Stone Arch Bridge and Saint Anthony Falls – Minneapolis

A river, a waterfall and a railway bridge.

Put them together, and we get a large part of the story of Minneapolis.

The Mississippi River flows through the heart of the city, and right here is Saint Anthony Falls, historically the only major natural waterfall on the Mississippi. Beside it stands the Stone Arch Bridge, built in the nineteenth century when the power of the river helped transform Minneapolis into one of America's great milling centres.

When I visited the place, what interested me was not merely the view.

The bridge, the falls, the old mill remains and the modern Minneapolis skyline all appear together. It is one of those places where the history of a city can be understood simply by looking around.

Saint Anthony Falls

Long before Minneapolis existed, the falls were important to the Dakota people, for whom this part of the Mississippi had spiritual significance. The place is known in Dakota as Owámniyomni, generally translated as turbulent waters.

In 1680, the French missionary Father Louis Hennepin encountered the falls and named them after his patron saint, Anthony of Padua.

The waterfall we see today, however, is very different from the original natural falls.

Its geology was always fragile. A hard limestone layer rested above much softer sandstone. As the sandstone eroded, sections of limestone broke away and the waterfall slowly moved upstream over thousands of years.

Human activity accelerated the problem.

The Disaster That Nearly Destroyed the Falls

During the nineteenth century, industries began using the tremendous water power available here.

Sawmills came first. Flour mills followed.

Then, in 1869, a tunnel being excavated beneath the riverbed collapsed. Water rushed into the soft sandstone below the limestone and rapidly enlarged the underground cavity.

There was a real danger that Saint Anthony Falls itself could collapse and become a stretch of rapids.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers eventually stepped in.

A huge underground concrete wall was built beneath the limestone to stop further erosion. A protective apron was constructed over the face of the falls, and other engineering works gradually stabilised the river.

So the falls visible today are partly natural and partly the result of nineteenth-century engineering.

That was one detail I had not realised when I first looked at the water.

The Falls That Built Minneapolis

Saint Anthony Falls was not protected merely because people liked the waterfall.

Its water power had become economically vital.

Sawmills initially occupied the riverbanks, processing timber brought down the Mississippi. Later, flour milling became the dominant industry.

For roughly half a century, Minneapolis became America's leading flour-milling centre. Famous mills operated beside the falls, using water from the Mississippi to power their machinery.

The remains of this industrial landscape can still be seen around the riverfront.

That makes a walk here much more interesting than simply viewing the waterfall.

Stone Arch Bridge

Then comes the structure that immediately caught my attention – the Stone Arch Bridge.

The former railway bridge crosses the Mississippi just below Saint Anthony Falls.

Railroad entrepreneur James J. Hill commissioned the bridge, and engineer Charles C. Smith designed it. Construction took place between 1881 and 1883.

The bridge stretches for about 2,100 feet across the river.

Originally, it consisted of 23 limestone arches, supported by stone piers. This was an ambitious design for a railway bridge, particularly at a location where the riverbed and the falls had already demonstrated how unstable they could be.

Look at the bridge carefully and one section appears noticeably different.

In 1962, two of the original stone arch spans were removed and replaced by a steel Warren deck truss. The alteration was necessary to provide sufficient clearance for river navigation following development of the Upper St. Anthony Falls lock and dam.

So what we see today is not exactly the bridge completed in 1883.

Most of it survives.

But the steel section records another stage in the changing history of the Mississippi.

Why Was the Bridge Built?

This was a railway bridge, not a decorative bridge built to provide a beautiful view of the falls.

Hill wanted improved rail access into Minneapolis.

The bridge carried the Minneapolis Union Railroad across the Mississippi and helped connect rail lines with passenger facilities and the industrial districts on the west side of the river.

Wheat arriving from agricultural areas could reach the enormous flour mills clustered around Saint Anthony Falls.

The bridge and the mills therefore belonged to the same economic story.

One produced flour.

The other helped bring the raw material to it.

From Trains to People

Railway use eventually ended.

The Stone Arch Bridge was later converted into a pedestrian and bicycle route, and today it forms part of the Saint Anthony Falls riverfront trail system.

Walking across it gives excellent views of the falls, the Mississippi, the remains of the milling district and downtown Minneapolis.

The bridge itself underwent another major preservation project during 2024 and 2025, involving stone replacement and extensive mortar repairs. It fully reopened to pedestrians and cyclists in July 2025.

The traffic crossing it today is therefore very different from what James J. Hill imagined.

No locomotives.

Mostly walkers, runners and cyclists.

Walk Around, Not Just Across

It would be easy to walk across the Stone Arch Bridge, take a few photographs and leave.

That would miss half the experience.

The surrounding Saint Anthony Falls Historic District has walking paths and interpretive displays explaining the mills, railway, river and industrial development of Minneapolis. The National Park Service's Saint Anthony Falls Heritage Trail forms a roughly two-mile loop around this historic riverfront.

The old mill remains nearby are particularly worth observing.

Stand on the bridge and look towards the falls.

Then look towards the old industrial buildings.

Finally, turn towards the modern skyline.

Three different versions of Minneapolis appear within the same view.

For me, that is what makes the Stone Arch Bridge and Saint Anthony Falls much more than another sightseeing spot.

The river created the waterfall.

The waterfall powered the mills.

The mills helped build the city.

And the railway bridge connected all of them.

Happy travelling.