Editing Anoka, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Colonists first settled the site that is now Anoka in 1844. By the mid-1850s, Anoka had a school, a store and a flour mill. In 1856, [[Christopher Columbus Andrews|C. C. Andrews]] called it a "large and handsome village" and noted that pine logs were floated down the [[Rum River]] to [[sawmill]]s there.<ref>{{cite book|title=Minnesota and Dacotah | first=C. C. | last=Andrews | author-link=Christopher Columbus Andrews | year=1857 | url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4981}}</ref> The city was formally incorporated in 1878. The name ''Anoka'' was possibly derived from two Indian words. [[Santee Sioux|Santee Dakota]] used ''anoka'', meaning "on both sides" or "from both sides", referring to its location on both banks of the Rum River. [[Ojibwe]] used {{lang|oj|anoki}}, meaning "I work", referring to the town's busy local lumber sites.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.anokaminnesota.com/352/History |title=History |last= |first= |date= |website=Anoka, Minnesota |publisher= |access-date=March 8, 2023 |quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Upham |first=Warren |author-link=Warren Upham |date=2001 |title=Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia |publisher=[[Minnesota Historical Society]] |isbn=0-87351-396-7 |edition=3rd|pages=23}}</ref>

[[File:Aaron Greenwald Historical Marker.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Aaron Greenwald Historical Marker]]
Anoka has a strong claim to having provided the first [[Union Army]] volunteers during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], as noted by a small plaque at the corner of West Main Street and Park Street. [[Alexander Ramsey]], [[Governor of Minnesota|Minnesota's governor]] in 1861, was in [[Washington, D.C.]] when [[Fort Sumter]] was fired upon. He immediately offered a regiment to the [[United States Department of War|War Department]], and telegraphed former governor [[Willis Arnold Gorman|Willis Gorman]] and Lieutenant Governor [[Ignatius L. Donnelly]] that morning. Gorman, attending a district court session in Anoka, received the note by messenger from [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] and called a court recess, asking for volunteers. Aaron Greenwald, who has an "island" named after him on [[Lake George (Anoka County)|Lake George]], and five others stepped forward; Greenwald was the first to sign. He died on July 5, 1863, after sustaining a mortal wound as a member of the [[1st Minnesota Infantry|1st Minnesota Regiment]] in defense against [[Pickett's Charge]] at the [[Battle of Gettysburg]].{{citation needed|date=September 2020}}