The University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is the state’s largest, most diverse and complete horticultural site. The grounds have more than five thousand types of plants, including fruits, vegetables, bushes and flowers. Located about thirty minutes west of the Twin Cities, it is an amazing horticultural resource.

The history of the Landscape Arboretum begins with Peter Miller Gideon. He established a homestead and apple orchard on the shores of Lake Minnetonka in 1853. The orchard started with thirty apple varieties, but the harsh Minnesota winters and hot summers killed most. By his tenth year on the farm, in 1868, only one seedling survived. However, Gideon was determined. He sent his last eight dollars to Maine for more seeds. Gideon crossed the large apple seeds he received with a hardy local crab apple to create a new apple, the “Wealthy”. This fruit survived Minnesota’s extreme weather, and was the foundation for apple growing in Minnesota. The Wealthy’s success led to the Minnesota State Legislature’s approval of state-funded experimentation in breeding new fruit varieties.

In March 1878, the Minnesota State Horticultural Society, using state funds, started the Minnetonka Fruit Farm on 116 acres next to Gideon’s farm. Gideon was in charge of the Fruit Farm until his retirement in 1889. That farm was then sold, but new research opportunities had already begun. In 1883, the Minnesota State Horticultural Society began a series of research stations to create new varieties of fruits and vegetables.

In 1907, the Horticultural Society successfully petitioned for a new fruit breeding and testing farm to be part of the University of Minnesota’s Horticulture Department. The project was started on seventy-eight acres purchased five miles west of Excelsior, along current Highway 5. More land was bought in 1920 and 1931, for a total of 230 acres. Planting began with extra seeds and plants from the experiment stations and donations by farmers. By 1912, sixty-five acres were planted and thriving on the Fruit Breeding Farm.

The first new fruit variety, the Latham raspberry, was introduced by 1914. By 1923, twenty-nine new varieties were being enjoyed. Despite this early success, the farm faced yearly money and weather problems. Droughts, floods and extreme cold or heat caused problems for plants. Money problems were addressed by using Works Progress Administration workers during the Depression in the 1930s. Second, the farm collaborated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Fruit Breeding Program in 1938. This partnership sent USDA field agents to work on the farm and money to pay for their labor part-time.

The Fruit Breeding Farm continued to grow and produce new hardier fruit varieties. Between 1919 and 1953, sixty-two new varieties came out. Among the better known were the “Fireside” and “Haralson” apples, the “Northstar” cherry, and the “Superior” plum. The “Haralson” has provided more income than any other Minnesota apple variety and in 2005 made up over fifty percent of all Minnesota apple production.

The farm had many leaders over the years. Between 1953 and 1970, Dr. Leon C. Snyder was in charge. He was interested in planting for landscapes. He first planted shrubs and trees around his home on the farm, and then later planted in the farm’s open fields. By 1954, Snyder started the Woody Landscape Breeding Program, with over 600 varieties of trees/shrubs planted by 1955. Snyder dreamed of an outdoor laboratory to create new plants and an outdoor living classroom for students. Soon after, in 1958, land was purchased by the University of Minnesota for a Landscape Arboretum. In 1967, the Fruit Breeding Farm became the Horticultural Research Center (HRC), growing more than just fruit. In 1987, the HRC and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum were merged administratively as one program, or department, by the University of Minnesota.

 

Turning Point: The creation of the Horticultural Research Center in 1907 brought about renewed interest in horticultural research and sparked a booming apple industry in Minnesota, among others.

Chronology:

• 1853: Peter Miller Gideon establishes a farm and orchard on the shores of Lake Minnetonka.
• 1863: Only one seedling survives on Gideon’s farm.
• 1863-1864: Gideon sends his last eight dollars to Maine for seeds.
• 1868: The “Wealthy” apple variety is created by Gideon.
• March 1878: The Minnesota State Horticultural Society buys 116 acres next to Gideon’s farm and starts the Minnetonka Fruit Farm.
• 1878-1889: Gideon is placed in charge at the Minnetonka Fruit Farm.
• 1883: Minnesota State Horticultural Society begins a series of research stations to create new varieties of fruit and vegetables.
• 1889: Minnetonka Fruit Farm is sold.
• 1907: Minnesota State Horticultural Society petitions for a new fruit breeding and testing farm as part of University of Minnesota’s Horticultural Department. They buy seventy-eight acres of farmland.
• 1912: Sixty-five acres are planted and thriving on the Fruit Breeding Farm.
• 1914: The first new fruit variety, Latham raspberry, is introduced.
• 1923: Twenty-nine new fruit varieties are introduced by this time.
• 1930s: Works Progress Administration workers provide labor on the Fruit Breeding Farm.
• 1938: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Fruit Breeding Program partner and send staff and money to support the Fruit Breeding Farm.
• 1919-1953: Sixty-two new fruit varieties are introduced by the Fruit Breeding Farm.
• 1953-1970: Dr. Leon C. Snyder is in charge of the Fruit Breeding Farm.
• 1954: Snyder begins the Woody Landscape Breeding Program.
• 1955: Six hundred varieties of trees/shrubs are planted.
• 1958: The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum is started with newly purchased land.
• 1967: The Fruit Breeding Farm becomes the Horticultural Research Center (HRC).
• 1987: The HRC and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum formally merge.

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Bibliography:

Adams, Forrest. “Arboretum Puts Focus on Sustainability”. Chanhassen Villager, October 4, 2007.

“Anniversary Celebration Scheduled”. Carver County Herald, July 7, 1988.

“Learning Center Celebrates 10th Year”. Chanhassen Villager, June 3, 1993.

“Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Brings Chanhassen Back to Nature”. Chanhassen Villager progress supplement, April 27, 1989.

Price, Susan Davis. Northern Treasure: The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and Horticultural Research

Center. University of Minnesota. Afton, MN: Afton Historical Society Press, 2008.

Wermerskirchen, Sandy. “Minnesota Landscape Arboretum Combines Beauty With Research”. Carver County Herald, July 7, 1988.

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

[Secondary]

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., editor. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Henry Taylor and Company: Chicago, 1915.

Mihelich, Josephine. Andrew Peterson and the Scandia Story. Minneapolis, MN: Ford Johnson Graphics, 1984.

[Web]

“About Us”. University of Minnesota, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Accessed March 28, 2013. http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/aboutus.aspx

“Ten Plants That Changed Minnesota”. University of Minnesota, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Accessed March 28, 2013. http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/10plants.aspx

“Learn”. University of Minnesota, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Accessed March 28, 2013. http://www.arboretum.umn.edu/learn.aspx

 

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Images/Audio/Video

This article and the images below can be viewed on mnopedia: http://www.mnopedia.org/place/university-minnesota-landscape-arboretum

Photograph Collection, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, University of Minnesota Photographic print “Visitor Center Snyder Building 2” [Description]: An aerial view of the Visitor Center, Snyder building, and some of the grounds of the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Rights held by the Landscape Arboretum and University of Minnesota.

Photograph Collection, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, University of Minnesota Photographic print “Early Arboretum Sign” [Description]: An earlier version of the entrance sign for the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Rights held by the Landscape Arboretum and University of Minnesota.

Photograph Collection, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, University of Minnesota Photographic print “Fruit Breeding Farm” [Description]: An early scene from the Fruit Breeding farm, which became the Horticultural Research Center. Rights held by the Landscape Arboretum and University of Minnesota.

Photograph Collection, Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, University of Minnesota Photographic print “Leon Snyder” [Description]: A candid shot of leader of the Fruit Breeding Farm, Dr. Leon C. Snyder. Dr. Snyder was the leader who started the Woody Landscape Breeding Program, which would become the Landscape Arboretum. Rights held by the Landscape Arboretum and University of Minnesota.

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

The Gehl-Mittelsted Farmstead is located in the far southern part of Carver County, in San Francisco Township. One of Carver County’s many historic properties, the farmstead was placed on Minnesota’s 10 Most Endangered Historic Sites list in 2006.

The farm was founded by Henry Gehl. Gehl was a German immigrant, born in Schwerin, Mecklenberg-Schwerin, Germany on February 13, 1825. At age twenty-five, he joined the thousands of others immigrating to America during the 1850s. Gehl purchased the farmstead in 1867. In addition to the farm, Gehl also ran butcher shops in both Chaska and Carver, which were supplied by his farm. He did well with both. During the 1880s, the large Chaska brick house on the property was built. It was home to Gehl, his wife Christina Sohns Gehl, and their fourteen children.

Henry and Christina’s son Francis Gehl ran the farm after Henry died in 1890. Three years later, Francis married Beda Hurtig. They had two children: Robert (1895) and Herbert (1896). Sadly, just a few short years later on January 24, 1901, tragedy struck. While crossing railroad tracks on his way home from Jordan, Francis was hit and killed, though the horses survived and continued home.

Upon the tragic death of Francis, his brother Herman A.J. Gehl bought the farm. For the next sixteen years until his death, Herman made “Gehl Ranch” one of the largest farms in southeastern Minnesota. At his death, the farm had over forty horses, one hundred cattle, and two hundred hogs. Following Herman’s death, his son, Henry William Gehl, named for his grandfather, took over both the farm and the meat market in February 1934. At this point, the massive farm was at 2,000 acres, 100 cattle, and about 20,000 turkeys. In February 1935, Henry married Stella Winson. They moved to her home town of Excelsior and operated the farm and meat shop with hired help. Henry W. and Stella Gehl had no children. Henry had a sister, Florence Mittelsted, and brother, Charles F. Gehl, still alive at his death. His will gave the farm to his nephew, Gale Mittelsted, with whom he had formed a business partnership, and niece, Shirley Teske.

The last family owners of the Gehl-Mittelsted farmstead were Gale Mittelsted, his wife, and two sons. Trained as a veterinarian, Gale opened a practice in Chaska after being discharged from the military in 1946 after World War II ended. According to family legend Gale was named “Gehl” Mittelsted after his mother’s family, but it was misspelled on his baptism papers, and it became “Gale” instead. The Mittelsted’s lived in Chaska, working the farm with hired help. In 1980, they moved to the farm, where Gale died in 1983. His wife Anita and sons Peter and Gehl remained on the farm until selling it to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1995, making the farmstead a part of the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge.

