City of Minnetonka Historical Society

Home
United States
Minnetonka, MN
City of Minnetonka Historical Society

Call Directions Website Contact the organization

The City of Minnetonka Historical Society (CMHS) is a volunteer-led nonprofit passionate about keeping our community's history alive.

Founded in 1970 our mission is simple: to uncover, preserve, and share the artifacts and stories of Minnetonka’s history. We will be reopening our historic sites as part of history month. Check out the details here: https://lkmtkahist.weebly.com/

10/11/2026

Our neighbors in St. Louis Park are hosting the fourth annual Ȟaȟá Wakpádaŋ (Bassett Creek) Water Blessing in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day tomorrow, Monday, October 12.

This free, family-friendly event offers an opportunity to learn more about the Dakota name and history of Bassett Creek, and to honor Indigenous traditions and connections to the water.

The morning will include:
- Opening remarks from cultural advisor Darlene St. Clair (Dakota)
- A water blessing by water protectors Amara Moore (Sisseton Dakota/Anishinaabe) and Ronelle Siert (Sisseton Dakota/Anishinaabe)
- Songs and drumming by Jim Rock (Dakota)
- And cultural and environmental education by Bradley Blackhawk (Ho-Chunk) and watershed education by Roxanne Gould (Anishinaabe)

📅 Tomorrow, Monday, October 12 from 10:00-11:30 a.m.
📍 Westwood Hills Nature Center
(8300 West Franklin Avenue, St. Louis Park)
🅿️ Free parking is available

As a community organization dedicated to preserving and sharing local history, CMHS is glad to share opportunities to learn about the history and cultural connections that shape our neighboring communities!

To learn more about the event, visit: https://hennepinhistory.org/event/fourth-annual-%c8%9fa%c8%9fa-wakpadan-water-blessing/

10/06/2026

Ann Cullen and her husband William were married on July 10, 1929. The event was covered in detail on the Society pages of The Minneapolis Journal the next day. The article described rooms massed with summer flowers, fireplaces covered in greenery and vases filled with flowers, an altar covered in palms and ferns with poplar trees behind the altar, side walls of the church screened with summer foliage, boquets of white orchids, lilies of the valley, and three shades of pink roses, along with songs that included "Spring Song," "The Nightingales and the Rose," and "Summer." To say that it was an extravagant event may be an understatement with abundance of greenery and the 350 guests that were in attendance.

With such a lavish wedding it may have been a surprise that the couple who frequently appeared in the society pages would purchase 30 acres of rural countryside in Minnetonka to build their home. In 1937 they moved into their newly constructed home at 2510 Oakland Road, Minnetonka.

However, the decor for the wedding may just have been the clue that Ann Cullen would find her way to a place that she could enjoy the natural beauty of the trees and flowers. In 2004, Ann Cullen worked with the Minnesota Land Trust, putting the property under a permanent conservation easement, before agreeing to sell the property to the City of Minnetonka at approximately half of the market value.

After Ann Cullen passed away in 2015, the City of Minnetonka and the Friends of Cullen Nature Preserve have begun working to restore the property, once again giving home to the native plants and animals. This Thursday, October 8 at 6:30 PM, we hope you'll join us as Jerrold Gershone and Heather Holm share about Ann Cullen and the Cullen Nature Preserve, including the restoration work that is being done and how they are working to carry Ann Cullen's legacy of stewardship forward.

Thursday, October 8, 2026
6:00–6:30 p.m. — CMHS Annual Meeting for CMHS Members
6:30–7:30 p.m. — Featured Presentation with Jerrold Gershone & Heather Holm
7:30–8:00 p.m. — Audience Q&A and mingle with complimentary refreshments

Location:
Community Room at the Minnetonka Community Center (14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345)

Presentation is free, but please register in advance so we can plan for sufficient seating and refreshments:
https://www.cityofminnetonkahistory.org/.../2026-cmhs...

09/29/2026

Don't forget to register for next week's presentation, From Vision to Reality: The Story of the Cullen Nature Preserve. Jerrold Gershone will be picking up the story from last year's sold out presentation. Together, with pollinator conservationist Heather Holm, they'll tell the story of stewardship that began with Ann Cullen and continues today with the efforts of the the Friends of the Cullen Nature Preserve and City of Minnetonka.

