°C / 77°F. Russia's third-biggest city and also the largest metropolis in the whole of the Siberia region, Novosibirsk is a ...