Have you ever wondered about the yellow house on the hill across Minnehaha and Hiawatha Avenues from Minnehaha Falls? It is Longfellow House, the former home of the man who once owned this property, R. F. “Fish” Jones. He was a Longfellow admirer, and the house is a 2/3 scale replica of Longfellow’s house in Massachusetts, built by Jones in another Minneapolis location and moved to this site in 1996.
A unique piece of history, Jones also collected a menagerie of animals at his farm on the site of the current Basilica of St. Mary. The neighbors started to complain about the smells and sounds of the animals so he sold that site to the archdiocese and bought a parcel of land near the popular Minnehaha Falls. This became the site of Longfellow Gardens from 1906 to 1934. Part zoo and part amusement park, it featured free roaming flamingos and seals along with assorted other attractions including caged lions, tigers and bears. The statue of Longfellow that stills stand on this site was a centerpiece of the gardens.
In its day it was quite the attraction. Much as zoos are today, Longfellow Gardens was a popular family destination. He even dug a well and had a pump installed to create a reservoir to hold water for regulating the falls display.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com