 |
Historical Mural
Introduction
Click the links below to view descriptions of items appearing on the historical mural.
The Coon Rapids Historical Mural was painted by Helen
Potter, employed as a community artist by the City of Coon Rapids during
1977-78. The early photographs used on this historic mural were
reproduced by DeFoe Studios. Information for the mural was obtained from the Anoka
County Historical Society, the Minnesota State Historical Society, and
the Anoka, Blaine, and Coon Rapids newspapers. A debt of gratitude for additional first-hand
information is owed to Mary Hauwiller, Charley Barney, and Mary
Dweller, as well as members of the Coon Rapids Historical
Commission of 1977-78 for research-gathering and fact-finding
efforts. They were: Roland Anderson, Owen Hyland (Chair), Nancy
Lee, George and Alice Otis, Adelaide Robinson, David Rolph, James
Whitehead, and Lorayne Zawistowski. Other memorabilia were received from
past and present citizens of
Coon Rapids. The starting date of the mural is 1857. It was
in July 1857 that the area generally known today as Coon Rapids was organized as Anoka Township.
Minor
alterations of the boundary have been made since that time, notably
the extraction of the area for the City of Anoka. Anoka Township
became known as the Village of Coon Rapids in October of 1952 and the
City of Coon Rapids in June of 1959. A 50 percent matching grant from the Minnesota State Historical Society funded the mural, while the remaining share came from the City of Coon Rapids by way of supplies and of time spent by the artist Helen Potter and the members of the Coon Rapids Historical Commission.
|
