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2001 Comprehensive Plan B. Historlical Development 1. Early Beginnings As the glaciers melteq they. formed lakes and streams that deposited large amounts of level sand ~4 gtllvel across the region. Hills were formed by glacial till deposits and deprefipIl&: .were formed by melting ice blocks; resulting in lakes and wetlands. A qnee brrger and wider Mississippi River formed the level terrace that Highway 1. no,*, traverses. As the River subsided, the terrace was left dry, with a layer of foars~gravel and sand. Th~ vegetation that gre'fpn this draughty soil was subjected to continuous low- intensity ground fires. thel)Jative Indians may have maintained these fires for improved hunting grOlJni!lS. ;''I11ese conditions favored the growth of prairie gt1\Sses and forbes benlJatb fire tolerant oaks. The 1850's land survey recorded this area as predominl'l1tly cItY.. Oak B~ensmixed with Wet Prairies, Marshes, and Conifer Bogs, witij. I?raijie vegetation along . the Mississippi River terrace, and Flood Plain Forest ~ongthe rivers. . 2. Early Settlement The first settlement beg$ ip.Ramseyonthe banks of the Mississippi River wh,ere trading took pla4e ;be~een whitesettiers and the Winnebago Indians as earJy as 1849. Thisttitdmg'business eyentl1ally led to settlement of the first pennanent colony in 18~Q, ~hich later b~c~e the town site of Itasca Village in 1852. The town site ;\Vas Jocated in the southwest corner of Ramsey near Highway 10 and the M~sjssippi River. A brief history of the village is printed ona monument located pt theiwayside rest area on the south side of Highway 10. Th~ first government wpgon J'dad wasesta.blished in 1852 stretching from Point Douglas near Hastings, JhtouJb. 81. Paul, St. Anthony, Anoka.and further north to Fort Ripley. In 1855, 30~ QX 4arts t~vele<J. thi~ugh thetown on this road en-route to 81. Paul with trading~fopd$.. The towp ~egatl to emerge along the road with the buiiding of the Itasca. ~otel, .;atradingpQst,~~v~ houses,. a stage coach barn, and.. a post office. In 1.'8... ti4... , ....1'a1.... '}road r.e. aehed.......R..... am. . sey and a .stop was set up to serve the Itasca Village.~~an,ysettlerscaine to the. town on the steamboat called "Governor Ramsey" whtch traveled the. Mississippi River. 3. The name "Ramsey" The Township of Rams~y wl\ls;first organized in 1857 as Watertown Township later to become Rams~TdWnship in the fall of 1858. The name "Dover" Township was also U$e~~oriietime between Watertown and Ramsey. Ramsey was named after Gover.i).or ~sey, who.aside from having a steamboat named after him, was the first feditonaI govetno.t. of Minnesota. In November of 1974 . t __- 'f - Ramsey Township wasintorporated as aCit.)r and had grown to a population of approximately 8,000.1.. . ) James, Jean. The History of Ramsey 1976,;p~ge~ 23,24 & 62" Infonnation on the naming of Ramsey was !1S0 o~~ed from the Qliver Kelly Fann Visitor Center. 200I Ramsey Comprehensive Plan Page III-2