Becoming the Twin Cities: Swindles, Schemes, and Enduring Rivalries

by Drew M. Ross

Whether
motivated by visionary ideals or commercial gain or political ambition, many
have tried to unite Minneapolis and St. Paul into one city, and all have
failed. This book explains why.



Why haven’t Minneapolis and St.
Paul merged into one city? In Becoming the Twin Cities, award-winning
writer Drew M. Ross uncovers the nineteenth-century history of scheming and
self-dealing, social rivalries and political grudges, and utopian idealism and
personal ambition that explains how the Twin Cities became the separate cities
with different governments and distinct personalities that we know today.



Beginning with the
story of Fort Snelling’s founding and Joseph Plympton’s expansion of a reserve
around it, Ross follows up with the land-grabbing and money-making schemes of
Henry Rice and Franklin Steele, explores the rivalries between local
Republicans and Democrats (and their partisan newspapers), and details the
battles over the locations and significance of the capitol, the state fair, and
the Midway neighborhood. Figures like Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and tavern keeper
Stephen Desnoyer, visionary architect Horace W. S. Cleveland, religious leader
(and land speculator) Archbishop John Ireland, and the pugnacious publisher
Bill King—all had a hand in the push-pull tension that has fundamentally shaped
the Twin Cities to this day.



Unlike Fort
Snelling’s river confluence location from which the cities were born or the St.
Anthony Falls that powered their growth, the Twin Cities do not align to a
natural or inevitable division on the map. Instead, people made the border
between Minneapolis and St. Paul, attempted to erase it, and ultimately
underscored it. Becoming the Twin Cities examines the historical
underpinnings of a beloved American metropolitan region’s unique identity. 

Genres: History

280 pages, Paperback

Published November 11, 2025

Reviews

[Greg Giles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can a book be both "fascinating " and "dry"? The answer here is yes.

The insights that Ross brings to the convoluted history of Minneapolis and St. Paul are fascinating and do a great job of rendering the inscrutable obvious. And yet, there are times when the narrative lags and the list of names piles up.

My biggest regret with this book is the maps. First, the ones that are reproduced are dark and low-quality. Second, there is rarely a satisfactory connection with the present day. I often found myself with a magnifying glass in one hand and my laptop in the other, trying to connect the grainy map in the book with a modern day landscape.

All in all, I applaud Mr. Ross for this wonderful addition to the literature of these great Twin Cities.

[Paul Chestovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and fun read. A little heavy I thought on Saint Paul, which is fine because I live there! This book had me looking online and digging through old maps. Well done overall. A little better organization might have helped; and I thought the ending a bit abrupt. Nonetheless, this was a book I looked forward to picking up each morning.

[Dan Wolter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is really insightful history that helps answer one of the bigger questions for many people: why do we have two large metropolitan areas that border each other and not one city instead. Most of the meat of the book happens before 1900, so be prepared for older history. But well worth the read. Lots of colorful characters and stories!

[Timothy Eiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn’t think I’d like it, but there was a TON of fascinating info in it!