LAKEVILLE COMMUNITY GUIDE 2024
Community embraces its history
Lakeville may have started as a township built on the edge of Prairie Lake , but it has become one of the fastest growing cities in the metropolitan area , thanks to a number of individuals who contributed to the success in its historic past .
Griffin Phelps is credited as Lakeville ’ s first settler after coming to Minnesota in 1853 . He is most known for planting the first rye in the area in 1853 and for being appointed postmaster in 1854 . People from many of the surrounding cities used to travel to Lakeville for their mail , helping the area gain notoriety .
Around that same time , Capt . William B . Dodd constructed a road that connected Fort Snelling in St . Paul to the southern military forts . It now bisects present-day Lakeville and was vital in the foundation of the city . The area was chosen as an ideal place for a town since it was halfway between St . Paul and St . Peter .
Two years later , J . J . Brackett , owner of a St . Paul lumber mill , platted 250 acres of land and named the city Lakeville because it was near Prairie Lake . By 1858 , the township became a growing community and was home to many European immigrants .
The neighboring city of Fairfield began to boom with the construction of a railroad , and residents petitioned to get the name of Fairfield changed to Lakeville . The Village of Lakeville was later incorporated in 1878 , and the name Fairfield was no more .
A majority of Lakeville Township and the Village of Lakeville united in 1967 to become the city of Lakeville . At the same time , Airlake Industrial Park opened , allowing businesses to boom .
Antlers Amusement Park
Col . Marion Savage built Antlers Amusement Park near the railroad line in 1910 , and it soon became one of the most famous amusement parks in the Upper Midwest . Prairie Lake was renamed Lake Marion since the park was located on the east shore , and the railroad was renamed the Dan Patch Railroad Line after Savage ’ s famous race horse .
Thousands of visitors came each year to use the dance pavilion , playground , tennis courts , athletic field , boats , diving tower , high sliding chute , aerial swing and beach . Wealthy southern families came to stay in cabins on the lake each summer to escape the southern heat .
Present-day Lakeville
Lakeville became a boomtown in the early 21st century as a result of rising land costs in the metropolitan area . Despite its rapid growth , the city has not forgotten its rich heritage . Several of the original structures can still be seen today , including the historic village and fire hall in downtown Lakeville , which was constructed in 1910 .
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