Twin Cities Bicker Every Century or So

Twin Cities Bicker Every Century or So

The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul usually get along just fine, but occasionally sibling rivalry takes over. Such was the case in 1890.

St. Paul had always considered itself superior to its twin. It was the capital. It was older. It had established itself as an economic power. But its self-confidence was beginning to waver. The census of 1880 had shown for the first time that more people lived in Minneapolis than in St. Paul. Luckily for St. Paul, the numbers were close enough to prevent either city from claiming outright superiority. So it was that the 1890 census would determine the official pecking order.

And it wasn't a pretty sight.

The problems started in June with the arrests of seven Minneapolis census counters who were subsequently charged with vote fraud. Then the U.S. Secretary of the Interior ordered a recount in both cities, citing voting irregularities in St. Paul as well as Minneapolis. The St. Paul count, for example, included 91 people who supposedly were living in the offices of the city's biggest newspaper.

When it was all over, Minneapolis was the winner with a census tally of 164,738. St. Paul had just 133,301. The capital city has remained runner-up in the population race ever since.