The Origin of Street Names in West St. Paul

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Officially founded in 1889, West St. Paul’s roots go back even further

The street names in West St. Paul reflect a history of early city founders, farmers, and financiers who helped build the city we know today. Some of those names have changed multiple times and reflect a portion of the city’s history.

We’ll explore the known origins of some of West St. Paul’s street names. For many names, it helps to understand the geography and history of West St. Paul, including the relationship to the West Side and multiple versions of the city.

West St. Paul Street Names

• Allen: Named for Captain Alvarez Allen, a businessman and property owner who settled in West St. Paul Township in the 1850s. The block north of Annapolis was listed as Dakota Avenue on an 1896 map and Wabasha on a 1916 map.
• Annapolis: Originally known as Cottage Street, it was named in honor of Maryland’s capital city.
• Arion: An 1896 map shows Arion east of Oakdale as Beaumont Avenue, while a 1916 map shows it as Herbert Street (including a block west of Oakdale).
• Bellows: Named by the St. Paul City Council in 1876 after the West Side was annexed. Likely a surname. An 1896 map shows this as Bidwell Street. By 1916 it’s listed as Bellows.
• Bernard: Originally known as Jackson Street (perhaps because land along it was known as Jackson & Biduell’s Addition), it was renamed for early city founder Bernard Wurst. At the time it was renamed, anti-German sentiment was rising with the approach of World War I, so the Council chose to use his first name rather than his last name.
• Bidwell: Ira Bidwell was a West Side investor when the street was named in 1855. His son, Henry, had a farm and Bidwell Street marks the western border of the original farm. Harry served as the chairman of the board of supervisors when the city was a township. An 1896 map shows this street as Myrtle Avenue, with Bidwell Avenue a block west (now know as Bellows).
• Charlton: Originally known as Sunfish Lake Road, it was named for Charlton, Massachusetts, the birthplace of West Side real estate investor Dwight Woodbury.
• Crowley: West St. Paul’s first mayor, Philip Crowley, led a movement to break away from South St. Paul and create West St. Paul. He’s also responsible for the creation of Forty Acres. Crowley Circle was named after Crowley in 2014 because no street had yet been named for the city’s first mayor.
• Curtice: Named for David L. Curtice, who worked with city engineer James Case in 1858 when the street was named.
• Deppe: Originally known as Orange Street, it was renamed for Hartwig Deppe, an early city founder who served as mayor and on City Council.
• DeWerff: Named for farmer John G. DeWerff, who bought property in 1914 and ran a truck farming business until he died in a car accident in 1927.
• Dodd: Originally known as the Jefferson Highway, it was named for William B. Dodd in 1876. Dodd was a civil engineer who platted the city of St. Peter. He laid out the 65-mile road between St. Paul and St. Peter hoping to help the latter city grow.
• Emerson: Named for the educator, banker, Council member, and businessman Carroll C. Emerson who came to West St. Paul in 1890.
• Galvin: Originally known as Whitall Avenue through at least 1916, it was then renamed for a former West St. Paul mayor—either John F. Galvin or James J. Galvin, it’s not clear which one.
• Gorman: Named for Willis Gorman, the second territorial governor of Minnesota.
• Hall: Named for Amos W. Hall who developed this West Side street in 1855.
• Harmon: Just like the park, it’s named for the real estate developer and philanthropist William E. Harmon who donated money to establish more than 100 playgrounds in 24 states.
• Haskell: Named for Joseph Haskell, an early settler near Afton, Minnesota. Originally, the section of Haskell east of Robert Street was known as Lewis Street.
• Humboldt: Originally known as Goff Street, it was renamed for Humboldt High School in 1916. The school is named in honor of the German geographer Alexander Von Humboldt.
• Hurley: The Hurley family was one of the first white families to settle in West St. Paul. Members of their family would serve as mayor, Council members, and builders responsible for many homes and Signal Hills. The family home still stands at 1010 Oakdale. Sections of Hurley Street west of Robert were originally known as Hill Street and east of Robert were known as Brompton Street.
• Kopp: Another early farm family, John and Crescentia Kopp had a farm at the northwest corner of Wentworth and Charlton. Their son John Jr. farmed the land until his death in 1955 when it was sold to St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church.
• Kruse: Originally known as Fairmount Avenue, it was renamed for yet another early family, Conrad Kruse Sr. and his wife Theresa who came to West St. Paul in 1883. Conrad Kruse Jr. was an accomplished trumpeter. Henry Kruse was a builder and contractor and build many homes in the Bernard and Kruse Street neighborhood.
• Livingston: Presumably named for West Side investor John Livingston Stryker.
• Lothenbach: Balthazar and Frances Lothenbach came to West St. Paul in 1889 from Switzerland. They ran a dairy farm on land that is today Marthaler Park and city hall.
