Minnesota's Oldest Town Is Also The Location Of Famous Movies

I learned something new today. There's a community in Minnesota that is nearly 200 years old. It became an official community 194 years ago, but settlers were there even before that. Most people will recognize it from a movie back in the 90s.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) keeps track of this kind of historical topic. The ACHP promotes the preservation of our nation's diverse historic resources. It also advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy.

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Wabasha is Minnesota's Oldest Community

The Native and fur trade started in this location on the Mississippi all the way back in the 1600s. According to the ACHP, it wasn't continuously settled until 1826.

Established As A Town In 1830

In 1830 it was established as an official town. It took another 13 years before the settlement got its name Wabasha.

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Wabasha was named after a Native American Chief.

The settlement finally got its name in 1843. The town was named after Chief Wa-pa-shaw III. He was a prominent Dakota Sioux chief, and the head chief of Mdewakanton Dakota at the time. There's a bust of him actually at the Minnesota State Capitol.

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Minnesota's oldest community is also one of the oldest on the Mississippi River.

There weren't roads or highways hundreds of years ago, so the oldest communities usually were on lakes or rivers. The oldest communities in central North America including the Midwest are along the Mississippi River.

Wabasha, Minnesota Was The Location Of The Hit Movie 'Grumpy Old Men.'

If you haven't seen Grumpy Old Men, go watch it right now. It's fantastic! Its sequel Grumpier Old Men is just as good too. Starring Walter Matthau, Jacke Lemmon, and Ann-Margret, the 1993 film was a huge success, gathering 80.5 million dollars at the box office. Did you know that the writer of the movie based it on his grandfather Charles Gilbert who was a Wabasha native?

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