About Us

Below is a brief overview of Mounds View's history. In 1976, in commemoration of the bi-centennial, a committee of devoted Mounds View residents compiled a book entitled Mounds View - A History, which is available for purchase at City Hall.

Although the village of Mounds View was incorporated in 1958, its history does not start there. While most counties and townships were established by the Territorial Legislature, the Township of Mounds View was created on May 11, 1858, the day Minnesota became a state.

For more than one hundred years, the scattered residents of the remote Ramsey County township's 23,040 acres-loggers, mill hands, trappers and truck gardeners-were probably well-served by the highly democratic township form of government.

When the occasional visitor would pass through the township, one thing that probably stood out to them were the strange and awesome mounds of sand and gravel in its northwest corner, high enough to be seen from almost anywhere in the township and from much of Anoka County. Today, the mounds are nearly gone, sacrificed to the ravages of nature, the needs of this country during World War II when this area became an important small arms arsenal, and the thousands of loads of sand and gravel that have since been removed. Only a few small battered hills remain to remind us of our name.

Those appearing to be the first landowners in the area now known as the City of Mounds View were H.C. Fridley, Olive Lee, E.F. Lambert, F.C. Baier, Nora O'Connell, Christianna Burg, B. Moga, E.A. Austin, and F. Olschesky. Until 1936 the population remained stable. There were the few scattered farms, a few roads and large areas of wooded and brush land. The land had been overlooked by most real estate developers because it was located too far north of Minneapolis and St. Paul, five miles beyond their city limits and city transportation.

By 1938, however, developers had begun to realize the possibilities for suburban housing in Mounds View Township, and by September of 1939, there were 45 new homes in Knollwood Park. As the population grew, so too did the community spirit and cohesiveness. Booster clubs, local newspapers and the new businesses were active in community events.

In 1951, the township began to change with the break off of over 6,120 acres and 2,000 people to form the Village of Arden Hills. For the next several years, portions of Mounds View Township would be annexed into surrounding communities. By early 1957, plans were begun to incorporate the balance of Mounds View Township. Finally on April 22, 1958, Mounds View Township became a village by a vote of 593 to 452, and remained that way until 1973 when the state legislature made "cities" of every village, town and hamlet in the state.

Copies of "Mounds View-A History" are available for only $15 per copy at Mounds View City Hall.