This Week in Eden Prairie History

We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place, said the author Pascal Mercier. A part of us stays behind and can only be found again by returning.

With that in mind, today we are debuting a regular feature: This Week in Eden Prairie History. This Week in Eden Prairie History steps back into a place in time where a part of us all – whether near, far, or no longer with us – is found in the events of the past.

The short descriptions below are invitations to doorways into Eden Prairie’s past. By stepping through you may find yourself on a longer walks along a slice of time. And perhaps, in that place, parts waiting for your return.

This Week in Eden Prairie History

February 1, 1967 – Ray Mitchell starts the first Eden Prairie Fire Department.

February 2, 1998 – Former Eden Prairie resident, Ben Cavanaugh writes home from the Yukon.

February 3, 1921 – M.H. Oliver sold 6 acres of land to the Pillsbury Settlement for a summer camp.

February 4, 1921 – John R. Cummins, builder of Cummins Historic Farmhouse and one of Eden Prairie’s founding fathers, dies at age 86.

February 5, 1954 – Test pilot William Dean, a former resident of Eden Prairie is killed while flying.

February 6, 1941 – The population in Eden Prairie is 1,221.

February 7, 1907 – William Brum sells 70 hogs with a total weight of 7750 pounds for $492.

February 8, 1900 – “Old Joe” Eden Prairie’s first African American in Eden Prairie dies at age 62.

February 9, 1888 – The Miller brothers of Eden Prairie, sell their store in Chanhassen to Cordell and Mohrbacher.

February 10, 1996 – The Eden Prairie water tower catches fire.

 February 11, 1965 – Conley Engstrom is named “Teacher of the Year” for Minnesota.

 February 12, 1889 – Fridolin Feldman dies at age 72.  He settled in Eden Prairie in 1852 and owned the Feldman Farm.

February 13, 1961 – The population in Eden Prairie is 3,233.

February 14, 1901 – Horace Goodrich dies at age 77. He was an early settler and owner  of the Goodrich Store.

February 15, 1939 – Lookout Park is to be enlarged.