Community: History

Since the 1800s, the Uptown area of Minneapolis was home to a wide range of activities. In the 1830s, an area on the east side of Lake Calhoun was home to a Dakota village. Settlement from Minneapolis moved outward in the 1870s, with a farm house and farming activities occurring in the north section of Uptown. A large hotel on the east side of Lake Calhoun drew those from the city by a street railway from the late 1870s to the late 1880s.

Rapid development in Uptown began in the late 1890s and into the early 1900s as electric streetcars and the real estate speculation drove outward from the city core. Many of the houses in Uptown date from this period. During this time the park system in Minneapolis began to dramatically take shape, creating much of what we enjoy today. Lake dredging and parkways made the lakes more of a pleasant sight and more accessible.