Although the Fish and Wildlife Service originally planned to turn the house into a Visitor Center, its location on a floodplain, and the fact the house has twice had floodwater reach as high as the floor joists, changed their minds. However, the site still has enduring historic value. Made of Chaska brick, the house is significant for the brick and its early German architecture style. The property was also owned and operated by five generations of the same family, which is historically significant. As part of the Minnesota Valley Wildlife Refuge, the land will not be developed on, divided up, or sold. This will allow the property to be preserved for future generations of visitors. The house is less secure. In 2006, the house and outlying building that remain were placed on a list of Minnesota’s Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites and its future remains uncertain. 

Turning Point: In 1995, the US Fish and Wildlife Service purchased the historic Gehl-Mittelsted farmstead, with plans to convert the house to a visitor center and preserve the land as a wildlife refuge for visitors to see.

Chronology:

• February 13, 1825: Henry Gehl is born in Schwerin, Mecklenberg-Schwerin, Germany.
• 1850: Henry Gehl immigrates to America at age twenty-five.
• 1867: Gehl purchases farmland in San Francisco Township, Carver County.
• 1880s: A Chaska Brick farmhouse is erected on the property using early German architectural styles.
• 1890: Henry Gehl dies; son Francis Gehl takes over the farm.
• 1893: Francis Gehl marries Beda Hurtig
• January 24, 1901: Francis Gehl dies in a train accident.
• 1918: Herman A.J. Gehl takes over the farm and makes “Gehl Ranch” one of the largest farms in southeastern Minnesota
• February 1934: Herman Gehl dies and son Henry William Gehl takes over the farm.
• February 1935: Henry W. Gehl marries Stella Winson of Excelsior where they settle, running the farm from a distance with hired help.
• June 1949: Henry W. Gehl dies.
• 1949-1983: Gale Mittelsted operates the farm with hired help while running a veterinarian clinic in Chaska.
• 1980: Gale Mittelsted, his wife Anita and their children move to the farm.
• 1983: Gale Mittelsted dies.
• 1995: The Gehl-Mittelsted property is sold to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
• 2006: The Gehl-Mittelsted farm is listed on Minnesota’s Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites list.

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Bibliography:

“Contemplates a Meat Market”. Carver Free Press, May 21, 1885.

“Death Robs City of Prominent Man and Business Proprietor”. Weekly Valley Herald, June 6, 1949.

Edwins, Steve and Steve Wilmot, SMSQ Architects. “Gehl-Mittlested Site Reuse Study”. Reuse Brief- Site Value. Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, December 15, 2007.

Maravelas, Paul Scheftel. “The Gehl Farm in San Francisco Township, Carver County, with some notes on the village of San Francisco, the Little Rapids, and the Wahpeton Village at that place”. Site study. Compiled by the Carver County Historical Society for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, March 15, 1997.

“Married- Henry W. Gehl to Stella Winson”. Weekly Valley Herald, February 14, 1935.

“New Butcher Shop”. Weekly Valley Herald, February 9, 1882.

“Obituary- Henry Gehl”. Weekly Valley Herald, November 27, 1890.

“Public Input Sought on Reuse of Historic House”. Norwood Times, February 28, 2008.

“Soon to Graze in Poland Pastures, Cows from Gehl Ranch Destined for Foreign Duty”. Weekly Valley Herald, December 27, 1945.

“Unfortunate Death of Francis Gehl.” Weekly Valley Herald, January 31, 1901.

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Related Resources:

Carver County Historical Society. ”Farmhouses in Carver County: Resources Worthy of Preservation”. Brochure, Minnesota Department of Transportation, April 2011.

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958. Holcombe, Maj. R.I., editor. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Henry Taylor and Company: Chicago, 1915.

Lofstrom, Ted and Lynne VanBrocklin Spaeth. Carver County: A Guide to Its Historic and Prehistoric Places. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1978.

Martens, Steven C. “Ethnic Traditions and Innovations as Influences on a Rural Midwestern Building Vernacular”. Master’s thesis, University of Minnesota, 1988.

Martins, Steve. “Brick Houses in Carver County”. Student paper, University of Minnesota-Foster Dunwiddie Papers, 1987-1988.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

[Web]

“Gehl-Mittlested Farmhouse”. Minnesota Bricks. Accessed February 17, 2013. http://www.mnbricks.com/gehl-mittlested-farmhouse

“Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge”. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Accessed February 16, 2013. http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=32590

“Site proposal”. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Accessed February 16, 2013. http://www.fws.gov/midwest/nepa/MNValleyVCNEPA/index.htmlhttp://www.fws.gov/midwest/NEPA/MNValleyVCNEPA/Documents/draftEA.pdf

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Images/Audio/Video

Subject Files, Drawer G1: Gehl Farm and Gehl Farm Notes. “Gehl-Mittelsted Farmstead” [Description]: Front and side views of the Gehl-Mittelsted Farmhouse as it is in the twenty-first century. Rights held by the CCHS.

Subject Files, Drawer G1: Gehl Farm and Gehl Farm Notes.“MN Valley Fllodway” [Description]: an aerial shot of the MN Valley Refuge site, showing a floodplain view. Rights held by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

The Carver County Fair has a long and rich history, dating back to 1868. On July 20, the Carver County Agricultural Society formed in Chaska. Later that year, on October 10, this group held the first Carver County fair in Chaska, to display their crops and animals. An elected Board of Directors planned the fair. Despite later battles over location, the fair has been held almost every year since.

In 1868, after the first fair was held, the fair Board of Directors decided to move the fair to Carver, where it stayed until 1882. While in Carver, the first two-day event was held in 1871. The fair returned to Chaska from 1883-1886. Finally, wanting to become the fair’s permanent home, the City of Carver offered the fair board a hall, sheds, a half-mile race track and one hundred dollars each year for five years if they chose Carver as the fair site. Board members at the April 4, 1887 meeting agreed. Between 1887 and the late 1930s, this now three-day event called the City of Carver home.

In 1911, the City of Waconia decided to start their own fair. They wanted to use the name “Carver County Agricultural Society”, but that name already belonged to the Carver organization. Instead, they became the “Farmer’s Cooperative Agricultural Society”. Originally held on the southwest shore of Lake Waconia, additional land was added to the original Waconia fairgrounds in 1914. The fair moved to its current home when the fair board bought land about three blocks south. This property was purchased in 1938 and 1973, and buildings from the original grounds were moved to the new site. The first fair held on the new site was in 1939.

Waconia’s new fair started an almost thirty year battle over which was the true and best “county fair”. In 1911, the Waconia fair group applied to the state to get their share of the subsidy money provided to all county fairs. They were denied by the State because they were not incorporated. The fair board suffered a nearly three-hundred-dollar loss that year. They incorporated as the Waconia Fair Association in May 1914. Following this, the State divided the subsidy funds between the two cities.

With both cities now recognized as the “Carver County Fair”, competition grew strong. Each tried to outdo the other by advertising the biggest and best fair. One ad from the early days of competition was in a September 13, 1912 Norwood Times. It has Carver announcing to county residents that they ought to know that Carver is the “original” fair.

Competition continued until the late 1930s, when Carver tired of the battle and gave in. The Carver fair generously gave the Waconia fair two buildings, Ozzy’s and the Lion’s cheese curd stand, which are still in use in the twenty-first century. The only building still standing from the 1911 Waconia fair site is the French fry stand. On April 18, 1953, the Waconia fair’s “Farmer’s Cooperative Agricultural Society” incorporated as the “Carver County Agricultural Society”.

Other historic buildings on the fairgrounds include the stone entryway and agricultural building, which were built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Depression of the 1930s. County fairs are often affected by the medical, environmental or financial concerns of the times, and the help of the WPA is a major example of this. Another happened during the 1940s, when a polio epidemic was causing a scare across the country. In 1946, the fair decided not to allow anyone under the age of fifteen to enter the fair. Three days later, August 14, 1946, the city of Waconia passed a resolution cancelling the fair completely for that year.

Fairs change over time as well. The main road on the fairgrounds was once called “Amusement Lane”. It, along with other roads on the fairgrounds, was curved to go around the original grandstand location. When the new grandstand location was built in 1987, the original grandstand was burned down by the fire department in exchange for a case of beer. Since then there have been other changes. The most notable was a new fair office in 2012.

Turning Point: The start of the Waconia fair in 1911 began an almost thirty year battle with the city of Carver on who held the “true”, as well as biggest and best, county fair until Carver ceded defeat in the late 1930s.

Chronology:

• July 20, 1868: The Carver County Agricultural Society is established in Chaska.
• October 10, 1868: The first Carver County Fair is held in Chaska.
• Late 1868: The Carver County Agricultural Society decides to hold the Carver County Fair in Carver.
• 1869-1882: The Carver County Fair is held in the city of Carver.
• 1871: The first two-day fair is held.
• 1883-1886: The Carver County Fair is moved back to the city of Chaska.
• April 4, 1887: The fair board members agree to the city of Carver’s offer of a hall, sheds, a half-mile race track and one hundred dollars a year for five years to have the Carver County Fair remain permanently in Carver. The event is now three days long.
• 1911: The city of Waconia makes the decision to start their own fair, beginning an almost thirty year battle for who held the biggest and best fair.
• May 1914: The Waconia fair incorporates as the Waconia Fair Association. Both county fairs receive state subsidy funding for the first time.
• Late 1930s: Carver cedes defeat and closes its fair. Two buildings, Ozzy’s and the Lion’s cheese curd stand are given to the Waconia fair for their use.
• 1938: The Waconia Fair Association purchases new land about three blocks south of the original fair site.
• 1939: Waconia holds its county fair at its new location for the first time.
• April 18, 1953: The Waconia Fair Association incorporates as the Carver County Agricultural Society.
• 1973: The Waconia Fair Association purchases additional land to enlarge the fairgrounds.
• 1987: A new grandstand is built and the original grandstand is burned down by the Waconia Fire Department.

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Bibliography:

“A Bit of History Regarding County Fair”. Weekly Valley Herald, September 16, 1920.

Albrecht, Jan. “In The Beginning”. Waconia Patriot, August 12, 1982.

Articles of Incorporation, Waconia Fair Association, 1914.

Carver County Agricultural society Collection, Carver county Historical Society, Waconia

Description: The Articles of Incorporation for the Waconia Fair Association, 1914, allowing the Waconia Fair to receive subsidy funding for the fair.

Articles of Incorporation, Carver County Agricultural Society, 1953.

