Settlement in the area began in 1805 when the US Army bought a nine-square-mile tract of land at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota River from the native Sioux.
 Sited on the bluff overlooking the rivers, Fort Snelling was built under the command of Colonel Josiah Snelling between 1820 and 1824.
In 1821 Snelling's son, William Joseph Snelling came to the fort after leaving West Point and spending a year with friendly Sioux.
 According to a Minnesota history account written in 1858, "The year after he came to the fort young Snelling set out in company with Joseph R. Brown, a frontiersman and local celebrity, to explore the rivulet that supplies the cascade of Minne Ha-Ha, as far as Lake Minne Tonka."
 Both "men" were 17-year-old boys at the time.

Some very early records refer to the falls as "Brown's Falls" which lead some historians to assume they were named after prominent pioneer Joseph R. Brown.
 Park Ranger Kathy Swenson, writing for the National Park Service in 2009 states: "The overwhelming evidence points to Brown's Falls (and creek) being named for Jacob Brown, major general and commander in chief of the army from 1814 – 1828 rather than for Joseph R. Brown, teenage musician at Fort Snelling and later army sergeant (1820–1828), fur trader, politician, editor, and inventor.
However, I have not yet found a document that officially or specifically mentions Jacob Brown as the namesake."
 Swenson explains "'Browns Fall/Creek' seems to be most associated with military maps and personnel while
'Little Falls/Creek' seems to be favored by those without a strong military connection although there are exceptions."
 The current name is Dakota for waterfall (Mníȟaȟa, "curling water").
Settlement in the area began in 1805 when the US Army bought a nine-square-mile tract of land at the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota River from the native Sioux.  Sited on the bluff overlooking the rivers, Fort Snelling was built under the command of Colonel Josiah Snelling between 1820 and 1824. In 1821 Snelling's son, William Joseph Snelling came to the fort after leaving West Point and spending a year with friendly Sioux.  According to a Minnesota history account written in 1858, "The year after he came to the fort young Snelling set out in company with Joseph R. Brown, a frontiersman and local celebrity, to explore the rivulet that supplies the cascade of Minne Ha-Ha, as far as Lake Minne Tonka."  Both "men" were 17-year-old boys at the time.
Some very early records refer to the falls as "Brown's Falls" which lead some historians to assume they were named after prominent pioneer Joseph R. Brown.  Park Ranger Kathy Swenson, writing for the National Park Service in 2009 states: "The overwhelming evidence points to Brown's Falls (and creek) being named for Jacob Brown, major general and commander in chief of the army from 1814 – 1828 rather than for Joseph R. Brown, teenage musician at Fort Snelling and later army sergeant (1820–1828), fur trader, politician, editor, and inventor. However, I have not yet found a document that officially or specifically mentions Jacob Brown as the namesake."  Swenson explains "'Browns Fall/Creek' seems to be most associated with military maps and personnel while
'Little Falls/Creek' seems to be favored by those without a strong military connection although there are exceptions."  The current name is Dakota for waterfall (Mníȟaȟa, "curling water").
Minnehaha Park (Minneapolis)