In the late 1600’s, French explorers led an expedition into Minnesota, and were soon followed by fur traders for French and British companies. They had discovered that the waterways of Minnesota created an ideal habitat for beaver and other animals that produced high-quality furs. In the centuries afterwards, this fur trade only grew as more and more forts and other trading posts were built by settlers. Minnesota’s freshwaters offered convenient transport of these furs, military goods, and more. Though the early settlers were primarily Americans from the East Coast,  by the 1860’s large numbers of immigrants (especially from Germany and Scandinavia) had arrived to take part in this rapidly increasing water-based economy.