Fifty Years In The Northwest by William H. C. Folsom

northwest. Its early history is identified with the history of River Falls city, its first settlement. It was organized in 1854, as Greenwood, but in 1858 the name was changed to River Falls. As River Falls city was not incorporated until 1885, we shall give its early history in connection with that of the town. The first settler was Joel Foster, in the fall of 1848. In 1849, came D. McGregor, James and Walter Mapes; in 1850, Messrs. Hayes, Tozer, Penn and Parks, and not long after the Powells and Clark Green. These early settlers chose locations at, or near, the present site of River Falls city, and along the banks of the Kinnikinic, which here, owing to its numerous waterfalls, offered unusual facilities for milling and manufacturing. The first crop was raised by Joel Foster, in 1849. The first saw mill was built in 1851 by the brothers N. N. and O. S. Powell, just below the site of the present Greenwood mill. This was burned in 1876. In 1854 the Powell brothers platted the village of River Falls, called at first, Kinnikinic, setting apart for that purpose two hundred acres of land. This plat included the upper waterfalls within the present city limits. The largest water power they donated to C. B. Cox as a mill site, to encourage settlement in the village. The brothers co-operated in building up the village, amongst other things building a frame store and stocking it with goods. This was the first store in the Kinnikinic valley. They dealt also in real estate and lumber. The name of River Falls, as applied to the village, dates from the establishment of the first post office, in