RICHFIELD
COMMUNITY GUIDE 2025
A showcase for the Richfield of yesteryear
Chronicling and showcasing Richfield’ s history has been a longtime objective of the Richfield Historical Society.
Among the area’ s pioneers was Riley Bartholomew, a former general in the Ohio Militia, who settled with his family in 1852 on a homestead at what is now the intersection of 69th Street and Lyndale Avenue, near the shore of Wood Lake. The house still stands and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Tours of the house are available, facilitated by the Historical Society.
A current goal of the Historical Society is the same goal that prompted the formation of the Historical Society: preservation of the Bartholomew House. After options for installing interpretive exhibits were explored several years ago, work on the house shifted to addressing its structural integrity while maintaining its appearance from pioneer days.
More than 170 years since its construction, the roof of the Bartholomew House is in need of repair, and the second floor has been closed to the public due to structural concerns. To address those issues, the organization is actively fundraising to support its multi-point plan to restore the house, which includes seeking grants that will help pay for its continued preservation.
Beyond the Bartholomew House, the Historical Society’ s mission has broadened, and the Richfield History Center, located next to the pioneer home, has become a venue for educational exhibits and a repository for treasured artifacts recalling the city’ s days of yore.
That history is rooted in farming – the city’ s name references the fertile land upon which it was founded. Richfield’ s collection of farmland, largely populated by market gardens, gave way to suburban development following World War II. Prior to the war, Richfield’ s population was under 10,000. By 1960, the city was home to 42,500 inhabitants.
The population growth came after annexations had already shrunk Richfield geographically – what was known as Richfield once included parts of what is now St. Louis Park, Edina, Minneapolis and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Richfield’ s population peaked at 50,000 in 1970 before shrinking to its current level of about 36,000.
Richfield History Center 6901 Lyndale Ave. richfieldhistory. org 612-798-6140
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