Most of the suburbs in the Minneapolis area are named after the landscape. We have a Richfield, a Golden Valley, and an Eden Prairie. Robbinsdale is named for a man. The little village founded on April 19, 1893, was named for Andrew B. Robbins. A civil war veteran, entrepreneur, state senator and former Mayor of Willmar, Minnesota. Robbins purchased 90 acres of beautiful land for development in the late 1880’s. The areas lakes were already popular with duck hunters and the village quickly became the first suburb of Minneapolis.
Here’s an excerpt from “History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest” published in 1923
Andrew Bonney Robbins, becoming chief accountant, ticket agent and telegraph
operator, all in one, at St. Anthony in the days of the pioneer development of
Minneapolis, was thereafter for many years closely associated with the growth
and development of the city, in which ultimately he came to prominence as a
most successful grain merchant. This, however, constituted but one phase of his
activities and his labors were a forceful element in beautifying and improving
the city along civic lines and in upholding the legal and moral status of the
state. There are many who pay tribute to his splendid character and his kindly,
helpful service toward his fellowmen.
His life story is as follows and may well constitute an example for others: He
was born in Phillips, Maine, April 27, 1845, his parents being Daniel and Mary
(Shaw) Robbins, the latter a granddaughter of Captain Abraham Shaw, who was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war and a descendant of John Howland, one of the
Pilgrims who came to the new world on the Mayflower. Mrs. Robbins was a lady of
beautiful character and innate refinement. The father was a representative
business man of Phillips, Maine, possessing a considerable estate and making his
home in New England until 1855, when he brought his family to what was then the
far west, settling at Anoka, in the territory of Minnesota.