On This Date In Twin Cities History - November 20, 1908

On this date in 1908, George W. Wentworth, one of the original organizers of the city of South St. Paul and one of its first aldermen, dies. Wentworth, who emigrated from England in the 1860s, was a horse trader at the South St. Paul livestock market.

Between 1887 and 1889 a dispute arose between the citizens of South St. Paul living near the stockyards along the Mississippi River, and the farmers on the western border of town. The western side eventually split and formed their own municipality in 1889, the City of West St. Paul. Wentworth then became an alderman on the new city council and would go on to donate property for West St. Paul’s first school.

In 1887, Wentworth built a large Queen Anne style mansion in West St. Paul at 1575 Oakdale Avenue for $12,000. The home was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 1979.