Community Corner
History Lesson: When Richfield Ruled the Land
When Richfield was first created in 1858, its territory encompassed Edina, St. Louis Park, and a sizeable chunk of Minneapolis.
Ever wonder how Richfield's small borders were established?
Well, they actually used to extend farther—much, much farther.
When most Minnesotans think of Richfield, they may think about a suburb of Minneapolis that grew up during the post-World War II housing boom. What they might not know is that the city’s origins date back as far as 1820, when Richfield was a “suburb” of Fort Snelling, Minnesota's first military base.
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When Richfield was first created in 1858 its boundaries stretched from Minneapolis’s Lake Street on the north to Bloomington on the south and from the Mississippi River to Highway 169 east to west.
When the initial boundaries of Richfield were established, Minneapolis was still a small settlement on the Mississippi’s west bank.
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Richfield's preeminence was short-lived as lumber, flour milling and other industries dependent on the Mississippi River began to boom, fueling the city's growth.
The state legislature was the first to reduce Richfield’s size, transferring land from Lake Street to 46th to Minneapolis in 1867.
Richfield at that time was a small farming community with a significant amount of land. The land was transferred to Minneapolis without much commentary from the townspeople.
As Minneapolis absorbed St. Anthony in 1872, it was clear that the newly expanding Mill City was looking to grow, and eyeing neighboring territory.
Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet were annexed into Minneapolis in 1883 by the Minnesota Legislature, and it seemed clear that the growing city would not stop there.
People who wished to remain in control of their neighborhoods banded together to take action, creating new towns. The Board of Commissioners for Hennepin County established St. Louis Park in 1886.
The Village of Edina was established in 1889 after west Richfield residents pushed for a town hall space closer to where they lived. The creation of Edina nearly cut Richfield's size in half.
Richfield kept on shrinking. In 1887 Minneapolis was given all of Richfield's land between 46th and 54th Streets by the Minnesota Legislature.
Those residents who had felt like there was more than enough land for everyone were starting to feel a sense of scarcity and concern.
Minutes from a Richfield town meeting in 1892 urged citizens to "take whatever steps necessary to incorporate this town into a village."
Despite residents agreeing to incorporate, it took 16 more years before Richfield became a village.
The next move to annex land to Minneapolis came from the citizens of north Richfield themselves. The leaders of this cause were largely urban newcomers who wanted the city services and higher property values a Minneapolis address offered.
New housing on the northern border of Richfield brought in residents who worked in the Ford Factory across the river in St. Paul and those residents held values that conflicted with the village's farming community and way of life. Their goal was to dissolve Richfield alltogether and incorporate it with Minneapolis.
Ultimately the residents reached a compromise that brought a strip of land a mile wide from 54th to 58th Street.
After years of land changing hands, Richfield's land expanse currently sits at just about 7 square miles.