Were Minneapolis census workers once arrested for inflating population figures?

The historical rivalry between Minneapolis and St. Paul once resulted in multiple arrests around the 1890 U.S. census count, an incident dubbed the “Census War.”  

In 1890, reports of census fraud were bandied about between both cities. Census workers were accused of falsely listing some homes as housing more than 10 people. They were also accused of reporting that residents lived at addresses that didn’t exist and even counting the names of people buried in local cemeteries. 

St. Paul officials eventually enlisted a private detective to spy on Minneapolis census workers. Seven Minneapolis workers accused of fraud were arrested, though they were released with most charges against them dropped. 

A federal investigation uncovered a conspiracy to inflate population figures in Minneapolis. It also showed lesser incidents of fraud in St. Paul. This led federal officials to order a rare census recount, which revealed that Minneapolis was the larger city.