Carver County Agricultural society Collection, Carver county Historical Society, Waconia

Description: Articles of Incorporation for the Carver County Agricultural Society, when the Carver and Waconia Fair became one fair.

“Backward, Turn Backward, Oh! Time in Your Flight: An Historical Narrative of the Carver County Agricultural Society”. Weekly Valley Herald, September 28, 1922.

Barac, LaVonne. “Fair Only 71 Years Old Despite 1868 Birth”. Waconia Patriot, August 5, 1982.

Barac, LaVonne. “Fair: Reflections Note Move to Waconia in 1930s”. Waconia Patriot, August 12, 1982.

“Both Sides of the County Fair Case”. Norwood Times, September 20, 1912.

“Carver Fair Society Refutes Charges”. Norwood Times, September 27, 1912.

“County Fairs Reimbursed”. Weekly Valley Herald, January 13, 1927.

“County’s Fair at Waconia Opens at New Spot Today”. Weekly Valley Herald, August 17, 1939.

“Litigation Between Carver and Waconia Settled”. Young America Eagle, January 10, 1913.

“Notice: Town or Village Offering Highest Bids to Have County Fair”. Weekly Valley Herald, January 13, 1882.

Petersen-Biorn, Wendy. “Commentary: Peaceniks, Rivalries and Crooked Roads”. Chaska Herald, July 31, 2011.

Resolution, Carver County Agricultural Society, 1946.

Carver County Agricultural society Collection, Carver county Historical Society, Waconia

Description: A resolution cancelling the 1946 Fair due to the polio epidemic.

Secretarial Minutes (meeting notes), Carver County Agricultural Society, 1953.

Carver County Agricultural society Collection, Carver county Historical Society, Waconia

Description: Meeting minutes from the Carver County Agricultural Society about fair improvements, plans, etc., spanning up to the 1990’s. This include discussion of expelling the Peace Protestors in 1966, possible banning them in the future, and things like setting an age limit at the 1946 fair due to the polio scare.

“The Early Years, Today, and the Future of the County Fair”. Waconia Patriot, September 2, 1976.

“Waconia Must Stand Loss- House Committee Does Not Uphold the Promise of Secretary of State”. Weekly Valley Herald, February 2, 1913.

Weber, Mark. “History Shows County Fair is 111 Years Old”. Norwood Times, August 3, 1978.

“You Ought to Know that the Original Carver County Fair”. Norwood Times, September 13, 1912.

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

“68th Annual Carver County Fair Begins Next Wednesday”. Waconia Patriot, August 2, 1979.

Anderson, Keith. “Best 5 Days of Summer”. Waconia Patriot, August 9, 2001.

Anderson, Keith. “Fair Staying Put”. Waconia Patriot, August 8, 1995.

Berry, Jessica. “County Funds Work Done for Fair’s Grandstand”. Norwood Young America Times, August 25, 2005.

Carver County Agricultural Society. Annual Fair. Premium lists of the Annual Fair of the Carver Co. Agricultural Society. Minnesota Historical Society Periodical Collection. Call # S553.M6 C3.

“Carver County Fair Receives International Recognition for Agricultural Excellence”. Waconia Patriot, February 5, 2004.

“Chaska’s Great Fair- Everything Favorable Except the Weather”. Weekly Valley Herald, October 3, 1895.

“County Fair”. Weekly Valley Herald, September 8, 1892.

“County Fair Opens at Waconia Monday- Outlook Bright as 1940 Fair Opens”. Waconia Patriot, August 15, 1940.

“Fair Grounds Aerial View of Many Years Ago”. Waconia Patriot, August 8, 1963.

“Fifth Annual Fair at Waconia Gigantic Success”. Waconia Patriot, September 28, 1916.

“Future of Fairgrounds Unresolved”. Waconia Patriot, November 1, 1979.

“Gambling, Flailing, Gorging, Opinionating, Floral Arranging and Other Great Things to Do at the Carver County Fair”. Chaska Herald, August 9, 2011.

“Pacifists Attend the County Fair”. Waconia Patriot, August 4, 1966.

“The Carver County Fair at Waconia Grows and Grows Each Year”. Waconia Patriot, August 8, 1963.

“The County Fair”. Weekly Valley Herald, October 16, 1868.

“The 7th Annual Fair of the Chaska Agr’l Ass’n”. Weekly Valley Herald, October 14, 1900.

“Weather Man Spoils All”. Weekly Valley Herald, September 17, 1903.

Zuege, Unsie. “Historic Log Cabin to Rise Again”. Chanhassen Villager, August 2, 2007.

[Secondary]

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., ed. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Henry Taylor and Company: Chicago, 1915.

Rothfuss, Hermann E. “Plays for Pioneers: German Drama in Rural Minnesota”. Minnesota History, 34 No. 6 (Summer 1955): 239-242. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/34/v34i06p239-242.pdf

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

[Web]

“Home”. Carver County Fair. Accessed March 30, 2013. http://www.carvercountyfair.com/home.html

 

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Images/Audio/Video

AV-81-6211. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Carver County Fairgrounds, 1941” [Description]: An aerial photo of the Carver County Fairgrounds in Waconia, circa 1941. Shows the roadways and buildings on the grounds. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-6233 Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Carver County Fair Entrance, 1912” [Description]: The original entrance to the Carver County Fair in Waconia, circa 1912. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-6622 Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Carver County Fairgrounds” [Description]: An aerial photo showing the fairgrounds in Waconia, circa the 1940s or 1950s. Shows the back of the grandstand in the bottom left of the image. Cars and busses are seen in the middle of the photo. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-9451 Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Carver County Fair Entrance, 1913” [Description]: This photo shows fair visitors entering the 2nd annual fair held on the Waconia fairgrounds. This is the original entrance to the fair, changed in the 1930s through Works Progress Administration work. Circa 1913 or 1914. Rights held by the CCHS.

 

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

 

 

 

Carver County made its mark on aviation history thanks local aviation pioneer Elmer Sell. Owner of the first airplane in Carver County, Sell founded Sell Airfield and had a flying career spanning four decades.

Elmer Sell, son of Carver County Historical Society founder O.D. Sell, found his love of aviation serving in the Air Corp during World War I. In 1919, Sell began taking flying lessons and assisted in organizing the Minnesota Observation Squadron. The first of its kind, this group later became the 109th Squadron of the Minnesota National Guard. On August 22, 1922, Sell had a landmark day in his aviation career, flying solo for the first time.

In the following years, Sell continued to accumulate flying hours, adding stunts like wing walking and barnstorming to his skills. Then, in 1928, Elmer Sell teamed up with his father, O.D. sell, to start Sell Airfield. The original hangar and airfield was located on the Bleedorn property, at the intersection of Highway 25 and Highway 30. It was later moved to a property south of Mayer on the east side of Highway 25. An old log house and barn on the new property were converted into hangars.

Sell Airfield remained in operation for over a decade, except briefly during World War II. Near the start of the war, the National Guard, or Minnesota Home Defense force, took over many private airfields with a fear of enemy infiltrations after Pearl Harbor. Sell Airfield was taken over in 1941 for a short time. After reopening, due to the stress of gas rationing, other restrictions, and new paperwork each trip, Sell chose to sell his plane and close the airport for the duration of the war. After the war ended, with restrictions lifted, Sell purchased two new planes. He reopened the airfield and continued giving passenger rides. This business offered these rides until 1959, when flying passengers from farm fields became illegal.

Along with running the airfield, Elmer Sell shared his love of aviation through teaching. Rather than serving in World War II, Sell served as a civilian instructor at the Wold Chamberlain Field and at East High School in Minneapolis. In his later years, he taught aviation and auto mechanics at Tracy High School in Tracy, MN, commuting by plane from his home in Mayer.

Over the years, Sell owned many early airplanes. Among them were a Great Lakes Special, a Piper Cub, a Piper Special and a Jenny biplane. His passion for flying spread to his son Charles and grandson Charles Jr, who was president of the St. Cloud State University Flying Club in the 1970s. The Sells set a record in 1961 during a June 25 breakfast flight from Mayer to Hector. Elmer Sell was the oldest pilot at the event, his grandson the youngest at four years old. All three generations participated in the flight.

Elmer Sell continued flying until illness forced him to quit in 1962. Even then he still flew with his son at the controls. He died in 1965. A hangar from his field was sold to the Ziermanns in 1972, and used on their property for a number of years, continuing Carver County’s place in aviation history.

Turning Point: Elmer Sell has his first flying lesson in 1919, starting a nearly forty-five year flight career.

Chronology:

• 1901: Elmer Sell is born.
• 1919: Elmer Sell takes his first flying lessons and assists in forming the Minnesota Observation Squadron.
• August 6, 1922: Elmer Sell completes his first solo flight.
• 1928: Sell Airfield is founded in Mayer.
• 1941: Sell Airfield is taken over by the Minnesota Home Defense Force for a short time.
• 1942: Elmer Sell closes Sell Airfield for the duration of the war due to gas shortages and other restrictions.
• 1950s: Elmer Sell commutes by plane to Tracy, Minnesota to teacher aviation and auto mechanics at the high school there.
• 1959: Passenger flights from farm fields become illegal and Sell Airfield stops passenger service.
• June 25, 1961: Record setting flight from Mayer to Hector with three generations of the same family. Elmer Sell is the oldest participant at sixty and his grandson the youngest at four.
• 1962: Illness forces Elmer Sell to discontinue his solo flights.
• 1965: Elmer Sell dies.

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Bibliography:

“Army Takes Over Airport at Mayer.” Waconia Patriot, December 18, 1941.

Carver County Historical Society Research Library subject files: O.D. Sell. Aircraft license.

Centennial Book Committee. MayerCenntennial, 1886-1986. Mayer, MN: 1986.

“Sells at Mayer to Establish Airport.” Waconia Patriot, April 26, 1928.

“3 Generations of Sells Attend Flight Session.” Carver County News, July 6, 1961.

 

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

“Baby Boy Born.” Carver County News, June 6, 1901.

“Elmer Sell, of Mayer, Received Another Airplane.” Carver County News, June 19, 1947.

“Obituary.” Carver County News, January 28, 1965.

[Secondary]

Allard, Noel and Gerald N. Sandvick. Minnesota Aviation History, 1857-1945. Chaska: MAHB Publishing, Inc., 1993.

Bellville, Cheryl Walsh. The Airplane Book. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 1991.

