Fridley, Minnesota

T he City of Fridley is located just north of Minneapolis, and east of the Mississippi River in Anoka County, Minnesota. Its history dates back to 1844, with the construction of the Red River Ox Cart Trail that travelled through the Minnesota Territory, and was used to transport furs to the south and supplies to Red River Valley settlers in the north. In 1847, John Banfill became the first settler in the area, which was known at the time as Manomin, a variant spelling of manoomin, the Ojibwe word for “wild rice,” a staple of the local Native Americans’ diet. In 1851, Banfill platted the actual town of Manomin, and a general store and sawmill were built next to Rice Creek, named after Henry Mower Rice, a settler who, just two years earlier, had acquired a lot of land in the area. In 1853, the first town post office was in operation, and a year later, a ferry crossing the Mississippi River was established. In 1855, Abram M. Fridley was elected as the first territorial representative for the area. The Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad reached the town in 1864, and its name was officially changed to Fridley in 1879. In 1949, the Fridley Township was incorporated as the Village F r i e n d l y F r i d l e y