Hiawatha and Minnehaha Hiawatha and Minnehaha Hiawatha and Minnehaha is a sculpture by Jacob Fjelde that has stood in Minnehaha Park in Minneapolis since the early twentieth century. Now a popular fixture of the park, its placement there was originally controversial. In 1855, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published a book-length poem entitled "The Song of Hiawatha". Longfellow never visited Minnesota, but he set his poem among the Ojibwe and Dakota of the region. The poem's story line was based on traditional Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) tales, as recorded, sometimes incorrectly, by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft. "The Song of Hiawatha" was widely read and had significant cultural influence
Hiawatha Service was added to the "Hiawatha". The "Hiawatha Service" is the second-shortest route on the Amtrak system, with the first being the "New Haven–Springfield Shuttle". Historically, the "Hiawathas" were operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (also known as the "Milwaukee Road") and initially traveled from Chicago to the Twin Cities. The first "Hiawatha" trains ran in 1935. By 1946, there were actually four routes carrying the "Hiawatha" name: Chicago–Minneapolis, Chicago–Omaha, Chicago–Wausau–Minocqua, and Chicago-Minneapolis-Seattle. The "Hiawathas" were among the world's fastest trains in the 1930s and 1940s, and these trains reached some of their peak speeds on this