St. Paul like every other city has neighborhoods. Being a St. Paul resident in my very core, albeit a new physical resident, I’m learning about the city like any other new resident. I’ve always known about the houses, but not always about the city itself!
Thomas-Dale is the official name for the St. Paul neighborhood most often dubbed as Frogtown. Bounded by 35E on the east, University Avenue on the south, Lexington on the west, and the Burlington Northern railroad tracks on the north, the area contains the four “mini-‘hoods” of East Midway (Lexington to Dale), Frogtown (Dale to Rice), Capitol Heights (Rice to Jackson) and Mt. Airy (Jackson to 35E).
My suburban friends frown at the name Frogtown so I checked out the name’s origin. There are 3 theories:
- The area was a marsh and Archbishop John Ireland (he has a road named after him) remarked the place was like a “frogtown” when he heard all the frogs croaking.
- The term frog is a derogatory name used by Germans to describe the French who settled the area. The Germans called the area Froschburg or “Frog City”.
- A frog is slang for the device used to help switch the train tracks. Since Frogtown first housed the railroad workers who used the “frogs” that may have spawned the name.
The neighborhood started as St. Paul expanded from river transportation to include the newly built railroad in the mid to late 1800's. Today the location remains a working class area where houses can be purchased at a working class price. Interestingly, the neighborhood has a variety of architectural styles which include many of historical significance. Victorian touches are seen combined with utilitarian size. Lots tend to be small and some even have 2 houses on them. The community has combined efforts to reverse an increase in neighborhood crime which has demonstrated some results. As it was from the beginning, Frogtown is an eclectic mix of nationalities many of which are immigrants looking for the American dream like those who first settled here in the 1800's.
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