No, it wasn’t settled by the French. Its residents are not amphibians waiting for princess kisses. It’s not a swamp–well, not anymore. This Twin Cities community, home to the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood, is thought to be called Frogtown because of the swampy nature of the land (Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes, after all) when it was first settled by Germans, who named it Froschburg–Frog City.
The once entirely-German Frogtown is now home to over 17,000 ethnically diverse residents. It’s the only neighborhood in the city whose largest ethnic group is not white, and over 60% of students report that English is not the primary language spoken in the home. More than one-third of the residents live below the poverty line, and many are “doubling up” in houses because they can no longer afford to own or rent their own homes.
Frogtown is poised to address many of these issues of poverty and education as the community plans its Promise Neighborhood. They’ve got tons of support from their neighbors, and a rail line is being built through the area, which will affect housing and business development.
Check out this document for more info on Frogtown, and come back to our website to keep track of how they’re doing!