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

Harris, Harold R., et. al. “Minnesota in the World of Aviation.” Minnesota History, 33 No. 6 (Summer 1953): 236-246. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/33/v33i06p236-246.pdf

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., ed. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Chicago: Henry Taylor and Company, 1915.

Mayer Booster Club. History of Helvetia-Mayer and Community. Lester Prairie, MN: Lester Prairie News, 1936.

Sandvick, Gerald N. “Enterprise in the Skies: the Early Years of Air Commerce in Minnesota.” Minnesota History, 50 No. 3 (Fall 1986): 86-98. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/50/v50i03p086-098.pdf

________. “The Birth of Powered Flight in Minnesota.” Minnesota History, 48 No. 2 (summer 1982): 46-59. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/48/v48i02p046-059.pdf

Taylor, John W. P. and Kenneth Munson. History of Aviation. London: Octopus Books, Ltd., 1975.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

[Web]

The Minnesota Air National Guard Museum. Accessed May 6, 2013. http://www.mnangmuseum.org/

American Wings Air Museum. Accessed May 6, 2013. http://www.americanwings.org/

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Images/Audio/Video

AV-81-6139. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print, “Guards at Sell Airfield” [Description]: Image showing the Minnesota Home Defense squadron which took over Sells Airfield in 1941. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-6142. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print, “Sells Airport” [Description]: Elmer Sell in the foreground in white. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-6144.Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print, “Sells Airport” [Description]: Minnesota Home Defense and Elmer Sell at Sells Airfield. Rights held by the CCHS.

 

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

 

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of rapid urban and suburban growth. City planners in these decades were frustrated with the growing problems of pollution, traffic, and creating new neighborhoods as cities spread. One solution to this idea was the “new town” movement. Designed as planned communities, these “towns” tried to organize the design and growth of the town in advance to better deal with urban sprawl. The community of Jonathan, located within the existing city of Chaska, was built with these concepts.

The idea of a “new town,” designed to meet the needs of the people living there, has been around for centuries in military and trade towns. The idea did not really catch hold until an Englishman named Sir Ebenezer Howard suggested “garden cities” within the area of London in the late 1800s. “New towns” were planned in Finland, England, Scotland and the United States.

One of the first to be built in the United States was Jonathan. Jonathan was the dream of former United States Senator Henry T. McKnight, who championed bills and acts protecting natural resources. On April 29, 1966, McKnight joined with others individuals to form the Ace Development Corporation, which became the Jonathan Development Corporation in 1967. Named after Jonathan Carver, the 18th century explorer, this self-contained town was built on eight thousand acres of woods, lakes and farmlands within Chaska city limits. Hazeltine Golf Course and the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum border it.

Planned as a town within a town, Jonathan in Chaska was meant to be built over a period of twenty years. Plans included the growth of population, industry, housing and recreation. Thinking for the long-term allowed the city to save time in future construction, and protect the surrounding natural environment while allowing residents to be closer to it. Initial development plans left one0fifth of the land open for future development.

Though within Chaska city limits, Jonathan was more than just a neighborhood. Designed to grow into a series of five villages, each with schools, churches, recreation areas and more, Jonathan was unique. This “town” has a city center with offices, stores and restaurants. Housing was offered as apartments, townhomes, or houses. Jonathan fell under the jurisdiction of both the city of Chaska and the Jonathan Development Corporation.

By October 1967, most of the land had been acquired. Community plans were made public. Construction began that same year. In October 1970, Jonathan became the first large-scale development to gain federal aid under Title IV of the New Communities Act, part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. This act provided a loan guarantee for up to $21 million, allowing developers and builders to increase the speed of construction.

Jonathan in the twenty-first century is not quite the “town” it was expected to be. A recession and loss of interest in planned communities in the early 1970s affected growth. With the death of Henry McKnight in 1974, the driving force behind planning and development was lost. Rezoning removed industrial and commercial shopping areas, leaving behind only homes. Jonathan remains within Chaska’s jurisdiction, but is governed by the Jonathan Association as well. Thought no longer a “town” within a town, Jonathan remains unique, and true to McKnight’s dream of remaining closer to the environment, with more parks, wooded areas, ponds and walking paths than most neighborhoods would have.

Turning Point: When construction began in 1967, Jonathan became the first “new town”, or planned community, to be built in Minnesota and the United States.

Chronology:

• Late 1800’s: New Town movement begins with the idea of “garden cities” by Sir Ebenezer Howard in London.
• April 29, 1966: Former U.S. Senator Henry T. McKnight joins with other individuals to form the Ace Development Corporation, which became the Jonathan Development Corporation in 1967.
• October 1967: Most of the land for Jonathan had been acquired and construction on this “new town” was well underway.
• October 1970: Jonathan becomes the first large-scale development to gain federal aid under Title IV of the New Communities Act, part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968.
• Early 1970s: An economic recession and loss of interest in planned communities leads to a dwindling interest in Jonathan.
• 1974: Henry T. McKnight, the driving force behind the “new town” of Jonathan, dies and interest continues to wan.
  

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Bibliography:

Caldwell, Dick. “’New Town’ of 50,000 Planned.” Minneapolis Star, August 1, 1967.

Carver County Historical Society Research Library subject files: Jonathan. Untitled, 1991. A brochure.

Halberg, Marsh. “The New Town Movement.” Chaska Herald, October 2008. Reprint. http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/linkservid/EE32461C-5056-A306-AF8BBB6E468822C7/showMeta/0/

“Henry McKnight Wanted Something Different and He Got It: a City Called Jonathan.” N.W. Bell Magazine, 53 no. 1 (1972): 10-15.

The Jonathan Association. The Jonathan Story. 1972. http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/linkservid/B2F24C57-5056-A306-AF9FF40302355C89/showMeta/0/

“New-Town Development Has Chaska in Limelight.” Weekly Valley Herald, August 1967. http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/linkservid/B112325F-5056-A306-AF16BD521BC937B8/showMeta/0/

Peterson, George. “McKnight Mixes Town Planning and Farming.” Minneapolis Tribune, January 24, 1971.

Podevels, Eric. “The Jonathan Story.” Senior Division paper, University of Minnesota, 1994.

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

Duff, David. “Jonathan Puts History in Present and Future.” Eden Prairie Sun, August 21, 1973.

Hawkins, Beth. “Arrested Development (about Jonathan, the “New Town” planned community he developed).” City Pages, July 13, 2005.

“Henry T. McKnight, Jonathan Developer, Rites Wednesday.” Minneapolis Star, January 1, 1973.

“Jonathan Announces Construction of First Village Center.” Weekly Valley Herald, May 9, 1968.

Jonathan-Chaska Community Information System Project. People in Communication with Imagination. Chaska, MN: The Project, 1972..

Jonathan Development Corporation. Carver County Historical Society Research Library subject files: Jonathan. Welcome to Jonathan. 1991.

“Jonathan Development Sets Growth Record.” Waconia Patriot, March 1, 1973.

Mugford, John. “Some Residents Express Discontent with Jonathan’s Board and Rules.” Chaska Herald, November 9, 1995.

Oser, Alan S. ”U.S. Re-Evaluating ‘New Towns’ Program.” New York Times, 1976. http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/linkservid/B1B15850-5056-A306-AFFD72F6C35A8F27/showMeta/0/

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. New Communities Act of 1968. 1968.

Woodley, Mary, ed. Jonathan’s Journal, 1 no. 11 (November 1971).

[Secondary]

Biles, Roger. “New Towns for the Great Society: A Case Study in Politics and Planning.” Planning Perspectives, 13 (1998): 113-132. http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/linkservid/B223AE5C-5056-A306-AFE8FA1CC39D6760/showMeta/0/

Bloom, Nicholas. “The Federal Icarus: The Public Rejection of 1970s National Suburban Planning.” Journal of Urban History, 28 no. 1 (Nov. 2001):55-71. http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/linkservid/B2031814-5056-A306-AF2029D02DD290C5/showMeta/0/

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

[Web]

Jonathan in Chaska website. History. http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/about-us/history/

Minnesota Legislative Reference Library website. Henry Turney McKnight, Sr. http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.aspx?ID=13814

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Images/Audio/Video

AV-81-6484. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Jonathan Village” Description: An artist’s rendering of Jonathan Village, late1960s or early 1970s. Rights held by the CCHS.

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

 Libraries have been a part of Carver County history since the county was started. The earliest library began in 1858, and many more followed. In the twenty-first century, there are five full libraries and three express library branches. Total circulation is over one million books per year and rising.

The history of libraries in Carver County begins with the Deutscher Leseverein Bibliothek, or the German Reading Society. A group of German immigrants formed this organization in 1858 in Carver. At its peak, the society owned about twelve hundred books written in both German and English. In 1935, their remaining collection was donated to the Carver County Historical Society when the organization dissolved. The historically and culturally important books include encyclopedias, history books, and German classics by authors like von Goethe and Schiller. There are also German translations of books by Shakespeare, Darwin and others.

While the Deutscher Leseverein Bibliothek is the earliest and most well-known, other reading societies once existed. Local churches and schools formed many of these groups. Among them were the Svenska Laserforening (Swedish Reading Society) of Carver, the Vestra Union Forsamlings Bibliotek (West Union Assembly Library), the West Union Laseforening (West Union Reading Society), and the Ungdomsforening (Young People’s Society). The towns of Norwood and Young America also took part in the state-owned traveling library program in 1912.

In the 1880s, the town of Waconia started a public literary group, the Waconia Literary Society. By 1886, its name became the Waconia Library Association. In 1935, the Association settled into its own building after renting in others for several years.

Chaska’s public library began in a women’s reading circle of the Chaska Culture Club. By 1902, they owned enough books to offer a free library for town residents. This collection was housed at the Carver County State Bank building. Later, it was moved to the old schoolhouse by the town park. By 1929, the city council provided money to support the Chaska library. In 1939, Watertown’s library was organized. It opened in the old City Hall on January 31, 1940.

By the early 1970s, these small city libraries were unable to meet the needs of county residents. In 1974, a referendum was passed to fund a countywide library system. The Waconia, Chaska, and Watertown libraries issued cards for countywide library service starting in March 1975. The referendum also allowed the county library to join the Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA). In turn, Carver County could take part in the metro-wide inter-library loan system.

