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CHistory
History · Eden Prairie

Eden Prairie’s post office opened in 1855, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #155 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Most of Eden Prairie was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1896 on, and the census since 1860.

1855first post office
3on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
17famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Eden Prairie’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Eden Prairie began

When was Eden Prairie founded?

1855

The Eden Prairie post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1858. Two smaller post offices, Eden Prairie (1855) and Rowland (1890), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 304 in 18602020 census: 64,198171 years

How historic is Eden Prairie?

C

More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Eden Prairie post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1858.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Eden Prairie’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Eden Prairie is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Eden Prairie’s overall grade.
Founding era1855, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19402.1% of homes (±0.9) · typical MN town 8.1% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register3 listings, 11 historic buildings, 1.7 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 34%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 43%

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 Eden Prairie’s 1.7 sits near the middle of its state (53% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B−. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1858 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

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 Eden Prairie’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18967 editions of the USGS map, 1896 to 1993. Watch Eden Prairie change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Eden Prairie, and 1 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersJackson LaCombe, Nick Leddy and 15 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Eden Prairie’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFlailing Out Beans at Cummins Farm: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Eden Prairie on the map, 1896 to 1993

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

Eden Prairie on the 1896 USGS mapEden Prairie on the 1901 USGS mapEden Prairie on the 1954 USGS mapEden Prairie on the 1967 USGS mapEden Prairie on the 1972 USGS mapEden Prairie on the 1980 USGS mapEden Prairie on the 1993 USGS map1896Minneapolis 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 Eden Prairie.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Eden Prairie
1855–1944
Rowland
1890–1903
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Rowland
Gone or out of use
Rowland Post Officepost office
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Eden Prairie
Eden PrairiePleasant Hill

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

The story

How Eden Prairie came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Eden Prairie.

Read it all →

Native Americans were the first to live in the area. Originally, the land was part of the Great Dakota Nation, but when the Ojibwe arrived from the Great Lakes region, the tribes began to clash over the land. The Ojibwe were armed with knives and guns traded to them by white settlers and fur traders, and after years of bloody warfare the Ojibwe had forced the Dakota to give up all their land east of the Mississippi River, and north of the Crow Wing River, land that did not include what is now Eden Prairie.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Eden Prairie, 1844 to 2001

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1844BuiltShakopee Historic District is built
  3. 1855Post officeThe Eden Prairie post office opens
  4. 1890Post officeThe Rowland post office opens
  5. 1896On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 20th century
  7. 1900In the archiveFlailing Out Beans at Cummins Farm
  8. 1903Post officeThe Rowland post office closes
  9. 1944Post officeThe Eden Prairie post office closes
  10. 1965Born hereSusan Rapp is born here
  11. 1990Born hereDanny Kristo is born here
  12. 1991Born hereNick Leddy is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2001Born hereJackson LaCombe is born here
By decade

Eden Prairie, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s1 item
Flailing Out Beans at Cummins Farm1900Flailing Out Beans at Cummins Farm
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today17 recent
The Edge, Eden Prairie MN. 19902012The Edge, Eden Prairie MN. 1990Frozen Lake In2012Frozen Lake InSummer in2010Summer inPumpkins - panoramio (2)2010Pumpkins - panoramio (2)Eden Prairie, MN, USA2010Eden Prairie, MN, USASora2009SoraMarsh Wren2009Marsh WrenMN 240720095092 bryant lake2009MN 240720095092 bryant lakeMN 240720095090 bryant lake2009MN 240720095090 bryant lakeMayor Jean Harris Bridge2008Mayor Jean Harris BridgeGround Breaking Bob Grant2008Ground Breaking Bob GrantGround Breaking 2008 07 23 00202008Ground Breaking 2008 07 23 0020Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial Groundbreaking 20082008Eden Prairie Veterans Memorial Groundbreaking 20082008 Purgatory Creek Park (7)20082008 Purgatory Creek Park (7)Sbs image2006Sbs imageChanhassen Legion Color Guard2006Chanhassen Legion Color Guard"Generations"2006"Generations"
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Flailing Out Beans at Cummins Farm
Retake this viewFlailing Out Beans at Cummins Farm, 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Eden Prairie’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 listings protect 11 historic buildings

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
1972
Shakopee Historic District
Shakopee Historic District, built 1844Cummins, John R., FarmhouseGlen Lake Children's Camp
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Italianate1
Shakopee Historic DistrictBuilt 1844
Cummins, John R., FarmhouseGreek Revival
Glen Lake Children's CampBuilding

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

People over time

Eden Prairie, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00019001950200064,198

Grew from 304 people in 1860 to 64,198 in 2020, more than tenfold.

17 censuses, 1860–2020.

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

Famous people

17 famous people were born in Eden Prairie

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

See all →
J
Jackson LaCombeAmerican ice hockey player · b. 2001
Nick LeddyAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1991
Susan RappAmerican swimmer, Olympic silver medalist, Mast… · b. 1965
Danny KristoAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1990
Kyle RauAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1992
B
Blake CashmanAmerican football linebacker · b. 1996
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Shakopee4 historic placesCMinnetonka2 historic placesCBloomington3 historic placesB−Chanhassen2 historic placesCEdina7 historic placesB

Questions about Eden Prairie’s history

What year was Eden Prairie founded?

The Eden Prairie post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1858.

How does Eden Prairie rank for history?

Eden Prairie is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #155 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 Eden Prairie?

Three places: the Shakopee Historic District (listed 1972), the Cummins, John R., Farmhouse (1982) and the Glen Lake Children's Camp (1999).

How old are the homes in Eden Prairie?

2% of Eden Prairie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1988.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.