Little Falls

Little Falls is a picturesque small city along the boundary where the forest and the prairie meet. Go west twenty miles west and you’ll be in farm country, but if you go twenty miles north, you’ll be in the pine forest. The folks are friendly and laid back, and there’s enough around here to keep a visitor happy for a couple of days.

Direct your questions to the Little Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau (320.616.4961).

The Mississippi River passes over a small series of waterfalls here that the Ojibwe called Kakabikans (the little squarely cut off rock, or little fall). A dam now obscures the falls, but there are still plenty of cut-off rocks strewn about.

Just north of town where the Little Elk River meets the Mississippi was an important crossroads for generations; it was the site of  an Ojibwe village (and the residence the renown Chief Hole-in-the-Day or Pugona-geshig, who is buried on a nearby bluff) and also a fur trading post.

European settlement of the area began in 1848 when James Green staked out a squatter’s claim on the east bank of the Mississippi River, at a site that is within the current city limits. He built a sawmill that was powered by water from the river, but didn’t have a chance to do much more; cholera took his life in 1850.

Much of the town’s initial growth was fueled by the Little Falls Manufacturing Company. They built a dam and sawmill in the late 1850s, but the dam failed in 1859, was repaired, then was destroyed the next year by a flooding Mississippi. The town languished for the next decade.

A new dam was completed in 1888 for a hydroelectric power plant. The completion of the plant triggered a bit of a boom with the construction of several new businesses, including two flour mills, a sash factory, a paper pulp mill, and an iron foundry.

Sawmills were the biggest business in the early years, however, and the Pine Tree Lumber Company was one of the busiest. It was founded by Frederick Weyerhaeuser and Peter Musser in 1891, who turned over management to their sons, Charles Weyerhaeuser and Drew Musser. The two families also lived in neighboring houses on the Mississippi River in Little Falls.

The best known native is a guy named Charles Lindbergh. He was born in Detroit but spent most of his childhood in the family home next to the Mississippi River in Little Falls. Lindbergh wasn’t a fan of going to school, at least until he enrolled in flight school. He built his piloting credentials first as a barnstormer, then by flying mail around the country. He became the first person to fly solo from New York to Paris on May 21, 1927 and quickly became one of the most famous people in the world. Lindbergh was not comfortable being in the public eye, though, a feeling that only intensified after suffering a terrible tragedy when his 20-month old son was kidnapped and murdered in 1932. The case was so sensationalized that Lindbergh and family moved to Europe for a while after Bruno Hauptmann was convicted of the crime. After returning to the US, Lindbergh spoke out against US intervention in Europe as Germany was blitzkrieging its way across the continent—something he was heavily criticized for—but he switched his views after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He continued to reinvent himself, becoming a respected writer and a passionate conservationist.

Little Falls is also the hometown of accomplished author Louise Erdrich, whose titles include Love Medicine and The Bingo Palace. In 2021, she won a Pulitzer Prize for The Night Watchman.

The Charles A. Lindbergh House and Visitor Center (1620 S. Lindbergh Dr.; 320.616.5421) offers guided tours of the Lindbergh family home with stories about their lives. The center is typically open Fridays and Saturdays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, as well as a few days in late November.

The Morrison County Historical Society runs the Charles A. Weyerhaeuser Memorial Museum (215 S. Lindbergh Dr.; 320.632.4007), which has some interesting exhibits in multiple rooms on the county’s history.

If there’s a fishing enthusiast in your family, you’ll want to visit the Minnesota Fishing Museum (304 W. Broadway; 320.616.2011) and check out the displays on spearing, decoys, replicas of record fish caught in the state, and old motors like the 1902 6v submersible from the Electric Motor Company.

Sacred Heart Chapel at St. Francis Convent (116 8th Ave. SE; 320.632.2981) is a gorgeous Romanesque-inspired space that is open to the public.

The Great River Arts Association (122 1st St. SE; 320.632.0960) has three galleries featuring the work of local and regional artists.

