Timeline of Northfield, Minnesota facts for kids

Welcome to a timeline of important events in the history of Northfield, Minnesota. Discover how this town grew from its early days!

Nineteenth Century History

Early Northfield Settlers

• 1851 – The U.S. government made a special agreement with the Dakota people. These Native Americans had lived in this area for thousands of years. The agreement allowed European-American settlers to move into southern Minnesota. Most Dakota people were moved to a reservation near New Ulm, Minnesota. This agreement helped prepare the way for Northfield to be founded.
• 1851 – William Marshall explored the land and helped John W. North choose a spot. John North came from Syracuse, New York. He wanted to build mills and a town, which he decided to call Northfield.
• 1854 – In May, Daniel Kuykendall was the first European-American pioneer to arrive. Other settlers soon followed him to the area.
• 1855 – On August 17, John North bought 160 acres of land. He purchased this land from two other early settlers.
• 1856 – In September, Miron W. Skinner and his brother moved to Northfield. They opened the town's second store. Miron Skinner was very important in starting Northfield College, which is now Carleton College.
• 1856 – Herman Jenkins built the very first hotel in Northfield.
• 1857 – John L. Schofield arrived in Northfield and became the town’s first doctor. He built the first drugstore, which was connected to his house. John North faced money problems during a time called the Panic of 1857.
• 1859 – Charles Augustus Wheaton bought John North's business interests. He became one of the early leaders of the town.

Founding of Colleges

• 1865 – Jesse Ames moved to Northfield and bought mills from Charles Augustus Wheaton.
• 1866 – The Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches and Charles M. Goodsell started Northfield College. This college was later renamed Carleton College.
• 1867 – Wheaton and Goodsell each gave a 10-acre (40,000 m²) piece of land. This land was used to create the college campus. It was located north of the main part of town.
• 1871 – Northfield College changed its name to Carleton College. This was to honor William Carleton of Charlestown, Massachusetts. He had given US$50,000 to the new college.
• 1874 – St. Olaf College was founded by Rev. B.J. Muus and Harold Thorson. Two local farmers, who were members of the Norwegian Lutheran Church, also helped.

Important Events and People

• 1875 – Hiram Scriver was chosen as Northfield's first mayor.
• 1876 – On September 7, the James-Younger gang tried to rob the First National Bank. The bank treasurer, Joseph Lee Heywood, was killed when he refused to open the bank's safe.
• 1877 – James D. Archer opened the second hotel in the Northfield area.
• 1882 – W. S. Pattee was the superintendent of schools. He also taught at Carleton College. Later, he became a lawyer in Northfield. He then became the dean of the law school at the University of Minnesota.
• 1884 – Joel P. Heatwole arrived in Northfield. He bought The News newspaper. He made it the most important weekly newspaper in the state. His printing office was a great example of technology.
• 1889 – Margaret Evans' job title at Carleton College changed to "lady principal." In 1898, it became "dean of the women’s department." Known as Dean Evans, she was a very important person in Carleton's history.
• 1893 – J. C. Nutting, who was president of First National Bank, planned and paid for the Nutting Block. This building was made to house the Northfield Knitting Company.
• 1895 – W. F. Schilling came to Northfield. He was once an editor for the Northfield News. Schilling became a famous Holstein cow breeder and a leading farmer in the state and country.
• 1897 – Link Fey built one of the first successful gasoline-powered cars in Minnesota.
• 1898 – Laura M. Baker opened a school for students with special needs who were under 14 years old.

Twentieth Century Milestones

Northfield's Slogans and Growth

• 1914 – Northfield chose a town slogan: “Northfield: Cows, Colleges and Contentment.” This slogan was changed in the 1960s to "Northfield: A Special Place." But in the 1980s, people decided to bring back the old slogan.
• 1916 – Emily Willey Skinner, wife of Miron W. Skinner, gave a large, Gothic-style chapel to Carleton College. This was for the college's 50th anniversary.
• 1918 – W. M. Savage started the Dan Patch Train Line.

Community Leaders and Businesses

• 1924 – R.C. Phillips joined the fire department. He served as chief for 42 years. He holds a record in the U.S. for being at every fire his firefighters battled.
• 1927 – John S. Campbell started the Malt-O-Meal company.
• 1934 – George Gibson taught geology and coached football at Carleton College. He won many awards in his field. He was even chosen for the Petroleum Museum Hall of Fame in 2001.
• 1955 – G. T. Schjeldahl started the Sheldahl Company. This company made special laminated products. These included fabric for the "Echo" satellites and circuits for car dashboards.
• 1959 – Dallas Haas, a building contractor, moved to Northfield with his wife Sandra. They found many homes needing to be built. In 1981, the Haases bought the Stuart Hotel. They turned it into the Archer House, a very famous building on Division Street.
• 1967 – Maggie Lee became the Editor of The Northfield News.
• 1975 – Maggie Lee, a longtime writer and editor for the Northfield News, helped start the Northfield Historical Society. She received the Hometown Spirit Award in 1993.
• 1991 – Greg Heyman opened Hogan Brothers’ Acoustic Café.

Twenty-first Century Events

Recent Changes in Northfield

• 2004 – Maggie Lee celebrated 50 years working in journalism. She still writes articles for the newspaper.
• 2008 – Mary Rossing became Northfield's first female mayor. Also, for the first time, more women than men were elected to the city council. More about Mary Rossing
• 2020 – The Archer House Inn, a hotel that had been open since 1877, was destroyed in a fire. The fire was caused by a faulty smoker in a barbecue restaurant located in the building.