Carver County Historical Society

06/10/2026

celebrates Little League Baseball, the organization that first organized the fan favorite sport into leagues and teams for pr***en players. The Little League Baseball nonprofit has been around since 1939! To celebrate the week, take a look at this news article from 1968, celebrating the superb run of Carver’s Little League team that year, despite its sudden end.

Weekly Valley Herald, September 5, 1968

“Carver – Little League Champs!
Carver’s Black Sox, regular league season champions in the Carver County Little League[,] fell prey to a long-standing playoff jinx when eliminated by the Victoria Lions in this year’s playoffs. The Carver nine lost only one game during regular league play before losing a one-run 14-13 “sudden death” playoff. Pictured above, left to right, FRONT ROW is Ronnie Wiebe, Steven Dressen, Tim Gulden, Kevin Gulden, Neil Schultz, Tom Riesgraf, Rich Riesgarf [sic], and Joey Schultz. BACK ROW, left to right, are Eldon Sextxon [sic], Steve Heinrich, Brad Gulden, Kevin Dauwalter, Wayne Dauwalter, Terry Pauly, Randy Caeser, Denny Dauwalter, Gayle Kling, LeRoy Luedloff, Brian Lenzen, Jerry Chalupsky, and LaMont Schultz, team manager. Missing when the picture was taken was Robert Bachman, a pitcher for the Carver team who had an appendectomy when the above photo was taken.”

06/08/2026

Enjoy history and kayaking? Carver County Parks has a spin around Coney Island you might be interested in!

Paddle to History with Coney Island Kayak

Discover the historic Coney Island of the West during a guided kayak adventure at Lake Waconia Regional Park. After a brief paddling lesson, participants will kayak to the island for a guided nature walk and learn about its fascinating history.

This program is best suited for ages 14 and older. Previous paddling experience is encouraged.

Available dates:
• June 27, 9 to 11:30 a.m.
• Aug. 2, 5:30 to 8 p.m.
• Sept. 12, 9 to 11:30 a.m.

Learn more and register by using the Carver County Parks app.

06/03/2026

For this year’s , we share this beauty of a bicycle. This is a child sized ordinary bicycle, the precursor to today’s safety bicycle design. We often see the adult-sized ordinary bikes with their massive front wheel, but this child-sized one is arguably more interesting! It was used by the Martin Luebke Sr. children.

05/29/2026

An update on Old St Hubert Church!

05/28/2026

Interested in more from Chaska History Center? Check out their Graveside Tales, set for June 27th this year!

Looking for something different to do this summer? Join the Chaska Historical Society for Graveside Tales, an unforgettable outdoor experience featuring live historical re-enactments at the Moravian Cemetery. Two performances on Saturday, June 27. Each lasts approximately 90 minutes. Registration is limited—sign up today through the Chaska Historical Society website. See link in the comments.

05/25/2026

Private First Class Florian R. Steinberger was born on January 3, 1925, in Chaska to Joseph and Rosella Steinberger. He was inducted into the United States Army on May 5, 1943, at age 18. Florian received training at the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Camp Wolters, Texas and then served with Company K, 169th Infantry Regiment, 43rd Infantry Division. He and the 43rd Infantry Division deployed in December of 1943, sailing to Johnson Atoll in the Pacific, New Caledonia, and then to New Guinea. The division was then deployed to retake the Philippines in early January 1945.

Florian Steinberger was killed in action on January 20, 1945, at the Battle of Luzon. Letters to the family reported that while participating in an attack on the enemy position, Steinberger was struck by shrapnel and killed instantly. He was buried at a United States Armed Forces cemetery near Santa Barbara, Luzon. In 1949, he was reburied at Guardian Angels Catholic Cemetery in Chaska.

Please take a moment today to remember Florian R. Steinberger and all others who have died in service to our country.

05/22/2026

Though the craft distillery scene across the county and the country continues to change, let’s do a throwback this . On April 17, 2014, the Waconia Patriot published the following article announcing the then brand-new J. Carver Distillery.

05/22/2026

People always ask us how to reach Coney Island after we have a program about it's history - Carver Parks has an answer for anyone free on May 30th!

05/19/2026

Our gift shop is undergoing some changes! Some local authors reached out to us after our message went out and now we have an entire side dedicated to Carver County authors! We have a selection of adult books and kids books, so come on in to take a look. We're still interested in hearing from other local authors, so don't be shy!

In addition, we've added a dedicated shelf to the second hand books that arrive to us every now and then. This includes books we currently sell, but have a discount for being used, and out of print books like the Mayer Centennial! While we can't guarantee this stock, we hope this will help unite people with the local history books they've been trying to track down!