John O. Anfinson, PhD

Dr. John O. Anfinson has been researching, writing and speaking about the upper Mississippi River for over 30 years. He spent the first half of his federal career with the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as a historian and cultural resources program manager. He joined the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, a unit of the National Park Service, in 2000, where he served as Superintendent from 2014-2020.

John is the author of The River We Have Wrought: A History of the Upper Mississippi (2003) and River of History (2003). He sits on several boards, including Friends of the Mississippi River, Minnesota and National Mississippi River Parkway Commissions (Great River Road), and the National Parks Conservation Association’s Midwest Council. John holds a Ph.D. in U.S. History from the University of Minnesota.