City Tour of New Brighton


New Brighton is a century old City that is truly young at heart. The Village was incorporated on January 20, 1891. Like most towns in Minnesota, New Brighton and the surrounding area was first inhabited by Native Americans, primarily the Dakota and Ojibway, who traveled through the area on rice harvesting treks. They eventually settled near Long Lake at Rice Creek.

In the mid-1800s, English and French settlers came looking for land to homestead. In 1858, a settlement was established that included a general store, school and mission church.

The most significant point in the history that led to the founding of New Brighton was the formation of the Minneapolis Stockyards and Packing Company in 1888. The company, located in what would become New Brighton, was formed to supply home needs and to claim a share of the growing trade. Leaders in the venture were such prominent Minneapolis figures as streetcar magnate Thomas Lowry, flour millers J.S. Pillsbury, and Senator J.D. Washburn, ex-Minneapolis Mayor W.H. Eustis and industrialist W.O. Dunwoody.

The following year, the Twin City Packing Company began operation bringing more business to the area. A number of slaughtering houses, rendering works, and hide houses were located in the "Butcher's Spur" area, a unique name on the New Brighton map to this day. Other industry at the time included the Harris Forge and Rolling Company, operating two iron rolling mills, the Marston Business Block, and the Merriam-Barrrows lumber office and yards.

Around the same time, New Brighton not yet officially a city was given a name by the predominately English founders. The city was named after Brighton, Massachusetts, a cattle center serving the Boston area, which in turn was most likely named after the famed Brighton, England resort city.

With the industry booming, hotels, houses and other needs of a bustling town emerged. Following the building of the stockyards and packing plants, numerous hotels were established. The most prominent hotel was the four-story brick Cattlemen’s Hotel, later called the Exchange Building. The hotel was ultra modern for its day and cost $35,000 to construct.

When the Village of New Brighton was incorporated in 1891, fourteen passengers trains passed daily. The first newspaper established was the Twin City Livestock Reporter, a daily newspaper housed at the Cattleman's Hotel. Ticker services allowed the paper and cattle industry to maintain contact with Boston, Chicago, and Kansas City cattle centers.

A downturn in the economy, a series of suspicious fires and competition from South St. Paul led to the demise of the cattle industry in New Brighton. The community later turned to farming for it livelihood.

New Brighton is a community of 22,328 people. It is ideally located equidistant from the downtowns of Minneapolis and St. Paul, a 30 minute ride from the Twin Cities International Airport. It is located in Ramsey County at the intersection of interstates 35W and 694, providing easy access to cities, work places, and amenities in all directions. New Brighton is a fully developed City that prides itself on the quality of life it offers its citizens. It is served by the Mounds View School District 621 and the St. Anthony/New Brighton District 282. Community information is broadcast on New Brighton local Channel 16. Many local organizations and churches compliment the New Brighton community as well. From its award-winning schools, ample parks and lakes, to its beautiful homes, the City offers a safe and satisfying community that residents continue to give high marks.

Like its motto "the city that works for you", New Brighton is committed to its citizens, ensuring that their investment in the City will be protected and returned to them in financial and social dividends. The City strives to be the preferred place to live, work and do business.


New Brighton Links
City of New Brighton
St Anthony-New Brighton Schools