Washburn, Pillsbury, Lowry, Crosby, Loring, King.

These are not merely the namesakes of our streets and parks and schools. Or the names carved into notable tombstones at Lakewood Cemetery. Or the founders and supporters of Minneapolis flour and lumber industries, the parks and library system, the city’s early transportation, the Washburn Orphanage, the Institute of Arts. These are the names of some of the local citizens who launched the First Universalist Church of Minneapolis and the Unity Settlement House, which helped to take care of the city’s hard-working impoverished families. They found inspiration in the sermons of Reverends Keyes, Tuttle and Shutter as they fueled the progressive, ground-building actions that put Minneapolis on the map. Following are quick profiles of just three of the more notable contributors from our history. All were part of an interesting chain of families that started in Maine and ended up in Lakewood Cemetery.

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