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The Cherokee Park area was not originally part of St. Paul and initially was sparsely settled. The area began to be developed and to be considered part of St. Paul in the 1860's. In 1874, St. Paul made plans to annex that part of Dakota County lying immediately opposite the city on the west shore of the Mississippi. The area lay outside the jurisdiction of St. Paul police, so that criminals often evaded apprehension simply by crossing the Wabasha Street Bridge. By annexing the land, the city hoped to bring law and order to the wild west side of the Mississippi. In 1874, voters in both Ramsey and Dakota counties overwhelmingly approved the proposition to transfer Old West St. Paul to Ramsey County. The city began constructing a flood wall along the river front in the 1880's. Industrial growth was further encouraged by the Minnesota and Northwestern Railroad, which built a bridge over the Mississippi in 1886 to introduce rail service to the area. Upper middle class houses were built on the bluff ridge. More modest "mechanics" homes were located inland. Cherokee Park and Lookout Park were acquired by the city in 1903-1906.
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