RICH IN HISTORY
1853 – Captain William B . Dodd directed construction of a road connecting the military forts in Saint Paul to Saint Peter and Mankato .
1855 – 250 acres platted by Lakeville ’ s early settler , Joseph J . Brackett , at the halfway point along the Dodd route . German immigrant John Weichselbaum , operated a successful summer resort with cottages and a dining hall on Prairie Lake ( now Lake Marion ).
1856 – First school building .
1858 – Lakeville Township was formed , encompassing the rural farms . Immigrants from Ireland , Scotland , England , and the Scandinavian countries settled . Growth included a general store , two hotels , a boarding house , a blacksmith shop , a saloon , and a shoemaker ’ s shop .
1869 – Hastings and Dakota Railroad , unable to purchase land adjacent to the Village , bought 20 acres one-half mile east . Existing businesses abandoned the first town site and moved to Fairfield .
1878 – New site named Lakeville .
1889 – The Village Council appropriated $ 1,000 to start a creamery .
1890 – Creamery started by a group of farmers .
4 | Lakeville Area Guide & Member Directory
1891 – Wheat was the major crop produced by MN farmers , and the Village Council offered $ 1,500 for a mill .
1892 – The Claro Mill , located by the railroad tracks and 208th Street , was up and running . It operated until 1924 .
1900 – The Village grew to a population of 373 . Voters approved a $ 3,500 bond for a new engine house , lock up , and Village Hall .
1901 – the Village and Fire Hall opened , complete with a bell tower to summon townspeople to fight fires .
1908 – Electric Investment Company , a subsidiary of Minneapolis , Rochester & Dubuque Traction Company - Dan Patch Line purchased land and platted 237 acres . Prairie Lake renamed Lake Marion after Marion Savage , President of MR & DCT .
1910 – Dan Patch Line completed . Additional 40 acres added to and continued development of Antlers Park , named after an angler ’ s surprise hooking and pulling antlers from the lake .
1911 – Antlers Park Farm barn was converted into a dancing pavilion , with a confectionary and restaurant . A hotel was also added but later turned into a clubhouse and café .
1912 – 50 arc and 1,200 incandescent lights installed to illuminate Antlers Park , and the pavilion ceiling was painted by John L . Hall to resemble a “ fairyland .” A music platform added with six mythological plaster statues eight feet high . A playground , baseball diamond , tennis courts , band concert promenade , water slide and diving platform added .
1913 – An illuminated aerial swing with cigarshaped airships was purchased from the closing of Wonderland Park and installed at Antlers Park .
1915 – $ 50,000 spent on park amusements , attractions and buildings .
1924 – First water system approved by voters and built , funded by $ 22,000 in water bonds . Residents held a taste test to find the best place to place the first well .
1931 – All gambling devices , slot machines and punch boards were outlawed and removed from cafés and pool halls . No mirrors were allowed in pool halls and nothing could obstruct windows , such as signs .
1933 – Lakeville Liquor was established , as both on and off municipal sales , post prohibition .