Thursday, October 8, 2026
6:00–6:30 p.m. — CMHS Annual Meeting for CMHS Members
6:30–7:30 p.m. — Featured Presentation with Jerrold Gershone & Heather Holm
7:30–8:00 p.m. — Audience Q&A and mingle with complimentary refreshments

Location:
Community Room at the Minnetonka Community Center (14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka, MN 55345)

Presentation is free, but please register in advance so we can plan for sufficient seating and refreshments:
https://www.cityofminnetonkahistory.org/event-details/2026-cmhs-annual-meeting-cullen-nature-preserve-presentation

09/18/2026

Barb Lindgren's recent presentation about Martha Larkin had a surprise ending that none of us saw coming! It was such a cool combination of history, serendipity, and kindness. Here's the full story in the words of the special guest who created the magical moment for all in attendance!

"I was at a local garage sale in June of 2026 when I saw it; a painting featuring a bouquet of hydrangea flowers in a vase. It had a bit of damage on the bottom half, but I loved the style of the painting, so I bought it and brought it home with me.

Upon seeing the signature at the bottom, M. Van de Vere Larkin, I decided to do a quick online search to try and find out more information about the artist. A Facebook post from March of 2026 popped up in the search results; it explained that Martha Van de Vere Larkin was an artist who lived in the Minnetonka area and that the CMHS was going to be giving a presentation about her in August of 2026. What are the chances? I decided to attend the presentation and to bring the painting with me to see if it was indeed painted by this particular Martha of Minnetonka. If it was this same Martha, I didn’t know if Martha or her family members had kept photographs of all of her paintings so it was my intention to give them the chance to see it and to take pictures for their family records.

The presentation on Martha Van de Vere Larkin was wonderfully done. It was amazing to hear about the different facets of her life and to hear about the impact that she had on her local community. I was able to see several examples of the paintings she had done throughout the presentation and saw that her signature on a few of them was similar to the one on the painting that I had, so I was fairly certain that the painting that I brought with me was painted by Martha.

At the end of the presentation, attendees were given the opportunity to ask questions. I decided to do something a little different; show-and-tell. I brought the painting to the front of the room so that all of the attendees could see another in-person example of Martha’s incredible work and to share with them the story of how and where I found it.

Afterwards, I was approached by several members of Martha’s extended family and I told each of them that I would love for it to be back in the possession of the family. I explained that many of my family’s heirlooms had been given away by family members without asking everyone in the family if they wanted those items, how devastating that was, and that members of my family live with that continued pain to this day. It is my intention to try to be a cycle-breaker and upon seeing Martha’s work, her impact, and the artistic gene that is carried throughout members of her family, I knew what I had to do; as soon as a family member said that they wanted the painting, I wouldn’t say no.

I was sad to see the painting go as I treasured having it in my home this summer, but I knew that the painting should stay in the family for as long as a family member still wanted it. It is my hope that it is enjoyed by the extended family for generations and, thanks to the work of the CMHS (Barbara Lindgren in particular), that all are able to remember and celebrate Martha’s work and legacy for many years to come."

Many thanks for sharing your story and the magic of that moment with us all!

09/10/2026

Summer may be officially over, but you've got one last month to take a tour of the Burwell House before it closes for the year. During the month of September, the Burwell House will be open for tours on Saturdays and Sundays from 1-4PM. Tours are free of charge and no reservations are required for groups of less than 10 people. Come see this beautiful 1883 Italianate Victorian home and learn more about the Burwell family that lived there. We hope to see you there!

Burwell House - 13209 E McGinty Rd E, Minnetonka, MN 55305
Additional Information: https://www.minnetonkamn.gov/our-city/about-minnetonka/history/burwell-house

09/09/2026

Many thanks to Barb Lindgren for a fabulous presentation about Martha Van de Vere Larkin (1889-1967), and thanks to all who came to learn more about this notable Minnetonka woman. We appreciate our partnership with Senior Programming at the Minnetonka Community Center that allows us to bring these presentations to you.

We were especially fortunate to have a number of Martha’s descendants in the audience who had shared many photos and other archives with Barb as she was researching. They brought some of Martha's paintings and, as part of the story was how the creative art gene traveled through so many of her descendants, they brought some of their own artwork for the exhibit table. Many thanks to Martha's family for helping to bring her story to life.

It was a fun afternoon learning about a prolific Minnetonka artist, hardworking farmwife, and mother, who cared deeply for the welfare of her family.

09/06/2026

Happy National Read a Book Day! This candid photo, taken around 1955, shows Louise Burwell reading in her home, the Burwell House. Born in 1882, Louise Burwell was the daughter of Charles H. Burwell and his second wife, Mary Dunham Burwell. In 1906, she graduated from the University of Minnesota College of Science Literature and Arts.

