 The central feature of the park , Minnehaha Falls , has long been a favorite subject of artists and pioneer photographers , beginning with Alexander Hesler 's daguerreotype in 1852 . Although he never visited the park , Henry Wadsworth Longfellow helped to spread the park 's notoriety when he wrote his famous poem , The Song of Hiawatha . The falls are located on Minnehaha Creek near the creek 's confluence with the Mississippi River , near Fort Snelling . The main Minnesota Veterans Home is located on a bluff where the Mississippi and Minnehaha Creek converge . More than 850 @,@ 000 people visit Minnehaha Falls each year , and it continues to be one of the most photographed sites in Minnesota . 
