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CHistory
History · Lakeville

Lakeville dates to 1850, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns · #191 of 273 in Minnesota. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Emil J. Oberhoffer House. Most of Lakeville was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1999. Its Register listing is the Emil J. Oberhoffer House. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1880.

1850founded
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
13famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Lakeville began

When was Lakeville founded?

1850

Lakeville dates its founding to 1850 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 168 in 18802020 census: 69,490176 years

How historic is Lakeville?

C

More historic than 25% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1854.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lakeville’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lakeville is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #191 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 Lakeville’s overall grade.
Founding era1850, from Wikidata: 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 Register1 listing, 0.1 per 10,000 residents · typical MN town 2.1 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 25%
NewerOlder
Minnesota towns of 2,500+ (273)Ahead of 30%

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 Lakeville’s 0.1 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Minnesota towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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. Two sources give 1850.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lakeville’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building6 fire insurance maps, 1895 to 1930, drew every building in Lakeville.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Lakeville, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Famous sons and daughtersBrady Skjei, Jake Oettinger and 11 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lakeville’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lakeville’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 viewLyndale Meat Packing butchers with very…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Lakeville, building by building, 1895–1930

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Lakeville fire insurance map, 1895, sheet 11895Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Places that used to be

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

Lakeville’s post office has been open since 1854. Another post office, Judd, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lakeville
1854–today
Judd
1881–1890
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Antlers ParkArgonneDeer Park
Gone or out of use
Judd Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lakeville
All SaintsLakeville GroveSaint Joseph

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

The story

How Lakeville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lakeville.

Read it all →

A military road was constructed between Fort Snelling and forts to the south. In 1855, J. J. Brackett, a Saint Paul lumber baron and mail carrier using the road, platted a site halfway between Saint Paul and Saint Peter on a lake he named Prairie Lake. The village was established as Lakeville Township in 1858. Notoriety came when Colonel Marion Savage expanded his entertainment business by constructing Antlers Amusement Park in 1910. Riding on fame from his success with the Dan Patch racing horse and the park's popularity, the lake was renamed Lake Marion, and the rail line serving the park was named the Dan Patch Railroad Line.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lakeville, 1850 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850
    FoundingLakeville is established
  3. 1854Post officeThe Lakeville post office opens
  4. 1874In the archiveMap of Dakota County from the 1874 Minnesota State Atlas
  5. 1881Post officeThe Judd post office opens
  6. 1890Post officeThe Judd post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1955In the archiveLyndale Meat Packing butchers with very tall salesman
  9. 1957On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1993Born hereCharlie Lindgren is born here
  11. 1994Born hereBrady Skjei is born here
  12. 1998Born hereJake Oettinger is born here
  13. 1999Born hereRyan Poehling is born here
By decade

Lakeville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s2 items
Map of Dakota County from the 1874 Minnesota State Atlas1874Map of Dakota County from the 1874 Minnesota State At…MapMap of Inver Grove from the 1874 Minnesota State Atlas (cropped)1874Map of Inver Grove from the 1874 Minnesota State Atla…Map
1950s1 item
Lyndale Meat Packing butchers with very tall salesmanc. 1955Lyndale Meat Packing butchers with very tall salesman
1960s–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
Today3 recent
Lakeville-City-Hall2010Lakeville-City-HallLakevillestores2008LakevillestoresCracker Barrel2005Cracker Barrel
On the map

Lakeville on the map, 1957 to 1993

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

Lakeville on the 1957 USGS mapLakeville on the 1974 USGS mapLakeville on the 1993 USGS map1957Farmington 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 Lakeville.

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.

Lyndale Meat Packing butchers with very tall salesman
Retake this viewLyndale Meat Packing butchers with very tall salesman, c. 1955

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lakeville

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Emil J. Oberhoffer House
Emil J. Oberhoffer House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Prairie Style1
Emil J. Oberhoffer HousePrairie Style

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

People over time

Lakeville, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,00030,00035,00040,00045,00050,00055,00060,00065,00070,00075,0001880190019201940196019802000202069,490

Grew from 168 people in 1880 to 69,490 in 2020, more than tenfold.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

13 famous people were born in Lakeville

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

See all →
B
Brady SkjeiAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1994
Jake OettingerAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1998
Charlie LindgrenAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1993
Ryan PoehlingAmerican ice hockey player · b. 1999
J. P. MacuraAmerican basketball player · b. 1995
Nate ReuversAmerican basketball player · b. 1998
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Eureka Township1 historic placeBFarmington3 historic placesC+Credit RiverIts storyC−Apple ValleyIts storyDBurnsville1 historic placeCEmpireIts storyD

Questions about Lakeville’s history

What year was Lakeville founded?

In 1850, according to Wikidata. Lakeville’s post office opened in 1854, and the census of 1880 counted 168 people here.

How does Lakeville rank for history?

Lakeville is more historic than 25% of U.S. towns, #191 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 Lakeville?

One place: the Emil J. Oberhoffer House (listed 1979).

How old are the homes in Lakeville?

1% of Lakeville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 8.1% for a Minnesota town; the median home was built in 1999.

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.