History 21 The Podcast - 3.12 MinneCulture's "The Tiny City that Almost Wasn’t"
At just 16 square blocks, Hilltop stands as the smallest city in Anoka County while also completely surrounded by Columbia Heights. Matthew Schneeman took an audio journey to this special space to tell the story of its creation. This episode includes a rebroadcast of KFAI’s MinneCulture episode, “The Tiny City That Almost Wasn’t.”
Host Sara Given, ACHS Volunteer Coordinator, and Rebecca Desens, ACHS Executive Director.
MinneCulture
from KFAI 90.3 FM
MinneCulture is an award-winning audio documentary program that explores the people, culture, and art that inspires and shapes Minnesota every day. MinneCulture is a project of KFAI 90.3 FM, a volunteer-based community radio station operating out of Minneapolis, MN. Support for MinneCulture on KFAI has been provided by the Minnesota Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund. For more stories like this, visit www.kfai.org/minneculture.
Hilltop
1857: Land organized as part of Manomin County
1870: Land became part of Anoka County and organized as Fridley Township
May 1, 1956: Voted to incorporate as a village
1974: Received city status
The city comprises 16 square blocks – or approximately 80 acres. The Mall of America is larger at 94 acres.
Barely a few weeks after Hilltop incorporated, Columbia Heights annexed land directly north of the new city. Hilltop had perfect timing – because by law no piece of land completely surrounded by another city can incorporate as its own city. Just a few weeks later and Hilltop legally wouldn’t have been able to exist.
The Hilltop police force was established shortly after incorporation in 1956 and at its height consisted of five part-time officers and a full-time chief who all shared a single squad car. The force disbanded shortly after their police car was totaled in a car accident on 45th and Central Ave while attempting to make a traffic stop.
Anoka County Library Minute
Further Reading:
As a writer for the Washington Post, the author of this book once made a negative comment about a small town in Minnesota in one particular article, a choice that would have interesting consequences. Residents from the town wrote to him to get him to visit so he might reconsider his opinion. Not only did he visit, but he would also eventually relocate there, in part for the charm he found in small town life.
A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis (YA FICTION MCG)
Two girls from opposite socioeconomic backgrounds come together to get one last history credit before graduating. They take on a local history podcast and endeavor to uncover the truth behind a very bad week in the small town’s history, in which a tornado, flood, and missing person’s case all coincided. This book is small town secrets meeting true crime podcasts.
Small Town Pride by Phil Stamper (J FICTION STA)
In this middle grade book, a young boy comes out to his family and when his father displays a Pride flag in their yard, they begin to receive uncomfortable reactions from the neighbors in their small town. In response, the boy decides to throw the town’s first Pride festival, but is met with many obstacles. A heartwarming book about finding yourself and a community of acceptance.
You May Already Be a Winner by Ann Dee Ellis (J FICTION ELL)
Olivia is a dutiful 12-year-old who takes care of everyone around her. Her newly single mother can’t afford child care, and is too busy working to make ends meet. Meanwhile, the trailer park community they live in is preparing to launch a first-ever community circus. Themes of hope and community and resiliency ring through this book.
Starring Renee Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr., this movie is set in a small town in Minnesota. The main character, played by Zellweger, is relocated by her company from the big city to a small town. All the usual humorous antics are at play here with the big city to small town trope, including the character falling for a local hunk despite her fervent intentions not to.
Hot Dish Heaven: a murder mystery with recipes by Jeanne Cooney (MYSTERY COO)
Set in a small, rural Minnesota town, this book takes readers through a host of quirky small town characters as the main one tries to solve a cold case murder. Journalist, Emerald Malloy is assigned to go the town to collect church-food recipes from the local café. But the cold case murder she learns about is her ticket to becoming a “big time” reporter. A cozy mystery served with a side of tasty recipes.
Our Towns: a 100,000-mile journey into the heart of America by James M. Fallows (306.0973)
Over the course of five years, James and Deborah Fallows travel to a plethora of small towns all over the country via their single-engine airplane. They meet the local leaders and entrepreneurs, visit the town’s central hubs like coffee shops and libraries, and observe the problems as well as the town’s accompanying resilience. Their accounts paint a complex and vibrant picture of small-town America.
As a folk singer who spent much of her tenure touring small town venues, Dar Williams has a familiarity not only with the problems but also with the resilience of small towns. In this book, she teams up with urban theorists to examine the reasons towns either succeed or fail, and offers practical solutions for rebuilding and revitalizing.