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Hennepin County Hazard Mitigation Plan Community Profile <br /> S. History <br /> I <br /> The Dakota American Indians lived in the Hennepin County area long <br /> before European explorers arrived. They were well established in the <br /> culture of hunting and gathering and were skilled in horsemanship. <br /> The main villages were located on the west side of Lake Calhoun and <br /> in Bloomington. <br /> Father Louis Hennepin (for whom the county is named) discovered St. <br /> Anthony Falls in 1680, establishing French ownership. The land <br /> passed from France to Spain and back to France, and in 1803 was sold <br /> to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase. <br /> In 1819, Fort Snelling was established at the confluence of the <br /> Mississippi and Minnesota rivers in what is now the southeast corner of <br /> the county. The Territorial Legislature established Hennepin County in <br /> 1852, six years before Minnesota became a state. In its early years, <br /> the county was famous for its river industry (lumber, flour milling) but <br /> now has a broad-based economy that includes major retail, financial, <br /> and technological centers (See Industry). The milling industry still has <br /> a strong presence and has branched out into other multi-national <br /> areas. <br /> C. Geography <br /> Hennepin County is located in the Mississippi and Minnesota River <br /> watersheds. Within those major watersheds are three minor: <br /> Minnehaha Creek, Nine Mile Creek, and Riley Purgatory Bluff. The <br /> latitude at Minneapolis is 45°-00'and longitude is 930-15'. <br /> Hennepin County is bounded by the Mississippi.River on the east and <br /> northeast, the Minnesota River to the south, Carver and Wright <br /> Counties to the west and the Crow River to the northwest. <br /> fl•UII (`.nmmionifv Prnfilo tins, <br />