On Saturday, September 27, 2008 Friends of the Mississippi River Gorge Stewards and the National Park Service will offer an interpretive tour of the Meeker Island Lock and Dam ruins by Dr. John O. Anfinson. John has written and spoken about the Meeker ruins, but during this walking tour participants will be able to see and touch the remains of the Mississippi River’s first lock and dam.

Starting on the bluff top on East River Road, near the border of Minneapolis and St. Paul, John will provide an overview of the lock and dam’s construction, discuss the site’s historical significance, and explain why the Corps partially destroyed the structures after only five years. The tour will head down the bluff (on iron stairs built about 1899) to the ruins of the lock and associated buildings. Participants will then return to the bluff top. John is a historian with the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service. John is the author of a history of the metro area Mississippi River entitled A River of History. As an independent scholar, his book, The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi River has been published by the University of Minnesota Press.

This tour will involve walking down some steep stairs that are slippery when it rains (but there is a handrail), dodging a few downed trees, and hiking back up the bluff by way of the newly finished Old Wagon Road Trail.

There is no fee for this program but space is limited and pre-registration required. Please sign up with sue rich through our contact form (please select "tours and hikes" and not "general inquiries") or 651-222-2193 x14. Please include your name, the number in your party, a daytime phone number, and which tour your would like to attend, 10:00 am-noon or 1:00-3:00 pm, or your first and second choice. sue is in Tuesdays through Thursdays and will send you a confirmation email with directions to the meeting location, plus an event update email a few days before the hike.