Since 1975, the Carver County Library System has grown. Young America opened a library branch in that same year. Chanhassen opened one in 1979. When the cities of Norwood and Young America merged in 1994, their libraries did also. In 2010, the Norwood Young America branch received a new home in the Oak Grove City Center. In 2011 and 2012, the Carver County Library System also gained three express library branches. They opened in Victoria, Cologne, and Mayer, to serve local residents.

Turning Point: The 1975 establishment of the Carver County Library System established a central, county-wide library service and enabled participation in MELSA and the metro-area inter-library loan program.

 

Chronology:

• 1858: The Deutscher Leseverein Bibliothek is founded by German immigrants in the city of Carver.
• 1886: The already established Waconia Literary Society changes its name to the Waconia Library Association.
• 1902: The Chaska Public Library offers a free public library to town residents.
• 1912: The cities of Norwood and Young America participate in the state-owned traveling library program.
• 1929: The Chaska City Council provides funds for the Chaska Public Library.
• 1935: The Deutscher Leseverein Bibliothek is dissolved and its collection donated to the Carver County Historical Society.
• 1935: The Waconia Library Association settles in its own building.
• 1939: The Watertown Library is organized. The open on January 31, 1940 in the old City Hall.
• 1974: A county referendum passes to fund a county-wide library system.
• March 1975: The Waconia, Chaska and Watertown libraries begin issuing cards for county-wide library service. Young America opens a county library branch.
• 1979: The city of Chanhassen opens a county library branch.
• 1994: The cities and libraries of Norwood and Young America merge.
• 2010: The Norwood Young America branch opens in a new location in the Oak Grove City Center.
• 2011 and 2012: The express library branches open to serve the residents of Victoria, Cologne and Mayer.

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Bibliography:

Barac, Lavonne. Chaska:A Minnesota River City, Volume 1 and 2. St. Paul: Carver County Public Library, 1989.

Broden, Holly. “County Closes Young America Library.” Norwood Young America Times, June 23, 1994.

“Carver Co. Had Pioneer Reading Society.” Waconia Patriot, July 9, 1942.

The Carver county Library website. About Your Library. Accessed march 2, 2013. https://www.carverlib.org/SitePages/about_your_library.aspx

Dauwalter, Earl, Sr. “Occurences In and About Carver: Carver Had Pioneer Reading Society.” Weekly Valley Herald, July 16, 1942.

“Express Library Coming to Cologne.” Norwood Young America Times, August 12, 2010.

Hutchings, Larry and Leanne Brown. “Carver County Historians Remember German and Swedish Reading Societies.” Carver County News, June 9, 2005.

Johnson, Charlotte Mary Speikers Christensen. The History of the Watertown, Minnesota Area 1856 to 2006: 150 Years of Community Life. Watertown, MN: 2006.

“Library Cards to be Issued Starting March 15.” Carver County News, March 6, 1975.

“Library Outlet Approved.” Norwood Times, January 16, 1975.

“Persuant to Notice the Waconia Literary Society Adopted the Name of the Waconia Library Association.” Weekly Valley Herald, December 23, 1886.

“Proposed County Library System Discussed Here.” Waconia Patriot, October 10, 1974.

“Proposed Library Budget Includes Library Branch Station at Chanhassen.” Waconia Patriot, September 21, 1978.

“Recently Installed an Express Library at the Victoria Recreation Center.” Chanhassen Villager, July 15, 2010.

Souter, Donna. “How Well Are You Informed About the County Library Referendum.” Waconia Patriot, October 24, 1974.

“State Traveling Library.” Norwood Times, November 1, 1912.

“State Traveling Library.” Young America Eagle, November 8, 1912.

 

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

Anderson, Keith. “Profiles on Progress: Librarian Meets the Growing Needs of Expanding Community.” Waconia Patriot, November 2, 1989.

“Carver County Library System Wins Top Award.” Waconia Patriot, February 27, 1986.

“Free Public Library for Waconia.” Waconia Patriot, October 25, 1912.

“The German Reading Society.” Waconia Patriot, February 12, 1976.

“How Important Is a Public Library to the Community?” Waconia Patriot, December 14, 1961.

“The Latest News is the Foundation of a Reading Society.” Carver Free Press, May 14, 1885.

“Legion Aux. May Start Public Library.” Norwood Times, October 16, 1953.

“Library Info.” Waconia Patriot, April 4, 1935.

“The Jubilee- The 25th Anniversary of the Carver County German Reading Society.” Carver Free Press, March 5, 1891.

“Recently Received Two National 2011 NACO Achievement Awards for the Victoria Express Library and the Oak Grove City Center Project.” Waconia Patriot, September 22, 2011.

[Secondary]

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., ed. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Chicago: Henry Taylor and Company, 1915.

Johnson, Hildegard Binder. “The Carver County German Reading Society”. Minnesota History, 24 no. 3 (September 1943):214-225. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/24/v24i03p214-225.pdf

Johnson, Hildegard Binder. “The Election of 1860 and the Germans in Minnesota” Minnesota History, 28 no. 1 (March 1947):20-36. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/28/v28i01p020-036.pdf

“News and Comment: Local Historical Societies”. Minnesota History, 23 no. 3 (September 1942): 253-303. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/23/v23i03p253-303.pdf

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.

Warner, George E. and Charles M. Foote. History of the Minnesota Valley: Carver County. Reprint. Carver County Historical Society, 1986. Originally published in George E. Warner and Charles M. Foote, History of the Minnesota Valley, Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Company, 1882.

[Web]

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Images/Audio/Video

AV-81-6173. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society (CCHS), Waconia, Minnesota. Photographic print “O.D. Sell (1942)” [Description]: A photo showing CCHS President O.D. Sell in Mayer with a recently donated banner from the German Reading Society, 1942. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-8725. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia, Minnesota. Photographic print “Waconia Public Library” [Description]: Children checking books out with the librarian at the Waconia Public Library. Rights held by the CCHS.

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

Founded in the late 1960s, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres (CDT) is the United States’ largest professional dinner theatre company. It is also the main tourist attraction for Carver County and a gem for musical theater enthusiasts. Home to many national and world premiere performances, CDT focuses on musical theatre and comedy shows as its mainstays.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres was the dream of Minnesota natives Herbert and Carolyn Bloomberg. The Bloombergs became fans of Broadway shows on their yearly trips to New York. Herbert, who was in the architecture and construction trade as designer, lumber supplier and builder, had built the Old Log Theater in Excelsior in 1965. Inspired by this, the couple began dreaming of bringing a bit of Broadway to Carver County. Using Herbert’s building and design experience, and Carolyn’s interior design skills, they started construction in the middle of a cornfield. Originally named “The Frontier”, the complex opened on October 11, 1968. The first production was How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres has grown since then into a sprawling 90,000 square-foot entertainment complex with four stages. The Main Dinner Thearre, the only one for CDT’s first two years, seats 560 guests. The 130-seat Playhouse Theatre opened in 1970 and features comedies. In 1973, The Clerestory started as a restaurant and banquet space. It evolved into the third theater space known as The Courtyard or The Club. It seats 180 guests. The fourth space, opened in the 1970s as The Bronco. A bar, it featured local and national musicians, including Jimmy Buffet. In 1978, it became the Bronco Opera House. Later, its name was changed to the Fireside Theatre. It seats 236 guests.

From opening night in 1968 to 2012, the Main Dinner Theatre presented more than 235 shows, mostly musicals. CDT overall can seat up to 1600 guests. With nearly 300 staff, it produces all shows completely in-house, including set-design, props, and costuming.

Rather than hire big-name actors, the Bloombergs put money toward creating better overall quality productions. Most actors were local professionals and members of Actors Equity. Many well-known names got their start at CDT. Among them were Ron Perlman, Loni Anderson, Linda Kelsey, Don Amendolia, Grant Norman and Amy Adams.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres is known for having the longest-running musical production featuring the original cast. Originally scheduled for only six weeks, I Do! I Do! opened in 1971. It closed twenty-two and a half years later on June 20, 1993, after 7,645 performances. Lead actors David Anders and Susan Goeppinger married in real life after the five-hundredth performance. Their lives mimicked the show, including having one son and one daughter as their characters did. The show and its actors were featured in a May 1989 People magazine article.

Locally, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres often has first rights to produce international shows, such as Les Miserables. CDT has also presented world premieres. Dan Goggin’s Nunsense series had many premieres at CDT, among them Sister Amnesia’s Country Western Nunsense Jamboree (1995), Nuncrackers (1998), Meshuggah-Nuns (2002) and Nunset Boulevard (2009). Longtime CDT actor and artistic director Michael Brindisi has a strong working relationship with the Rogers & Hammerstein Organization in New York. That resulted in another world premiere in February, 2007: Irving Berlin’s Easter Parade , based on the classic film.

In 1989, the Bloombergs sold CDT to local entrepreneur Thomas Scallen, manager of groups like the Harlem Globetrotters and the Ice Capades. In 2010, Scallen sold the complex to a group of local investors. Among them Michael Brindisi and his artistic partner, Tamara Kangas Erickson.

Turning Point: In 1971, the long-running I Do! I Do! Opens, making business at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres boom.

Chronology:

• 1965: Herbert Bloomberg builds the Old Log Theater in Excelsior and begins to dream of a theater complex to bring Broadway to Carver County.
• October 11, 1968: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres opens under the name, The Frontier, showing How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying.
• 1970: The Downstairs Playhouse holds its first non-comedy show production.
• 1973: The Clerestory, a restaurant and banquet space, is converted and reopened as the Courtyard (know The Club).
• 1970s: The 1970s CDT bar, the Bronco, is converted into the Bronco Opera House, now known as the Fireside.
• 1971: The longest running musical production featuring the original cast, CDT’s I Do! I Do! opens and runs for the next twenty-two and a half years, for a total 7,645 performances.
• 1976: The last non-musical production is performed on the Main stage.
• 1989: Herbert and Carolyn Bloomberg sell Chanhassen Dinner Theatres to Thomas Scallen.
• May 1989: I Do! I Do! and its cast are featured in People magazine.
• 1994: Chanhassen Dinner Theatres begins its partnership with Dan Goggin, premiering many of his Nunsense shows over the years.
• February 2007: The world premiere of the stage production of Irving Berlin’s Easter Parade takes place.
• 2010: Thomas Scallen sells the complex to a group of local investors, including long-time actor and artistic director Michael Brindisi and Tamara Kangas Erickson.

