Almelund, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Almelund is a small unincorporated community
, in Amador Township, Chisago County, Minnesota
, United States
. It is located about 55 miles north-northeast of Minneapolis
at the intersection of Minnesota State Highway 95
and Chisago County Road 12 (Park Trail).
who bought furs from the resident Ojibwa
Indians in the 17th century. Swedish immigrants arrived in the 1850s to buy farm land along the St. Croix River and beside the lakes of Amador Township.
Almelund was founded in 1887 by John Almquist. The first building was a Lutheran Church. Almquist built a general store and ran it for thirty years until it burned down in 1911. A school was built in 1910. The two-room brick building now houses the Amador Heritage Center.
Still in a prominent place at the center of town is Immanuel Lutheran Church. Originally known as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Emmanuel Church, the current building was built in 1926.
.
Almelund is also well known throughout east central Minnesota for hosting the annual Threshing Show, known by people in the area as the "Threshing Party." It is a fifty-year-old celebration of vintage tractor
s, old farm equipment and traditional threshing
methods.
In September the Amador Apple Festival, another heritage festival, is held at the Amador Heritage Center Museum.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
, in Amador Township, Chisago County, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is located about 55 miles north-northeast of Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
at the intersection of Minnesota State Highway 95
Minnesota State Highway 95
Minnesota State Highway 95 is a highway in east-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 23 near St. Cloud and continues east and south to its southern terminus at its intersection with U.S...
and Chisago County Road 12 (Park Trail).
History
The first European visitors to the area were French tradersCoureur des bois
A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
who bought furs from the resident Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
Indians in the 17th century. Swedish immigrants arrived in the 1850s to buy farm land along the St. Croix River and beside the lakes of Amador Township.
Almelund was founded in 1887 by John Almquist. The first building was a Lutheran Church. Almquist built a general store and ran it for thirty years until it burned down in 1911. A school was built in 1910. The two-room brick building now houses the Amador Heritage Center.
Still in a prominent place at the center of town is Immanuel Lutheran Church. Originally known as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Emmanuel Church, the current building was built in 1926.
Community
Almelund is surrounded on all sides by farm land. Many of the farmers, who raise corn, soybeans, dairy and beef cattle, and feed for those cattle, are descendants of the original Swedish immigrants. The area is also known for its water sports and other outdoor recreation. Almelund is three miles south of Wild River State ParkWild River State Park
Wild River State Park is a state park of Minnesota, USA, curving along of the St. Croix River. This long, narrow park is shaped somewhat like a sideways 'S', with development largely concentrated in the lower third. The remote upper sections flank the mouth of a tributary called the Sunrise...
.
Almelund is also well known throughout east central Minnesota for hosting the annual Threshing Show, known by people in the area as the "Threshing Party." It is a fifty-year-old celebration of vintage tractor
Tractor
A tractor is a vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery used in agriculture or construction...
s, old farm equipment and traditional threshing
Threshing
Threshing is the process of loosening the edible part of cereal grain from the scaly, inedible chaff that surrounds it. It is the step in grain preparation after harvesting and before winnowing, which separates the loosened chaff from the grain...
methods.
In September the Amador Apple Festival, another heritage festival, is held at the Amador Heritage Center Museum.