Louise was the librarian at the Minnetonka Mills branch of the Hennepin County Free Library System, which was housed at the Burwell School from when it first opened in 1923 until she stepped down in 1940 to focus on her work with the Daughters of the American Revolution. She headed the DAR Victory Aid program for Minnetonka Township and in 1944, she was elected the regent (head) of the Minnesota DAR, a position which she held through 1947.

Louise also worked for about a decade to bring a church to Minnetonka Mills, and along with her brother George, donated about four and a half acres of land for St. David's Episcopal Church to be built upon.

Louise Burwell was the last member of the Burwell family to live in the family home. While living there, she opened her home to community members as a meeting space. She sold the home and property to the Smith family in 1959, but she remained on the property, living in the cottage until shortly before she passed away in 1967.

08/30/2026

After Groves moved to St. Louis Park in 1982, the building became the home of the Volunteers of America MN and WI’s Omegon Residential Treatment Center. It was a residential treatment program that served adolescents with both a mental health diagnosis and chemical dependency and was one of only a few such treatment centers in the region. The building underwent about $250,000 in renovations as it transitioned to becoming a residential facility with 24 bedrooms, serving about 55 people a year.

Most recently the property was sold to Joshua Wert of English Rose homes in 2025. After going through the planning and permitting process, the Oak Knoll school was demolished in August of 2026. In its place, two senior living buildings will be built, with ten bedrooms in each, serving people living with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

Thankfully, the new owner of the property salvaged a couple pallets of the bricks from the school building along with the school's sign that was above the front entry, and the dedication year brick. They are intending to use the old school bricks to build two planter boxes by the English Rose sign and line the sidewalks leading to the front doors of the homes.

Though the building is gone, Oak Knoll will live on in the hearts and memories of many who walked through its halls over the past 100 years. We’ll wrap up our seven day series with the Oak Knoll Rouser.

“Oak Knoll - we sing to you
To our school so fine,
Ours will be the victory
If we will rise and shine

Let’s help our team to win
Play it straight and fair
Let’s be strong, shout loud and long
And make our voices fill the air

Chorus:
To you we cheer with all our might
Come on, Oak Knoll, get in and fight
For our name, and for our fame
And for our colors bright. Rah!”

08/29/2026

When Hopkins Schools announced they were closing Oak Knoll due to a decreasing student population in the district and the school’s proximity to the newer Tanglen Elementary School, parents of all but 25 students petitioned the school board to keep Oak Knoll School open. Richard Lunde, PTA President led the fight to keep the building open citing a loss of community as one of the reasons for keeping the neighborhood school building open. However, the school district moved ahead with its plan to close Oak Knoll and in the spring of 1972, the final class of Oak Knoll students walked the hallways of the building.

The following school year, 233 students from Oak Knoll would attend other schools, with many of the students going to nearby Tanglen Elementary School. But when one door closes, another opens. In 1972, the school building became the home of The Groves School.

The Groves School was a bold new idea - a private school that would specialize in helping students with learning disabilities and attention disorders to reach their full academic potential. It came about thanks to the passion and dedication of a group of 15 parents, educators, and a physician. US Senator Hubert Humphrey was a part of the ribbon cutting ceremony in September 1972 for the new Groves School. The school was named in memory of Frank M. Groves.

When the school opened its doors to students on September 6, 1972, it served students ages 9-15 and had 21 students enrolled, but the organization had its sights set on expanding to service to all primary through secondary students, offer pre-school and vocational programs, and increase enrollment up to about 150 students. J. Gerald Miskoff, who served two years in the U.S. Office of Education as coordinator of the learning disabilities unit of the Bureau of Education was the Executive Director, and the head teacher was Miss Mildred Gottleib from Stanford, Connecticut where she was a resource teacher and consultant for learning disabilities. Ten years later, in 1982, Groves had an enrollment of 115 students and moved to a larger campus off of Highway 100 in St. Louis Park. Many thanks to Groves Learning Organization for sharing the photos with us.

Groves students and staff, what are your memories from learning and working in the old Oak Knoll school? Favorite teachers? Recess memories? Activities and events?

Address

14600 Minnetonka Boulevard
Minnetonka, MN
55345

Telephone

(952) 930-3962

Website

https://www.cityofminnetonkahistory.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when City of Minnetonka Historical Society posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to City of Minnetonka Historical Society:

Want your organization to be the top-listed non profit organization in Minnetonka?