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Bibliography:

Adams, Forrest. “Sold! Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.” Chanhassen Villager, March 18, 2010.

Burns, Christopher. “ Going Steady, Couple Enters 20th Season of I Do! I Do!” Chanhassen Sailor, February 21, 1990.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres Marketing Intern, email message to author, May 20, 2013. Copy of Institutional History.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. Our History… A Journey in the Making. Accessed May 31, 2013. http://www.chanhassentheatres.com/history.aspx

“Chanhassen Complex Opening New Dinner Theatre,” news release, April 12, 1978.

Mueller, John. “Couple marks 20 Years of ‘Marriage’ on Chan Dinner Theatre Stage.” Chanhassen Villager, February 14, 1991.

Olson, Linda. “I Do! I Do! To Close! To Close!” Chanhassen Villager, September 17, 1992.

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres News Release. 1976.

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

“Bloombergs Likely to Announce Sale of Chanhassen Theaters.” Minneapolis Tribune, May 5, 1989.

“Caller Threatens Bomb at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre.” Carver County Herald, July 6, 1989.

“Dinner Theatres Sold; Will Continue Tradition.” Carver County Herald, May 11, 1989.

“It Takes At Least 300 to Get Dinner Theatres Ready.” Chanhassen Villager, October 21, 1987.

“Management Considers 4th Playhouse Options.” Chanhassen Villager, April 6, 1988.

Olson, Linda. “Happy Anniversary– I Do! I Do! Marks Another Milestone.” Chanhassen Villager, February 18, 1993.

Zuege, Unsie. “CDT’s Musical history on Display.” Chanhassen Villager, January 31, 2011.

[Secondary]

Hoisington, Daniel John. Chanhassen: A Centennial History. Chanhassen, MN: The Press, Banta

Corporation, July 1996.

[Web]

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres. http://www.chanhassentheatres.com/default.aspx

The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. http://www.rnh.com/

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Images/Audio/Video

View this article and the photos below at: http://www.mnopedia.org/structure/chanhassen-dinner-theatres

“CDT.night.nologo,” Digital print. Craig Peterson Archive, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Chanhassen, Minnesota. [Description]: An outside, front view of Chanhassen Dinner Theatres at night. Rights held by Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

“Grand Entrance or Lobby,” Digital print. Mike Paul, Act One, Too Photography Archive, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Chanhassen, Minnesota. [Description]: An image of the main lobby of CDT. Rights held by Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

“Main Sound and Lights,” Digital print. Mike Paul, Act One, Too Photography Archive, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Chanhassen, Minnesota. [Description]: The main sound and light systems for CDT Main Stage. Rights held by Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

“Photo Collage,” Digital print Mike Paul, Act One, Too Photography Archive, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Chanhassen, Minnesota.[Description]: A collage of scenes from CDT productions, featuring the CDT logo in center. Rights held by Chanhassen Dinner Theatres.

 

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

Seminary Fen is located between the cities of Chaska and Chanhassen, just across the river from Shakopee. In the twenty-first century, the site is a rare wetland, but the site was used long before the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) took control in 2008.

The history of Seminary Fen begins with the sulfur springs on the site. When Dr. Henry P. Fischer moved to the Shakopee area in 1894, he became interested in the sulfur springs and in 1908, he and his wife bought the land. That same year, Fischer teamed up with Dr. Timothy Larson of Jordan and F.W. Goodrich of Eden Prairie to form the Shakopee Mineral Springs Co. The Fischer’s then sold the land to the company but remained living on site. Dr. Fischer continued with the company until it was sold in 1951.

In November 1908, construction began on a sanatorium on the site. It was a health spa, a place to learn to stay well, not a hospital. The site was originally named the Swastika Sulpher Springs Sanitarium, after the symbol that meant life, power, strength, and good luck. However, the name was changed long before Germany’s Adolf Hitler gave a negative connotation to the word “swastika”. The sanatorium was known as Mudcura by the time the site officially opened in July of 1909. The only thing left behind of the earlier name was a decorative swastika symbol in the main office. The name Mudcura came from the mud baths and mud wraps thought to cure diseases that were given on site.

Mudcura’s main building included twenty-seven bedrooms for up to fifty guests, a cigar and newsstand, a smoking room, and a barbershop. Patients stayed for days or weeks, visiting one-three times a year. Mud baths and baths in the springs treated arthritis, rheumatism, gout, neuralgia, asthma, skin or nervous diseases, kidney problems, and alcoholism. One treatment was to lie on a rattan bed covered from the neck down in heated mud, followed by a massage and wrap in a cool blanket. Other treatments included drinking sulfur water or electric treatments. The rest of the visit was spent relaxing in leisure activities like walks or lawn sports. Records show patients from all over Minnesota, and Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin and Saskatchewan, Canada.

In 1951, the sanatorium was sold to the Black Franciscans, Order of Friars Minor Conventual, from Louisville, Kentucky. They named it Assumption Seminary and the site became linked with both the Colleges of St. Catherine and St. Thomas in St. Paul. The Seminary remained in operation until 1970. After that, the property changed hands many times, but remained abandoned. Many legends about the site being haunted sprang up. At times religious music was faintly heard inside the building. However, there is an explanation for this. Across the street are two transmission towers for a Christian radio station, and on foggy nights, the water pipes in the building would pick up the radio signal and transmit it audibly at a low level within the building. On November 8, 1997, a fire broke out at the site, destroying all remaining structures. It is believed the fires were set intentionally, to destroy this haunted “Hell House.”

In the twenty-first century, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has control of the site, still named for Assumption Seminary, as a Scientific and Natural Area (SNA). Seminary Fen is a calcareous fen within a larger wetland complex. Calcareous fens are a special type of wetland that can occur only at the base of slopes or bluffs, where cool , mineral-rich groundwater appears as springs. Water charged with minerals comes to the surface, then saturates and helps maintain thick layers of peat created by the decomposition of the plants that grow in the oxygen-poor water. Seminary Fen’s groundwater drains into Assumption Creek. The cold, clear waters of the creek form one of the Twin Cities metro area’s last surviving trout streams and flow from the fen to the Minnesota River just a mile away. A calcareous fen is Minnesota’s rarest wetland type. Fewer than five hundred survive in the world and Seminary Fen is one of the last remaining fens of this quality. It is home to many threatened and endangered plant species.

Turning Point: The formation of the Swastika Sulpher Springs Sanitarium at the Seminary Fen site in 1909 begins the history of Seminary Fen as a health and wellness destination, spanning four decades of patients from around the world.

Chronology:

• 1894: Dr. Henry P. Fischer moves to the Shakopee area with his family, and becomes interested in the nearby sulfur springs.
• 1908: Dr. Fischer and his wife purchase the springs. That same year, Fischer teams up with Dr. Timothy Larson of Jordan and F.W. Goodrich of Eden Prairie to form the Shakopee Mineral Springs Co.
• November 1908: Construction begins on a sanatorium at the site.
• July 1909: The sanatorium is opened to the public.
• 1951: The sanatorium is sold to the Black Franciscans. Order of Friars Minor Conventual, who turn it into a seminary named Assumption Seminary.
• 1970: The Seminary is closed.
• 1970-1997: The property changes hand many times, but remains abandoned.
• November 8, 1997: The abandoned structures, now thought haunted, is burned to the ground. The fire is thought to be intentional.
• 2008: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) purchases the Seminary Fen site to be turned into a protected Scientific and Natural Research area.

 

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Bibliography:

Crawford, Richard. “State DNR to Acquire Seminary Fen Property.” Chaska Herald, March 6, 2008.

Durben, Mary. “Mudcura Attracted Thousands.” Carver County Herald, June 23, 1988.

______. “Growing Up at Mudcura was ‘Great’, Says Founder’s Daughter.” Carver County Herald, June 23, 1988.

Faber, Jim. “Once Known Nationally, Now Just a Memory.” Chaska Herald, February 21, 1991.

“Seminary Fen” Educational Program. Carver County Historical Society

Seminary Fen. Lower Minnesota River Watershed District. Accessed April 19, 2013. http://www.watersheddistrict.org/seminary%20fen.html

Seminary Fen SNA. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Accessed April 19, 2013. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/detail.html?id=sna02018

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

Adams, Forrest. “DNR Officials and Chanhassen: No Eastern Crossing.” Chaska Herald, August 9, 2007.

Adams, Forrest. “Seminary Fen ‘On the Edge’.” Chaska Herald, July 8, 2010.

“Cleanup Saturday for Seminary Fen in Chanhassen.” Star Tribune- West Metro, October 27, 2012. Accessed April 19, 2013. http://www.startribune.com/local/west/176113481.html?refer=y

Hovell, Darla. “Seminary Must Gain Historical Significance to Change Zoning.” Carver County Herald, September 10, 1986.

“Intentions of Forming New Village Are Heard.” Weekly Valley Herald, September 8, 1938.

“Legislators Step Into River Crossing Fray: Concerns Over Fen.” Chaska Herald, April 18, 2008.

“Mudcura Sanitarium: Crowded to the Roof and Patients Have Been Turned Away.” Weekly Valley Herald, February 24, 1910.

“Mudcura Sanitarium Currently Observing Fortieth Anniversary.” Weekly Valley Herald, July 21, 1949.

“Seminary Fen Featured in MPR’s “Minnesota Sounds and Voices.” Chaska Herald, November 2, 2011. Accessed April 19, 2013. http://www.chaskaherald.com/news/general_news/seminary-fen-featured-in-mpr-s-minnesota-sounds-and-voices/article_ff420746-f7c0-5412-ba30-76bdc47470b6.html

“State DNR to Acquire Seminary Fen Property.” Chanhassen Villager, March 6, 2008.

“To Vote on Mudcura Village Dec. 29.” Waconia Patriot, December 22, 1938.

