Place Names of St. Paul
Can you help?
In 1975, I published a book on the origin and significance of the street names in St. Paul. I am now in the process of revising and expanding the book to include all the place names, past and present, of St. Paul. This will include past or present ponds or lakes, streams, hills with names, trails, and any feature that some future reader of this book might find of interest. I am also looking for the names of some of the smaller neighborhoods in the city, past and present that should be included in this reference book.
The revised and expanded book will be published in 2006 by the University of Minnesota Press.
Below are the kinds of names
I am looking for, along with their geographic location. I am not so much interested
in more information on the names below (although that would be helpful) as I am
in other names you might know of:
Hastings Pond: This was a pond on the East Side, now gone I believe. I would like more information.
Frankenstein’s Cave: This was a cave just west of Randolph, off Shepard Road. It is the old Banholser Brewery Caves, I think.
Kasota Pond: This is off Highway 280; is it a real pond, or just stormwater runoff from Highway 280.
Capitol Heights neighborhood: Just what are the boundaries?
Badlands: An area around Region’s Hospital.
Tangletown: An area around Macalester College.
There are a few street names for which I have no information. Many of them are in Energy Park: Carling, Spencer, Coach, Cushing Circle, Norris Circle. Also Victor Lane, Conservatory Court, and Dahl Avenue. If you know the origin of these street names, I would love to hear from you.
Below are some entries that I plan to use: Most of them will be short and concise.
Holcombe Park Circle: This small park, an
enlargement of the intersection at St. Albans and Laurel streets, was dedicated
in 1857 as part of Holcombe’s Addition.
On the plat it was designated a “market square,” indicating a public
space available to hold a market. The
idea of a park, as we know it today, did not originate until two decades
later. William Holcombe (1804-1870) was
a pioneer of the St. Croix Valley, a resident of Stillwater, the first
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, and a prolific speculator in town lots.
Starkey Street: Originally part of Concord Street, the name was changed in 1883. Remembered as a prolific writer, a poet, and a good speaker, James Starkey (1818-1892) devised the sewer system for St. Paul in 1873. Born in England, he immigrated to America in 1849, and journeyed to St. Paul the following year. He was active in the Territorial government of the state, a captain in the local militia, a County Commissioner of Anoka County, and he also did extensive railroad surveying. In his later years, he was a member of the Plat Commission.
If you have information, send me an e-mail: