Come Saturday Morning: Up a Lazy River

Good morning, everyone!  This is a picture of a little stream in Saint Paul called Trout Brook. 

Trout Brook may seem pretty small, but it an its sister river, Phalen Creek, once shared the honor of being the main channels for the Mississippi River before it settled on its present course.  When the Mississppi’s waters flowed through what’s now Trout Brook, they cut a sizable valley, one big enough to provide a place for the early railroad companies to put down trackage and help facilitate St. Paul’s growth as the head of navigation on the upper Mississippi.  (It also helped that up until the latter part of the 19th century, huge chunks of the then-constantly-crumbling St. Anthony falls made it impossible for barge traffic to go father west than St. Paul.)

Much of Trout Brook has been diverted underground now; for over a hundred years, it and Phalen Creek have both entered the Mississippi via the same stone canal.  But even shut up behind stone, it’s still a force to be reckoned with.  As are we all.  :-)

Related posts:

1. Come Saturday Morning: Is This Really What You Want, Wingers?
2. Come Saturday Morning: Summertime
3. Come Saturday Morning: Hoist the Double Standard!
4. Come Saturday Morning: Argument by Analogy
5. Come Saturday Morning: This Guy I Know