Fridley is a city in Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 27,449 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated in 1949 as a village and became a city in 1957. It is part of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area.

History

---

The post-European/American settlement history of Fridley begins with the construction of the Red River Ox Cart Trail in 1844, which traveled through Minnesota Territory from St. Paul (present day Minnesota) to Pembina (present day North Dakota), now East River Road (also Anoka County Highway 1). The road was used to transport furs to the south and other various supplies to the Red River Valley settlers in the north.

In 1847, John Banfill became the first settler in the area, which was known at the time as Manomin. Manomin is a variant spelling of manoomin, the Ojibwe word for wild rice, a staple of their diet. It comprised the modern-day municipalities of Columbia Heights, Fridley, Hilltop, and Spring Lake Park.

The area soon grew quickly in size. In 1851, Banfill plotted the actual town of Manomin. There, a general store and sawmill were built next to the Rice Creek, named after Henry Mower Rice, a settler who just two years earlier had acquired a lot of land in the area. In 1853, the town got its first post office, and a year later, a ferry crossing the Mississippi River was established.

In 1855, Abram Fridley, for whom the city is named, was elected as the first territorial representative for the area.

In 1857, the area separated from Ramsey County; Manomin County was established, and it became the smallest county in the United States, having only 18 sections. However, it was annexed by Anoka County in 1870 and became a township with the same name.

In 1879, the Minnesota State Legislature, of which Abram M. Fridley was still a member, changed the township's name to bear his last name.

In 1949, the village of Fridley was incorporated. The Fridley Free Press was also established. A lawsuit that challenged the incorporation of the village caused the funds to be frozen. Minnesota state law allowed cities to operate municipal liquor stores. The Fridley Liquor store proceeds were the primary funding for the daily city operations until the lawsuit was resolved in 1950.

In 1957, the village became a "home rule charter city".

On May 6, 1965, Fridley was hit by two F4 tornadoes. One out of every four homes in the city was destroyed or damaged. The second twister that hit was the deadliest storm in Twin Cities history (see Twin Cities Tornado Outbreak of 1965), which killed a total of 13 people.

In 1970, Fridley began purchasing land which would become the Springbrook Nature Center.

On July 18, 1986, a widely photographed tornado spent 16 minutes in Springbrook Nature Center, destroying thousands of century old trees and extensive areas of mature forest habitat. A KARE 11 television news helicopter passing through the area shot the first aerial video of a tornado.

Geography

---

According to the United States Census...