Timeline of Northfield, Minnesota history

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This is a timeline of historical events relating to Northfield, Minnesota:

1851 The U.S. government imposed a treaty on the Dakotah, allowing white settlement in southern Minnesota. Most of the Dakotah were moved to a reservation near New Ulm, Minnesota, opening the territory for European settlers. The treaty marked the beginning of the decline of the Dakotah Nation, and it paved the way for the foundation of Northfield.

1851 William Marshall surveyed land and helped John W. North pick out land to build mills and a town, Northfield

1854 May, Daniel Kuykendall was the first pioneer to arrive in the area. Others soon followed.

1855 On August 17, 1855, North purchased 160 acres (647,000 m²) of land from each of the other two original pre-emptors.

1856 September, Miron W. Skinner and his brother moved to Northfield and opened the second town store. He was instrumental in the establishment of Northfield College, now known as Carleton College. (See 1916 note about building of Skinner Chapel on the campus.)

1856 Herman Jenkins built the first hotel in Northfield.

1857 John L. Schofield came to Northfield and was the town’s first doctor. He built the first drugstore which was attached to his house.

1859 C. A. Wheaton became one of the early town leaders.

1865 Jesse Ames, moved to town and bought mills from John North.

1866 C. M. Goodsell established Carleton College.

1867 Dr. D.J. Whiting arrived in Northfield as the town’s first dentist.

1875 Hiram Scriver was elected first mayor of Northfield.

1876 St. Olaf College founded by the Nowegian Lutheran Church

1876 September 7th, Attempted robbery of the First National Bank by Jesse James and gang. Bank treasurer Joseph Lee Heywood was killed after refusing to open bank safe.

1877 James D. Archer opened the second hotel in the Northfield area. (see 1959 note about Dallas Haas below)

1882 W. S. Pattee was superintendent of schools and also taught at Carleton College. Later he practiced law in Northfield, and became dean of the law school at the University of Minnesota.

1884 Joel P. Heatwole arrived in Northfield. He bought The News and made it the leading weekly newspaper in the state. Technologically, it was a model of what a printing office should be.

1889 Margaret Evans' administrative title at Carleton College was changed to “lady principal” and in 1898 to “dean of the women’s department.” Known as Dean Evans, she was towering figure in Carleton history.

1893 J.C. Nutting, president of First National Bank, planned and financed the construciton of the Nutting Block to house the Northfield Knitting Company.

1895 W. F. Schilling came to Northfield. Once an editor of the Northfield News, Schilling became a Holstein breeder and a prominent agriculturalist in the state and the nation. He wrote the book, "My first Eighty Years”, which was published in 1952 by Mohn Printing.

1897 Link Fey, built one of the first successful gasoline-powered automobiles in Minnesota.

1898 Laura M. Baker opened a school to serve special students under the age of fourteen.

1914 Northfield adopted a town slogan for itself, “Northfield: Cows, Colleges and Contentment.” The slogan was replaced by "Northfield: A Special Place," in the 1960s. In the 1980s, sentiment, a sense of humor, and marketing savvy lead to the renewed use of the old slogan.

1916 Emily Willey Skinner, wife of Miron W. Skinner, gave a large, Gothic style chapel to Carleton College on its 50th anniversary.

1918 W. M. Savage founded the train line Dan Patch Line.

1924 R.C. Phillips joined the fire department and was chief for 42 years. He holds the record in the U.S. for being present at every fire fought by his firemen.

1927 John S. Campbell founds of Malt-O-Meal.

1934 George Gibson, who taught geology and coached football at Carleton College (His 611 career victories is the second-best among coaches with four or more seasons as the head coach.) before moving to Midland, Texas, received many honors and awards in his field, among them membership in the Petroleum Museum Hall of Fame in 2001.

1955 G.T. Schjeldahl started Sheldahl Company. It manufactured laminated products such as fabric for the inflatable "Echo" satellites and under-dashboard circuits for cars. After a merger in 2004, it became Multek Felxible Circuits, Inc.

1959 Dallas Haas, a building contractor, moved to Northfield with his wife Sandra and found a ready housing market. In June of 1981, Haas and his wife, Sandra, purchased the Stuart Hotel and began work on what became Division Street’s most famous building (after the First National Bank), the Archer House. Dallas Haas Construction was named Industry of the Year by the Northfield Industrial Corporation in 1983.

1975 Maggie Lee helps found the Northfield Historical Society. She was awarded the Hometown Spirit Award October 19, 1993.

2004 Maggie Lee celebrates 50 years in journalism. She was editor of the Northfield News beginning in 1967 and semi-retired in 1986. She continues to write columns and features for the newspaper.