• MacArthur: Originally known as Hope Avenue, it was renamed in honor of World War II’s General Douglas MacArthur.
• Marthaler: Jacob J. and Regina Marthaler came to West St. Paul in 1852. They built a small log cabin near Oakdale and Marie. Jacob was part of the effort to break away from South St. Paul and form West St. Paul. Local government service became a family tradition over three generations, with Jacob’s grandson Jacob H. Marthaler becoming the longest-serving Council member in West St. Paul history.
• Mendota: Presumably named for the first city in Minnesota, but there’s no confirmation.
• Minea: Casper and Barbara Orth Minea came to West St. Paul with their nine children in 1856. Casper bought 80 acres on the southwest and southeast corners of Charlton and Wentworth. In addition to farming, his sons established a number of businesses.
• Oakdale: No story on this one, just a common name first applied in 1874. South of Butler it was previously known as German Road because everyone who lived in that area was of German descent.
• Ohio: Formerly known as Randall Street, the name was changed to the U.S. state in 1880.
• Orme: Named after a St. Paul educator.
• Robert: Known as Eaton Avenue until the 1880s, Robert Street is named for Captain Louis Robert, a French voyageur and riverboat captain. It’s likely Robert used the French pronunciation: “row-bear.”
• Roeller: Named for an early farm or business family (no specific details, though Al Roeller served as police chief in the 1960s and Walter Roeller died serving in World War II). An 1896 map shows Roeller Avenue as St. Julien Street and a 1916 map lists it as Clinton Street.
• Schletty: Named for farmer John Schletty who ran a 40-acre dairy farm starting in 1914 on Oakdale between Wentworth and Thompson.
• Smith: With the construction of the High Bridge in 1887, St. Paul swapped the names of Forbes and Smith streets, naming the street extending over the High Bridge and into the West Side as Smith Avenue for Robert Armstrong Smith, a longtime mayor of St. Paul and real estate developer on the West Side. An 1896 map of West St. Paul shows it as Mohawk Street, so it was likely sometime after the construction of the High Bridge that the road in West St. Paul became Smith Avenue.
• Sperl: Joseph and Margaret Sperl came to West St. Paul in 1884. Their son, John B. Sperl, and grandson, John V. Sperl, would both serve as West St. Paul mayors.
• Stanley: Originally, sections of this street were known as Otto Street and Dean Avenue.
• Stassen: Named for the early farm family, headed by William A. Stassen and Elsbeth Mueller Stassen. William served as mayor of West St. Paul three times and his son, Harold Stassen, served three terms as governor of Minnesota.
• Stryker: Named for early real estate developer John L. Stryker.
• Thompson: William Thompson came to West St. Paul around 1851. He was involved in early township activities. Thompson Lake (and thus Thompson Park) and Thompson Avenue are named after this family.
• Wallner: Named for the Wallner family who ran the West St. Paul Booster newspaper from 1915 to 1949.
• Wentworth: George and Mary Wentworth moved to West St. Paul in 1873. George served on the first South St. Paul City Council and was part of the group that broke away to form the current West St. Paul. The Wentworth House is the only building in West St. Paul on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Winona: Originally Julia Street, it was changed to the Dakota word for “firstborn daughter” in 1883. 1896 and 1916 maps show the block east of Dodd as Lucy Street.
• Winslow: Named for James M. Winslow, a businessman who brought the first telegraph service to St. Paul in the 1860s and developed this street.
• Others:
  • Native tribes: A series of streets were named after Native American tribes in 1855, including Delaware, Cherokee, Ottawa, and Seminole. Manomin, the Ojibewe word for wild rice, is included in this list.
  • Developers: Some newer streets reflect the name of the developer: Langer (Louis), Mainzer, Runge (Howard), and Kraft (Tony). Teresa, Vivian, and Richard are named after the developer’s children.
  • Women: A number of streets were named by developers, supposedly after their “favorite females” (presumably family members): Amelia, Audrey, Betty, Carol, Carrie, Christine, Darla, Edith, Kathleen, Mina, Muriel, and Ruby.
  • Thompson Square: The new Thompson Square and Thompson Square East streets were named by the developer, who seemed to pick names beginning with ‘T’: Timberwood, Tompkins, Torres, Traverse, Trenton, and Trellis.
  • More: A series of roads were named for a geographical connotation or personal commitment to a friend or relative, though the specific origins are lost to time, including: Arion, Butler, Calumet, Carmel, Chardel, Christensen, Crestway, Crusader, Cullen, Curtis, Duck Pond, Edgewood, Faber, Felix, Garfield, Hedge, Holiday, Imperial, Logan, Marie, Merrill, Moreland, Myrman, Oakview, Rehnberg, Rice, Schley, Scott, Southwind, Stanley, Waterloo, Westchester, Westview, and White Oak.
  • Missing: And yes, we are missing a bunch of streets. If your street isn’t included that’s because we couldn’t find any information on the origin of the name.

Here are portions of some maps from the Dakota County Historical Society that give a glimpse at some of the early street names in West St. Paul:

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