Jun 17, 2025 - News

On this day: Minnesota's 1890 census kerfuffle

Nick Halter

Side by side photos showing St. Paul and Minneapolis in the 1890s — Minneapolis in 1898 St. Paul in 1895. Photos: Minnesota Historical Society/Corbis via Getty Images and The Print Collector/Getty Images

If you think the rivalry between St. Paul and Minneapolis is petty now, get a load of what happened on this day back in 1890.

Flashback: Seven Minneapolis census takers were arrested by the U.S. Marshal from St. Paul, under accusations that they were cooking the books in order to lay claim to the title of "most populous city in Minnesota," according to the Minnesota Historical Society.

Minneapolis officials then went to St. Paul with a warrant to recover six bags of evidence. St. Paul police officers drew their guns and showed them the door, according to the Star Tribune.

What they found: After a federal investigation that expunged thousands of phony names in both cities, the final tally that August came in with Minneapolis at 164,581 and St. Paul 133,156.

State of play: Minneapolis has pulled even further ahead. The 2024 Metropolitan Council population estimates, released last week, have Minneapolis at 435,233 and St. Small at 313,375.

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On this day: Minnesota's 1890 census kerfuffle

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