Agenda - Council - 08/24/2010 - Laserfiche WebLink

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e. Kaposia Indian Village site — a 19th century sightseeing stop, the village of Sioux Chief Little Crow. f. Nininger Town Site — an example of mid 19th century. land specula- tion which never got off the ground; this site was expected to become a city of 1,000,000 people by 2000. g. Minnesota Veterans Home — build- ings designed to resemble well- known resort hotels and spas. h. Chapel of St. Paul site — the chapel was the origin of the city's name. i. Indian Mounds Park — for the pre- servation of Indian burial mounds. j. First Methodist Parsonage — a restored log parsonage and school built in 1837. k. Grey Cloud Lime Kiln — begun in 1849, provided lime for Fort Snelling. 1. Red Rock — the rock was a Sioux shrine. B. Natural Resources: Although heavily developed overmuch of its length, the Metropolitan Missis- sippi Corridor still contains areas of natural beauty, and natural resources of regional importance: The two undeveloped portions of the corridor, near Dayton and Ramsey on the north end and Spring Lake on the south end exhibit different geo- logical conditions. The north end is a narrow and rather shallow river - way, while the south end has a wide and deep gorge, over two miles wide in parts and up to 200 feet below the surrounding countryside. These undeveloped portions harbor a wide variety of plant and animal life. A unique habitat is the heron rookery at Pig's Eye Lake. Public access to these portions of the corridor is un- fortunately being cut off by an in- creasing number of private residen- tial and industrial developments. 10 In the developed portion of the cor- ridor, foresighted public acquisition of land many decades ago has pre- served some portions of the cor- ridor's natural condition. These open spaces provide an invaluable break in the very center of urban develop- ment, a benefit for the entire region; yet, the presence of this natural area spurs more intense urban develop- ment adjacent to the areas which' could seriously block the corridor from public enjoyment. 2. Portions of the river corridor contain mineral resources which are signifi- cant to the entire region. Most im- portant of these resources are the sand and gravel areas. Materials such as these are very heavy and are needed in bulk amounts. The dis- tance from point of extraction to point of use thus becomes a critical cost factor. The location of extrac- tion sites along the river is doubly important because of the closeness of the extraction site to the urban area and because of the availability of the river as a transportation cor- ridor. The river provides a direct route to the very center of the Metropolitan Area, at lower cost than land shipment, and with less impact on public transportation facilities. 3. The river itself is an important nat- ural resource serving the region as a source of water supply, as a mode of transportation for commercial and recreational navigation, and as a medium for effluent assimilation. C. Cultural Resources: Because the river has been a dominating influence on man since prehistoric times, it is generally an arena of major cultural significance. From the ancient Indian villages and their burial mounds to the early settlements of white men and the demonstration of their engineering skill; and from the many villages of European immigrants to the show place homes of today's well-to-do, the river corridor harbors a historic panorama of human cultures. In addition, it is one of the