LAKEVILLE
COMMUNITY GUIDE 2025-26
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.
Community Guide 2025-26 | LAKEVILLE | 5