Location
Anoka
MN
55303
United States
45° 18' 14.4828" N, 93° 26' 30.3" W
See map: Google Maps
Map Group:
Body:
Anoka is in Anoka County The name of this county, established May 23, 1857, was taken from the town of Anoka, which was first settled in 1851-52 and was named in 1853. It is a Dakota word meaning, as Prof. A. W. Williamson wrote, "on both sides; applied by founders to the city laid out on both sides of Rum River, and since applied to the county," of which this city is the county seat. Rev. Moses N. Adams, who came as a missionary to the Dakota in 1848 and learned their language, stated that as a Dakota word, Anoka means "the other side, or both sides." From: Upham, Warren. Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, First edition 1920. Third Edition 2001. Print.