[Secondary]

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

“Embrace Green Urban Space- No. 7 Seminary Fen.” Embrace Open Space. Accessed April 20, 2013. http://www.embraceopenspace.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC=%7B92E50F66-6C65-4C24-AC71-46224A08D2BE%7D&DE=%7BD742BB38-6AD5-4730-BABC-271773144451%7D

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., ed. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Henry Taylor and Company: Chicago, 1915.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

Minnesota Master Naturalist. “The Friends of Seminary Fen.” Minnesota Master Naturalist Lothe013 Blog, University of Minnesota, May 22, 2009.  http://blog.lib.umn.edu/lothe013/mnats/2009/05/friends_of_seminary_fen_chanha.html

[Web]

Minnesota’s Scientific and Natural Areas. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Accessed April 19, 2013.  http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/snas/index.html

Seminary Fen. Minnesota Seasons.com- Nature Tourism in Minnesota. Accessed April 19, 2013.  http://minnesotaseasons.com/Destinations/Seminary_Fen_SNA.html

Seminary Fen Protection. Minnesota’s Legacy- Watch the Progress. Accessed April 19, 2013.  http://www.legacy.leg.mn/projects/seminary-fen-protection

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Images/Audio/Video

Uncatalogued. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print, “Mudcura” [Description]: An aerial view of the Mudcura Sanitarium near Shakopee. Rights held by the CCHS.

Uncatalogued. Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print, “Dr. Henry Fischer and Family” [Description]: A family portrait of Dr. Henry P. Fischer and family. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-81-7654 Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Mudcura” [Description]: a view of the main sanatorium building, which included twenty-seven bedrooms for up to fifty guests, a cigar and newsstand, a smoking room, and a barbershop. Rights held by the CCHS.

Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Treatments” Description: An image showing how some of the mud-wrap treatments worked. Rights held by the CCHS.

Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia Photographic print “Treaments 2” Description: A view showing patients wrapped in cool blankets after receiving a mud-wrap. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-90-10244 Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia. Photographic print “Patients” [Description]: This photo shows a group shot of patients at Mudcura Sanitarium. Early 1910s, not long after Mudcura opened. Rights held by the CCHS.

AV-99-10782 Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia Photographic print “Remains of Mudcura” Description: This image shows the remains of the Sanitarium after it was burned to the ground on November 8, 1997. Rights held by the CCHS.

 

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

 

 

 

 

 

The Chaska brick industry flourished from 1857-1950. First called “Chaska Brick” in an 1894 Chaska Herald article, this distinctive brick is known for its unique “creamy” color, high clay content, and quality. Chaska brick remains closely tied to the history of the city it came from.

Three key factors led to the success and popularity of Chaska brick. First, the brick is made from clay found in deep, rich alluvial clay deposits, with a distinctive layer of yellow clay over blue. Both clays are rich in sand and finely ground silica, giving the bricks a slight sparkle. Early use of wood to fire the brick versus later gas oven firing also caused a sparkle. Early brick makers in the 1800s thought the deposit to be limitless, but it turned out to be about twenty to forty-five feet deep.

The existence of nearby rich wood sources to heat the brick making kilns was another reason for the Chaska brick industry’s success. Chaska and Carver County are located in what was once the Big Woods of western Wisconsin and south-central Minnesota. This large forest of oak, maple, basswood, elm, ash and white birch provided tons of wood to heat the kilns. Many farmers clearing land traded firewood for brick and off-season brick workers cut firewood for their employers.

Third, Chaska was settled by German and Scandinavian immigrants, who came from areas where brick was the favored building material. These immigrants were skilled brick masons, and provided experienced labor for the brickyards. Success for Chaska brick was also aided by the brick weighing less than other brick, making it cheaper to transport. Brick making and firing techniques improved over time as well.

By the 1860s, four main brickyards existed in Chaska, employing about 100 people, in a town of only 1,255 people. By the 1880s, the number of employees had risen to nearly 400. By 1900, daily production reached an incredible three and a half million bricks, which is about forty to sixty million bricks a year. Six brickyards employed around 600 men, twenty percent of the city population, making Chaska brick the leading source of jobs and money for Chaska. By the beginning of the twentieth century, thirty percent of all brick used in Minnesota was made in Chaska.

Chaska brick was used when constructing many important buildings in Minnesota. For example, in Minneapolis, it can be seen in the Orpheum Theatre, Renaissance Square, Market Square, Wesbrook Hall on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce, and the Minneapolis Auditorium. In St. Paul, the prison at Fort Snelling and the State Capitol, where over two million bricks built the basement, are made with Chaska brick. It was used to line the sewers of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Chaska brick was used in many types of buildings: schools, city buildings, factories, mills, hotels, barns, farmhouses, row houses, houses, outhouses, stables, saloons restaurants, banks, churches and more.

Over the course of the early to mid twentieth century, the Chaska brick industry stalled. New building materials like clay tiles and concrete blocks were preferred. The new types of materials, and the financial crisis of the Great Depression, led to its decline. There was not enough demand for the supply. In the late 1960s, building fashion changed, and olive green or harvest gold bricks were preferred. Overtime, brickyard owner Charles Klein bought out the other brickyards, or they shut down from lack of sales. Trouble between labor and management in the 1960s lowered Chaska brick’s market price, interrupting the supply produced. Klein’s brickyard, the last to produce Chaska brick, finally shut its doors in 1971.

After production of Chaska brick ended, its historic significance was recognized. Many buildings made of Chaska brick were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Examples of these buildings in Carver County include the Frederick E. DuToit house, the Wendelin Grimm farmstead, the Herald block, the Simons Building and Livery Barn, and the Paul Mohrbacher house. In the twenty-first century, efforts to protect Chaska brick buildings continue through historic preservation.

Turning Point: The last brickyard in Chaska shut its doors in 1971, and in the years following, the significance of this brick industry gained recognition with many Chaska brick locations protected on the National Register of Historic Places.

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Chronology:

• 1857: First bricks of distinctive local clay, later named Chaska brick, are made and used.
• 1860s: There are four operating brickyards, employing up to 100 of Chaska’s 1,255 people.
• 1880s: Chaska brickyard employment reaches nearly 400 men.
• 1894: The locally-made bricks are first called “Chaska brick” in a Chaska Herald article.
• 1900: Daily production reaches an incredible three and a half million bricks, which is about forty to sixty million bricks a year.
• 1900: Six brickyards employed around 600 men, twenty percent of the city population. By this time, thirty-percent of all brick used in Minnesota was made in Chaska.
• 1960s: Cream colored brick loses popularity to other brick colors and building materials.
• 1971: Final Chaska brick factory closes its doors.

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Bibliography:

Barac, Lavonne. Chaska:A Minnesota River City. 2 vols. St. Paul, MN: Carver County Public Library, 1989.

Chaska Historical Society. “Chaska Brick: 1857-1950”. Pamphlet. Information gathered from: City of Chaska- Historic Context Study, Prepared for the Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission by           Thomas R. Zahn and Associates. Bethany Gladhill, Project Associate, Spring 2006.

“Carver County, Minnesota”. National Register of Historic Places. Accessed February 23, 2013. www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MN/state.html

Petersen-Biorn, Wendy. ”Farmhouses in Carver County: Resources Worthy of Preservation”. Brochure, Minnesota Department of Transportation, April 2011.

“National Register of Historic Places: Carver County, Minnesota”. Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), Minnesota Historical Society. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://nrhp.mnhs.org/NRSearch.cfm

Smith, Patrick. “Chaska Brick”. Student paper for Architecture 5512, March 1999. Minnesota Historical Society call # F612.C29 C476 1999.

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Related Resources:

[Primary]

“Architectural inventory of Chaska Brick farmhouses in Carver County, Minnesota”. St. Paul: Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, 2004.

Henning, Barbara J. Chaska Brick Farmhouses in Carver County, Minnesota. Phase III Mitigation Report. 2005. Copies on file with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota SHPO, Minnesota Historical Society.

[Secondary]

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., editor. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties, Minnesota. Chicago: Henry Taylor and Company, 1915.

Lofstrom, Ted and Lynne VanBrocklin Spaeth. Carver County: A Guide to Its Historic and Prehistoric Places. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1978.

Martens, Steve C. “Historic Chaska, Minnesota: “Minnesota’s Brick City”: Downtown Preservation Design

Manual. Prepared for the: Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission, 2003.

Martens, Steven C. “Ethnic Traditions and Innovations as Influences on a Rural Midwestern Building

Vernacular”. Master’s thesis, University of Minnesota, 1988.

Martens, Steve. “Brick Houses in Carver County”. Student paper, University of Minnesota-Foster Dunwiddie Papers, 1987-1988.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2011.

[Web]

“National Register of Historic Places-Carver County”. National Park Service. Accessed February 26, 2013. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreghome.do?searchtype=natreghome

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Images/Audio/Video

AV-99-11025
Photograph Collection, Carver County Historical Society, Waconia
Postcard “Brickyards, Chaska”
Cook-Montgomery Co. Post Cards, Minneapolis
Description: brickyard factory in Chaska, MN circa 1913.
Rights held by the CCHS.

VII  A  5
Photograph Collection, Chaska Historical Society, Chaska, MN Photographic print “Klein Brickyard workers circa 1910” Description: Top Row- Albert Buschkowsky, August Buschkowsky (Boldt?) Bottom- Wm. “Bill” Griep, Herman Tiedeman, Rudolph Schoen, _______ Neubert, unknown, unknown Rights held by Chaska Historical Society.

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“This article used with the permission of MNopedia, operated by the Minnesota Historical Society, under a Creative Commons License. No changes have been made to the article’s content.”

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Carver County, founded in 1855, is home to the Minnesota and Crow rivers, along with 125 lakes. Located southwest of the Twin Cities, it is part of the seven county metro area.

Early Residents

The area named Carver County has been home to American Indians, immigrants, and many others throughout its long history. Many thousands of years ago, Minnesota was covered by glaciers and the First People, early American Indians, who hunted mammoths and giant bison. As the ice melted, the people changed how they hunted and lived. They made their own tools from bone or rock. This process is called flintknapping. Most hunted with spears or bow and arrow. Trade with neighboring groups was important, but trade also stretched across the country. Archaeologists found a cowry shell, an object found in the Pacific Ocean, in a Carver County archaeology site in Camden Township.

Over time, Minnesota became a forest, of oak, elm, maple and cottonwood trees. The “Big Woods” covered much of Minnesota and Wisconsin. This forest provided good hunting grounds for the American Indians in the area, who were mainly Dakota. The Indians traveled with the seasons. They followed deer and elk herds and gathered fruits, nuts and berries. The Dakota had a lasting impact on Carver County, and Dakota place names, such as Waconia (lake of the fountain or lake of the spring) and Chanhassen (tree of sweet sap) identify important areas.

The Fur Trade

Some of the first European explorers in the area that became Carver County were French. They created strong relationships with the American Indians, learning the knowledge and skills.Massachusetts-born Jonathan Carver lived with a local band over a period of months, learning Dakota culture and writing about what he learned.

