I moved to Ham Lake, Minnesota 20 minutes north of Minneapolis off 35W in 2001 when I built a new home off of Lexington Avenue. Since then I have been getting familiar with the area and the things "my home town" has to offer. I hope this post will be of benefit too all who view it. Please come back often I will be adding to it as I gather more and more information. Thank You for stopping by and if you are ever in the area lets get together and "have a cup of java and a smile on me" Duayne Weir - REALTOR in Ham Lake, Minnesota. website: www.duayneweir.com
The History of Ham Lake:
Settlers came here in 1855 and started a town in 1856 near a lake the shape of a Ham. Originally the town was named "Glen Cary" a scottish name meaning "Beautiful Valley". The town burned down in 1857 because of a prairie fire. The town was not inhabited again until 1866 when a Norwegian man settled in. Other Scandinavians moved in and found it hard to pronouce the name Glen Cary? So they renamed the town "Ham Lake" after the nearby lake of the same name on account of the lake being shaped like a ham, including an island as the ham bone.
The early Scandinavians found the land very suitable for farming. And through the years, dairy farming and potato farming was the industry of choice through the early 1900's till the 1930's. Then things went from dairy and potato's to sod farming which is still popular in this area today.
By 1894 the population had grown to over 400 people and the local farmers started a Co-op creamery to sell the local milk and produce. Several other stores were built after that including "Soderquist's" the main store in town which is still a grocery store till this day. It was built on land owned by the "Olson" family who owned alot of land in the area that later would become Highway 65. In 1903 telephone service was available for only $6.In 1922 an auto garage was opened in the northern part of town. In the late 1930's electricity was added, and having light by the flick of a switch was the talk of the community.
The early days Ham Lake had no mail delivery, so one farmer named "Jesperson" voluntered to pick up everyone's mail in the nearby town of "Anoka" since all mail was picked up by him the post office addressed all mail to:Jesperson, Minnesota. In 1985 the United States Postal Service consolidated service to Ham Lake through the Anoka and Andover Post Office.
In 1969 a Fire Department was added to serve the area and"Eldon Hentges" was our first Fire Chief. In Jan. 1974 Ham Lake was incorporated as a city and Eldon Hentges was our first mayor.
Some Informative Links to the City:
Weather in Ham Lake, Minnesota
Demographics:
Population (year 2000): 12,710. Estimated population in July 2005: 14,774 (+16.2% change)
Males: 6,636 (52.2%), Females: 6,074 (47.8%)
Median resident age: 34.0 years
Median household income: $67,750 (year 2000)
Median house value: $150,300 (year 2000)
Races in Ham Lake:
- White Non-Hispanic (96.1%)
- Two or more races (1.3%)
- Hispanic (1.1%)
- American Indian (0.9%)
- Black (0.5%)
Ancestries: German (37.5%), Norwegian (20.4%), Swedish (16.1%), Irish (13.5%), Polish (8.3%), French (5.1%).
Elevation: 911 feet
Land area: 34.5 square miles
Copyright - 2007 For all your Real Estate needs Buy, Sell, Invest, Everything Real Estate!! Duayne Weir REALTOR in Ham Lake, Minnesota
www.duayneweir.com REALTOR in Ham Lake, Minnesota
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