Location
Minnehaha is in Hennepin County The common Dakota word for waterfall is haha, which they applied to the Falls of St. Anthony, to Minnehaha, and in general to any waterfall or cascade. To join the words minne, "water," and haha, "a fall," seems to be a suggestion of white men, which thereafter came into use among the Indians.Soon this Dakota name took its present form, an improvement devised by white people, probably first published in Mary Eastman's book in 1849, previously quoted. It was more elaborately presented by Rev. John A. Merrick in a paper describing the Falls of St. Anthony, contributed to the Minnesota Year Book for 1852, published by William G. Le Duc. Merrick wrote: "By the Dahcota or Sioux Indians they are called Minne-ha-hah or Minne-ra-ra (Laughing water), and also Minne-owah (Falling water), general expressions, applied to all waterfalls; but par eminence Minne-ha-hah Tonk-ah (the great laughing water). By the Ojibwe they are termed Kakah-Bikah (the broken rocks). From: Upham, Warren. Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, First edition 1920. Third Edition 2001. Print.
