Trail Horses for Sale in Elk River MN, Hastings MN

About Minnetonka, MN

Since the mid-19th century, Minnetonka has evolved from heavily wooded wilderness through extensive farming and thriving industrialization to its present primarily residential suburban character. The Dakota and Ojibwe were the first Native Americans to settle in the area. They believed the land around Lake Minnetonka ( mni meaning water, and tanka meaning big, anglicized to Minnetonka) was the legendary home of an extinct race. The first recorded exploration of the area by European settlers was in 1822, when a group from newly constructed Fort Snelling made its way up Minnehaha Creek (then known as Brown's Creek or Falls Creek) to the lake. In 1851, the Dakota sold the area including Minnetonka to the United States with the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux.