Editing Fridley, Minnesota (section)

===19th century===
Fridley's post-European/American settlement history began with the construction of the [[Red River Trails]] Woods trail for the [[Red River ox carts]] in 1844.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fridley Historical Society |date=December 2008 |title=Fridley, Minnesota Its History and People |location=United States of America  |publisher=Fridley Historical Society |page=<!-- or pages= -->}}</ref> The trail traveled through Minnesota Territory from [[Saint Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]] to [[Pembina, North Dakota|Pembina]] in present-day [[North Dakota]]. It was used to transport furs to the south and other supplies to [[Red River Valley]] [[settler]]s in the north. The East River Road (Anoka County Highway 1) follows this route today within Fridley, from the border with Minneapolis to the border with Coon Rapids. 
[[File:AbramMFridley1848.jpg|left|thumb|upright|[[Abram M. Fridley]], for whom the city is named.]]
{{seealso|Manomin County, Minnesota}}
In 1847, John Banfill became the first settler in the township area, which was known at the time as Manomin. Manomin is a variant spelling of ''manoomin'', the [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] word for [[wild rice]], a staple of their diet. It comprised the modern-day municipalities of Columbia Heights, Fridley, [[Hilltop, Minnesota|Hilltop]], and Spring Lake Park. The [[Banfill Tavern]] was built in 1847.

The area soon grew quickly in size. In 1851, Banfill platted the actual town of Manomin. There, a general store and sawmill were built next to Rice Creek, named after [[Henry Mower Rice]], a settler who two years earlier had acquired land in the area. In 1853, the first town post office was in operation, and a year later, a ferry crossing the Mississippi River was established.

In 1855, [[Abram M. Fridley]], for whom the city is named, was elected as the first territorial representative for the area.<ref name="MNH5">Minnesota History (Volume 5). United States: Minnesota Historical Society, 1923.</ref>

In 1857, the area separated from [[Ramsey County, Minnesota|Ramsey County]]; [[Manomin County, Minnesota|Manomin County]] was established, and it became the smallest county in the nation, with only 18 sections.<ref name="MNH5"/> This distinction was short-lived; it was annexed by Anoka County in 1870 and became a township with the same name.<ref name="MNH5"/>

The [[Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad]], which joined St. Paul to St. Anthony across from Minneapolis in 1862, began extending rail to Anoka, reaching it through Fridley in 1864.<ref>Frank G. O'Brien, Minnesota Pioneer Sketches (Minneapolis: H. H. S. Rowell, 1904), 287-288; ―‗Dud‘ Condit, Who Saw railroads Supplant Stage Coaches in Northwest, Declares Conductor‘s Job Was Happiest in World,‖Minneapolis Journal, February 13, 1921</ref><ref>City and State,‖ Minnesota State News (Minneapolis), July 26, 1862; ―First Time Table of the St. Paul and Pacific, Minnesota Historical Society Collections‖; Ralph W. Hidy, Muriel E. Hidy, Roy V. Scott, Don L. Hofsommer, The Great Northern Railway: A History (repr., Minneapolis, London: University of Minnesota Press, 2004), 12; ―A Railroad Excursion Without an Accident,‖ Saint Paul Pioneer, January 19, 1864. The First TimeTable of the St Paul and Pacific does not state the amount of fares charged.</ref><ref>RAPIDS, REINS, RAILS: TRANSPORTATION ON THE Prepared for MINNEAPOLIS RIVERFRONT Marjorie Pearson, Ph.D. Principal Investigator Penny A. Petersen Researcher Hess, Roise and Company. May 2009</ref>

In 1879, the [[Minnesota Legislature]], of which Abram Fridley was still a member, changed the township's name to bear his name.