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CHistory
History · Chanhassen

Chanhassen’s post office opened in 1854, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #182 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Chanhassen was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1994. Its Register listings are the Church of St. Hubertus-Catholic and the Albertine and Fred Heck House. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1900.

1854first post office
2on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Chanhassen began

When was Chanhassen founded?

1854

The Chanhassen post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1969.

First census: 175 in 19002020 census: 25,947172 years

How historic is Chanhassen?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Chanhassen post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1969.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Chanhassen’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chanhassen is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #182 of 273 in Minnesota. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Chanhassen’s overall grade.
Founding era1854, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19401.3% of homes (±0.5) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register2 listings, 0.8 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 33%

Minnesota towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Minnesota town has 2.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Chanhassen’s 0.8 sits near the middle of its state (50% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1969.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Chanhassen’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Chanhassen are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19054 editions of the USGS map, 1905 to 1993. Watch Chanhassen change.Famous sons and daughtersRory Guilday, Stu Bickel and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Chanhassen’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Chanhassen’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Chanhassen on the map, 1905 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chanhassen. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Chanhassen on the 1905 USGS mapChanhassen on the 1958 USGS mapChanhassen on the 1972 USGS mapChanhassen on the 1993 USGS map1905Minnetonka sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chanhassen.

Famous people

8 famous people were born in Chanhassen

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Rory GuildayAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2002
Stu BickelAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1986
Jim LordAmerican politician · b. 1948
A
Alex SpillumAmerican football player · b. 1999
C
Claire RoblingAmerican politician · b. 1956
P
Peter WesterhausAmerican football player · b. 1992
The story

How Chanhassen came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Chanhassen.

Read it all →

The area of the modern-day city of Chanhassen was first established in June 1852. The first recorded settler of Chanhassen was Joseph Vogel, along with his brothers Frank Vogel and August Vogel, who settled on Rice Marsh Lake in Chanhassen near the border of Shakopee and Eden Prairie. The second major settler of Chanhassen was Joseph Kessler, who settled just north of Vogel's land claim. In August 1852, Vogel married Kessler's daughter, Veronica Kessler, the first recorded marriage in Chanhassen. The first recorded death in Chanhassen was Cornelius Kirscher in 1853. Other regionally famous early settlers of Chanhassen include George Mayo Powers, Susan Hazeltine, Henry Martyn Lyman, Charles Galpin, and Arba Cleaveland. Chanhassen was settled primarily by German American immigrants who settled on farmsteads and often traded with the nearby settlements of Smithtown on Lake Minnetonka (now …

ChaptersEarly settlementNamesakeLater history

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Chanhassen, 1854 to 2002

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Chanhassen post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1948Born hereJim Lord is born here
  6. 1986Born hereStu Bickel is born here
  7. 1999Born hereAlex Spillum is born here
  8. 21st century
  9. 2002Born hereRory Guilday is born here
By decade

Chanhassen, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Heck House Barn2013Heck House Barn72 Dodge Challenger201372 Dodge Challenger2013-0718-TempleofEck20132013-0718-TempleofEckStorm stadium2010Storm stadiumEden Prairie wild2010Eden Prairie wildSt Hubertus 42008St Hubertus 4Post0272 - Flickr - NOAA Photo Library2008Post0272 - Flickr - NOAA Photo LibraryHeck House 32008Heck House 3Small yellow lady's-slipper2007Small yellow lady's-slipperSmall yellow lady's-slipper2007Small yellow lady's-slipperChanhassenbarn2007ChanhassenbarnMNMap-doton-Chanhassen2005MNMap-doton-Chanhassen
On the National Register

2 historic places in Chanhassen

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Church of St. Hubertus-Catholic
Church of St. Hubertus-CatholicAlbertine and Fred Heck House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Gothic1
Chaska Brick Farmhouse1
Church of St. Hubertus-CatholicGothic
Albertine and Fred Heck HouseChaska Brick Farmhouse

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Chanhassen, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000190019201940196019802000202025,947

Grew from 175 people in 1900 to 25,947 in 2020, more than tenfold.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chanhassen’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Chanhassen’s post office has been open since 1854.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Carver Beach
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Chanhassen
Chanhassen PioneerLeachSaint Hubert Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Chaska9 historic placesC+Victoria2 historic placesCEden Prairie3 historic placesCShorewood1 historic placeC−Shakopee4 historic placesCJackson Township1 historic placeC+

Questions about Chanhassen’s history

What year was Chanhassen founded?

The Chanhassen post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1969.

How does Chanhassen rank for history?

Chanhassen is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #182 of 273 in Minnesota. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Chanhassen?

Two places: the Church of St. Hubertus-Catholic (listed 1982) and the Albertine and Fred Heck House (2000).

How old are the homes in Chanhassen?

1% of Chanhassen’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1994.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.