The Indians saw value in items the French brought with them such as axes, guns, and glass beads. These items were not commonly available and gave advantages to the Dakota. The Indians brought early explorers and later French traders into their kinship system to create better on-going trade relations. The French traders married Indian women and learned their language and traditions, becoming part of a pre-existing trade network.

From the late 1600s through the 1840s, growing numbers of Europeans came into Minnesota to trade fur. In Carver County, there were two companies in the fur trade: the Northwest Fur Trading Company (British), and the American Fur Company. The Northwest Fur Company started in 1779, and there is archaeological evidence of a fur trading post associated with them located in Carver County. The post was south of where the city of Carver sits, along the Minnesota River, at a location called “Little Rapids”. It was operated from 1804-1808, and again in the 1830s, by Jean-Baptiste Faribault. It was run with help from his wife Pelagie, and sons Alexander and Oliver. In the twenty-first century, a historic marker is near the site, as no structures remain.

The British controlled the fur trade in the late 1700s and then the Americans took over in the early 1800s. The Indians tried to create the same family bonds with them as they had with the French. They referred to “Grandmother England” and “The Great Father in Washington.” However, the British and the Americans did not understand the importance of family to the Dakota. Indian-White relations declined. The fur trade period effectively ended in 1851 with the signing of two important treaties.

Treaty Period

The Treaty of Traverse de Sioux was signed July 23, 1851, and the Treaty of Mendota signed in August 1851, with the Sisseton/Wahpeton bands (Traverse de Sioux) and Wahpekute/Mdewakanton bands (Mendota) of Dakota. These treaties opened what is now Carver County to settlement by white settlers. Many whites had settled the land prior to the treaties, illegally. These illegal settlers are sometimes known as “Sooners”, and many of them were forced to give up their land. They either moved back east again or made their homes on different land, legally.

Settlement of Carver County

Carver County became an official county on March 3, 1855, named for early explorer, Jonathan Carver, as is the city of Carver. It is divided into ten townships: Hollywood, Watertown, Camden, Waconia, Laketown, Young America, Benton, Dahlgren, Hancock, and San Francisco. Government officials declared San Francisco the first county seat until it was moved to Chaska in 1856. It remains in Chaska even with many battles to move the county seat to other locations.

By 1857, five school districts were organized: Carver, Chaska, Benton, Chanhassen, and Groveland. The very first school was located in Chanhassen, where the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum sits. The teacher was Susan Hazeltine. Lake Susan and Hazeltine Golf course are named after her.

The earliest white settlers were from the eastern United States. By the 1860s, however, most new settlers were immigrants from Germany, Ireland, or Sweden. This immigrant population brought their home country traditions, including names for their new towns. The Germans brought names like Hamburg, Gotha, and Cologne, and the Swedes, Swede Lake and East Union.

Most settlers wanted to own land and became farmers, but Chaska also had a booming brick industry, known for its distinctive yellow brick. The thickness of the Big Woods made it difficult for early settlers to clear the land for farming, but they carried on, using cut trees for houses, firewood, and tools. The desire to clear the land led to a booming logging industry in the 1850s-1870s. In the early twenty-first century, much of the county’s land is still farmland. Most people, though, hold other types of work, with many making the drive to the Twin Cities and surrounding communities for work.

Carver County in the Twenty-First Century

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a Board of Commissioners, each taking one of five districts, governs Carver County. These Commissioners guide the directives, resolutions, ordinances, and policies for all of Carver County, implemented by the County Administrator’s office. The County Administrator’s department also guides and supports all other county divisions, such as Social Services and Public Health and Environment.

The county sits among Wright County (north), Hennepin County (northeast), Scott County (southeast), Sibley County (southwest) and McLeod County (west). Carver County has a total area of approximately 376 square miles, of which around ninety-five percent (357 square miles) is land, and about five percent (nineteen square miles) is water. The land of Carver County consists of plains, gently rolling to steep hills, wetlands, streams, and lakes, with steep bluffs along the Minnesota River Valley. The county is home to many parks, protected wetlands, and nature preserves, among them: Seminary Fen, Baylor Regional Park, and Carver Park Reserve.

While small, Carver County has been one of the fastest growing counties in Minnesota since about 1980. Carver County has a large urban/rural, or city/country, divide. The eastern cities of Chaska and Chanhassen combine for over half of the county’s population. Waconia and Victoria follow these cities closely. The other eleven towns have populations less than half this size.

Though the county is ninety-four percent white in the early twenty-first century, numbers of minority residents are growing. Chaska in particular has seen major growth of its Hispanic population. This growing racial and ethnic diversity is very visible in the public schools. Throughout Carver County, a growing percentage of students speak a language other than English at home.

Overall, Carver County has a long and rich history. It is well positioned to continue to thrive.

Turning Point: Carver County is established by the state of Minnesota on March 3, 1855.

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Chronology:

• late 1600’s- Fur trade between American Indians and the French begins in what is later known as Carver County.
• 1804-1808- Jean-Baptiste Faribault runs Little Rapids Fur trade post. He and his family return to it in the 1830’s.
• 1851- Signing of treaties at Traverse de Sioux and Mendota in July and August. These treaties officially open up the land that becomes known as Carver County to white settlement.
• March 3, 1855- Carver County is officially established, with San Francisco named as the county seat.
• 1855: First official road created in Carver County, in Dahlgren.
• 1856: Chaska becomes the county seat.
• 1857: The brick industry in brick industry in Chaska begins, lasting for over one hundred years.
• 1870s: The logging industry starts to slow in Carver County
• 1912-1916: The Yellowstone Trail, the first “good road” connecting the east and west coasts of the United States, is designated and improved in Carver County. In 1926, it would become parts of Hwys. 5 and 212 through the county.
  

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  Maps:

Download a pdf of this image:Carverco_City_and_Township_boundaries

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Download a pdf of this image: Commissioner_Districts2

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Download a pdf of this image: Carverco_Parks

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carver County website. About. Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.co.carver.mn.us/county_government/aboutCC.asp

Carver County website. Board of Commissioners. Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.co.carver.mn.us/county_government/board.asp

Carver County website. Carver County 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Accessed December 1, 2012. http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/LWS/2030_plan.asp

DNR website. Lake Finder: Carver County. Accessed December 2, 2012. http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/lakefind/index.html

Petersen-Biorn, Wendy. “Yellowstone Trail: Remembering the ‘Good Road’”. Chaska Herald, September 2, 2012.

Minnesota Indian Affairs Council website. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.indianaffairs.state.mn.us/

Minnesota Humanities Center website. Why Treaties Matter exhibit. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/treaties

Ridge, Alice A. and John William. Introducing the Yellowstone Trail: A Good Road from Plymouth Rock to              Puget Sound, 1912-1930. Altoona, WI: Yellowstone Trail Publishers, 2000.

Treaties Matter website. Explore Treaties. Accessed February 23, 2013. http://www.treatiesmatter.org/treaties

Warner, George E. and Charles M. Foote. History of the Minnesota Valley: Carver County. Reprint. Carver County Historical Society, 1986. Originally published in George E. Warner and Charles M. Foote,   History of the Minnesota Valley, Minneapolis: North Star Publishing Company, 1882.

 

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RELATED RESOURCES

Secondary:

Barac, Lavonne. Chaska:A Minnesota River City, Volume 1 and 2. St. Paul, MN: Carver County Public       Library, 1989.

“Book Reviews”. Minnesota History Magazine, Winter 1997-1998, Vol. 55 Issue 8: 374-380.

Carver County Historical Society. ”Farmhouses in Carver County: Resources Worthy of Preservation”.

Brochure, Minnesota Department of Transportation, April 2011.

Chaska Historical Society. “Chaska Brick: 1857-1950”. Pamphlet. Information gathered from: City of Chaska- Historic Context Study, Prepared for the Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission by Thomas R. Zahn and Associates. Bethany Gladhill, Project Associate, Spring 2006.

Carver County: Today and Yesterday. Compiled by the Carver County Statehood Centennial Committee, 1958.

Fuller, Wayne Edison. One-Room Schools of the Middle West: An Illustrated History. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1994.

Holcombe, Maj. R.I., editor. Compendium of History and Biography of Carver and Hennepin Counties,   Minnesota. Henry Taylor and Company: Chicago, 1915.

“Life in Carver County.” Carver County Citizen. 7 no. 2 (December 2006): 1-4.

Lofstrom, Ted and Lynne VanBrocklin Spaeth. Carver County: A Guide to Its Historic and Prehistoric Places. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1978.

Martens, Steve C. “Historic Chaska, Minnesota: “Minnesota’s Brick City”: Downtown Preservation Design

Manual. Prepared for the: Chaska Heritage Preservation Commission, 2003.

Martens, Steven C. “Ethnic Traditions and Innovations as Influences on a Rural Midwestern Building

Vernacular”. Master’s thesis, University of Minnesota, 1988.

Martins, Steve. “Brick Houses in Carver County”. Student paper, University of Minnesota-Foster Dunwiddie Papers, 1987-1988.

Overcott, Nancy. At Home in the Big Woods. Lanesboro, MN: Taxon Media, 2002.

Theen, Olive Ireland. Country School Days: The Vanished One Room School. St. Cloud, MN: self-published through Sentinel Print, Co., 1992.

Theobald, Paul. Call School: Rural Education in the Midwest to 1918. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1995.

Tremblay, Ruth and Lois Schulstad. Images of America: Carver County. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, South Carolina, 2011.

Winchell, N.H. “Notes on the Big Woods”. Annual Report of the Minnesota State Historical Society, 1875.

Web:

Carver Co. City and Township Boundaries. Carver County Free maps, Carver County GIS, Chaska: http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/admin/IS/free_maps.asp Description: Map showing the division of Carver County into townships, cities and towns. Rights: Carver County GIS.

Carver County ParksCarver County Free maps, Carver County GIS, Chaska: http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/admin/IS/free_maps.asp Description: Map showing the division of Carver County into townships, cities and towns. Rights: Carver County GIS.

Carver County Commissioner Districts Carver County Free maps, Carver County GIS, Chaska: http://www.co.carver.mn.us/departments/admin/IS/free_maps.asp Description: Map showing the division of Carver County into townships, cities and towns. Rights: Carver County GIS.

 

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