Editing Falcon Heights, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Heman Gibbs settled in the 1850s near the modern intersection of Cleveland and Larpenteur Avenues. His homestead is on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] and his home is a county museum.<ref name=history />

On September 2, 1901, then-Vice President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] first publicly used the African proverb "Speak softly and carry a big stick" in a speech at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, which was still a part of St. Paul at the time. Roosevelt became president just two weeks later, upon the assassination of [[William McKinley]], and built the phrase into his concept of [[Big Stick ideology|Big Stick Diplomacy]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/sept-3-1901-roosevelt-big-stick-speech-at-state-fair/273586721/ |title=Sept. 3, 1901: Roosevelt 'Big Stick' speech at State Fair |publisher=[[Star Tribune]]}}</ref>

[[File:Aerial photo from 1920 of modern-day Falcon Heights, Minnesota.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Snelling and Larpenteur Avenues in 1920]]
Between the 1910s and 1930s, [[Curtiss Northwest Airport (Minnesota)|Curtiss Northwest Airport]] was located at the intersection of Snelling and Larpenteur Avenues. The airfield was important in Minnesota aviation history, hosting [[Charles Lindbergh]], [[Speed Holman]], and [[Phoebe Fairgrave]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://shop.mnhs.org/products/winging-it-at-a-country-crossroads?variant=1209184557|title=Winging It at a Country Crossroads: The Ups and Downs of Minnesota's First Real Airport: Snelling & Larpenteur, Rose Township 1919-1930|last=Bergerson|first=Roger|year=2008|publisher=Bergerson & Cunningham|isbn=978-0615225494|access-date=April 27, 2018|archive-date=April 28, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428094110/https://shop.mnhs.org/products/winging-it-at-a-country-crossroads?variant=1209184557|url-status=dead}}</ref> Part of the land is now a city park named Curtiss Field.<ref name=history />

In the 1930s, a real estate agent named Faulkner developed land owned by a [[3M]] executive and named this development—Falcon Heights—after himself. The first house arose in 1937.

In 1949 residents rejected annexation by Roseville or St. Paul, and voted to incorporate themselves.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.startribune.com/why-do-tiny-cities-like-lauderdale-landfall-and-falcon-heights-exist/570658431/ |title=Why do tiny cities like Lauderdale, Landfall and Falcon Heights exist? |last=Prather |first=Shannon |date=June 19, 2010 |access-date=June 19, 2010 |work=[[Minneapolis Star Tribune]]}}</ref> The expanded Falcon Heights included the University of Minnesota Golf Course and Test Fields as well as the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Two-thirds of Falcon Heights is public land, chiefly the university and [[state fair]] ([[Minnesota State Fair]]).<ref name=history />