A Brief History of Maple Grove

(The following sections are paraphrased from the Maple Grove City Website: http://www.ci.maple-grove.mn.us/)

Beginnings
Given Maple Grove’s rapid growth today, it is ironic that the town's first residents did not move there voluntarily. After being shuffled from state to state, Winnebago Native Americans were settled in Maple Grove until they were later forced out by encroaching settlers. Louis Gervais and Pierre Bottineau arrived in present day Maple Grove to homestead in 1851.

Economy
Small businesses have proliferated in Maple Grove for much of its early history. Creameries, saw mills, and general stores were the towns first businesses. Three dance halls and two horse racing tracks provided entertainment for early settlers. The one time commercial center ran along “Territorial Road” and included a cheese factory, train depot, blacksmith shop and rail siding. Today, Maple Grove hosts 24 small shopping centers. There is more retail space in Maple Grove than any other city in Minnesota except Bloomington (where the Mall of America is located). Much of this retail space is found in the Shoppes at Arbor Lakes, Minnesota’s first “lifestyle” center. Although designed to emulate a village, this shopping center is filled with high-end chain stores like Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, and Anthropologie. Maple Grove’s newest retail development is “The Grove,” which hosts a Super Target and Home Depot. In other words, like many small American cities, Maple Grove’s economy has slowly come to be dominated by national chain stores, despite its beginnings in small business.

Government
Like many small cities, Maple Grove quickly progressed through several forms of government. Until 1803, it was managed through town meetings in private homes. A town board then shifted from one “town hall” to another until 1954. In 1974, Maple Grove became a city and constructed a new government center (interestingly, near the site of the original). Today the city is governed by a mayor and council. Each serve four-year terms and many have served several terms. Today’s longest sitting council member is LeAnn Sargeant, who has served since 1991. The council and mayor meet in the council chambers of the government center, a high ceiling imperial room where the councilors sit at a higher level than citizens. Each council member is prominent member of the community and is often well connected to greater metro-area politics.

Schooling
It was schools, not governments, that defined the early village of Maple Grove. In 1858, the first Maple Grove school opened in a vacant building on a homesteader’s land. Several years later, the first “District 42 Maple Grove” school opened its doors. Schools named for the many lakes of the region (Eagle Lake School, Weaver Lake School, Fish Lake School, Hennessey Lake School and Elm Lake School) popped up over the proceeding years. Many are still standing, but have been converted to private homes. Interestingly, the original “Maple Grove” school may be the only historic school house in use by the public today – the Osseo Alcholics Anonymous meet there weekly. These Maple Grove schools existed before a town government took shape and were identified with Maple Grove before a government was.