If you’re a fan of large-scale works of art, you’re in luck in Little Falls. Artist Frank Gosiak painted three murals around town that depict scenes from Little Falls history: two are on the exterior of the Hennepin Paper Company (W. Broadway at 1st St. NW), while a third is on a building at E. Broadway and 2nd Street. In addition, Charles Kapsner painted two frescoes at Lindbergh Elementary School (102 9th St. SE). The Stewardship, which depicts the life of Charles Lindbergh, is visible from the street, but you’ll need to contact the school to arrange a tour of Beginnings, which is about the history of the region.
On the west side of town, 57 aces of virgin red and white pine have been preserved at Pine Grove Park (Highway 27). The tract was donated to the city by local lumber barons. Walk around to get a sense of what the old pine forests of Minnesota were like.

Pine Grove Zoo (1200 Broadway W; 320.616.5595), next to Pine Grove Park, is a walkable and pleasant place to show your kids a nice range of animals.

South of town, Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (19502 Iris Rd.; 320.632.1575) is a large wetland preserve with good birding and a nice place for a hike. Besides the birds that pass through when migrating, the area has several nesting pairs of sandhill cranes.

Little Falls has a number of city parks along the Mississippi River:

• LeBourget Park (Larson Memorial Dr.)
• Maple Island Park (Kidder St. SE at 3rd Ave. SE)
• Green Park (1st St NE at 8th Ave NE), which is a pleasant place to stroll along the river and chat with folks, especially in the evening.
• Mill Park (Lindbergh Drive), which incorporates the ruins of the former Hennepin Paper Mill as public art.

Little Falls hosts a farmers market on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from April through October at the parking lot of the Boys and Girls Club (505 W. Broadway) and Thursday evenings at Coburn’s Superstore (1101 2nd Ave. NE).

In winter, the market at Sprout (609 13th Ave. NE) sells locally grown and produced food, as well as art from the region.

The Little Falls Arts and Crafts Fair (320.632.5155) in September attracts thousands of visitors to the city’s downtown streets; if you go, it’s probably best to park at the fairgrounds (15575 Hawthorn Rd.) and take a shuttle to the fair.

The Morrison County Fair assembles in early August in Little Falls (15575 Hawthorn Rd.; 320.632.1040), with grandstand events like motocross and a demolition derby, plus animal-judging contests and ice cream treats.

Wet your whistle with a craft beer at Starry Eyed Brewing Company (16757 11th St. NE; 320.232.0382) and enjoy it out on the spacious grounds when the weather’s nice.

Three generations have run Thielen Meats (300 13th St. NE; 320.632.2821), where you can get a variety of fresh meat products, like house-made sausages, and cook them next to the Mississippi River.

Stop at Little Falls Bakery and Deli (121 E. Broadway; 320.632.6388) for fresh pastries and bread or for a light lunch.

A.T. The Black and White (116 1st St. SE; 320.632.5374) offers affordable gourmet food (burgers to salmon with Cajun shrimp) with a casual feel in a downtown building that has housed a restaurant since 1931.

Charles Lindbergh State Park (1615 S. Lindbergh Dr.; 320.616.2525) has about 40 campsites in a heavily wooded area that was once part of the Lindbergh family estate.

The Clifwood Motel (1201 Haven Rd.; 320.632.5488) rents 18 clean budget rooms in decent shape.

If you are traveling with a group, you may be able to arrange lodging at the Linden Hill Historic Mansions; give them a call to inquire (320.616.5580).

Jefferson Lines offers long-distance bus service; they stop in Little Falls at McDonald’s (104 Lemieur St.). Your best bet is to purchase tickets online (they are not refundable); you’ll need to print a boarding pass and be prepared to show an ID when you board. You can also buy a ticket on the phone (800.451.5333). If all else fails, you can show up without a ticket, and the driver may let you ride to the next station that sells tickets where you can buy one.

Heading downriver?

• On the east bank check out Royalton
• On the west bank check out North Prairie

Heading upriver? Check out Belle Prairie

©Dean Klinkenberg, 2012,2015