Chisago Lakes is an area of
Chisago County
Chisago County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 56,621. Its county seat is Center City.
Chisago County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul- Bloomington, MN- WI Metropolitan Statistical ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, along
Highway 8. The Chisago Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce includes the combined areas of Shafer, Center City, Chisago City, Almelund, Taylor's Falls, and Lindström.
History
The Chisago Lakes Area is named from two
Chippewa words meaning, “Kichi,” large, and “Saga,” fair or lovely. The Swedish called it "The Big Lake," as many of today's lakes were once one large lake. Swedish immigrants settled in the Chisago Lakes area in the mid-19th century. The area became a popular tourist area, with the lakes and railroad coming through. The Depression years dried up the lakes and the tourists. There was a growth of tourism in the late 1940s, as the lakes began to prosper once again.
Cities
Chisago City
Sister city
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
to
Algutsboda, Sweden
Algutsboda is a community in Kalmar County, Sweden.
Author Vilhelm Moberg (1898-1973) was born and grew up in Algutsboda, which is in the region called Småland.
Sister cities
* Chisago City - Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the ...
Originally platted in 1855, Chisago City was replatted at another location in 1892 and incorporated in 1906. Chisago City became a tourist resort destination after the 1880 railroad was built. Chisago City was home to
Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his series ''The Emigrants''. The four ...
during the summer of 1947, while he rode his bike through the area researching for what would become his four-volume saga of Swedish Immigrants in North America,
The Emigrants suite:
''The Emigrants'', ''
Unto a Good Land
''Unto a Good Land'' ( sv, Invandrarna) is a novel by Vilhelm Moberg from 1952. It is the second part of ''The Emigrants'' series.
Plot
This novel describes the journey of the Emigrants from New York City, New York to Taylors Falls, Minnesota. T ...
'',
''The Settlers'' and ''
The Last Letter Home
''The Last Letter Home'' ( sv, Sista brevet till Sverige) is a novel by Vilhelm Moberg from 1959. It is the fourth and final part of ''The Emigrants'' series, the shortest book of the four, with a faster pace.
Plot
This novel tells about Karl-Osk ...
''. The city has dedicated a park and a statue, housed in the park, to
Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his series ''The Emigrants''. The four ...
.
Center City
Sister city to
Hassela
Hassela () is a locality situated in Nordanstig Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 364 inhabitants in 2010.
Sister cities
* Center City - Minnesota, USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the Uni ...
, Sweden
Center City was founded in 1851 and was the first permanent Swedish settlement in Minnesota. It became the county seat in 1875. The Chisago Lakes Lutheran Church was the first Swedish settled church in the area, being organized in 1854 in the barn of Per Berg.
Highway 8 follows much of the old railroad bed through the city of Center City. Today, two blocks along Summit Avenue, including 18 homes, form a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Lindström
Sister city to
Tingsryd
Tingsryd () is a locality and the seat of Tingsryd Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 3,037 inhabitants in 2010.
Sister cities
* Lindström - Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United Stat ...
, Sweden
Lindström, the biggest city in the Chisago Lakes region, has a sister-city relationship with
Tingsryd
Tingsryd () is a locality and the seat of Tingsryd Municipality, Kronoberg County, Sweden, with 3,037 inhabitants in 2010.
Sister cities
* Lindström - Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United Stat ...
, Sweden. The city was established in 1894 after being planned in 1880 and named after Daniel Lindström, who hailed from
Hassela
Hassela () is a locality situated in Nordanstig Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 364 inhabitants in 2010.
Sister cities
* Center City - Minnesota, USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the Uni ...
,
Hälsingland
Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland.
Ad ...
, Sweden. The city commemorates its history through celebrations that revolve around Karl Oskar and his wife, Kristina, fictional characters that represent the numerous immigrant families that settled in the "land of kichisaga" during the mid-19th century. These families had escaped from hardships in their native
Småland
Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden.
Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...
, Sweden, to rebuild their lives in an unclaimed territory in America. A statue of Karl and Kristina serves as a symbol for the Swedish peasants who migrated over a century ago and settled in the Chisago Lakes region.
Shafer
Schaefer is an alternative spelling and cognate for the German language, German word Wikt:Schäfer, ''schäfer'', meaning Wikt:shepherd, 'shepherd', which itself descends from the Old High German ''Wikt:scāphare, scāphare''. Variants "Shaefer", " ...
Sister city to
Nöbbele,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
Shafer is a farming community and was once a potato hub. Shafer was first organized as part of
Taylors Falls. In 1853 the town was renamed after a transient farm worker, Jacob Shafer, from
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. The Shafer community is proud of its heritage. Throughout the year, events are held in a "town square" type of atmosphere.
Taylors Falls
Taylors Falls was the location where the main characters of
Vilhelm Moberg
Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his series ''The Emigrants''. The four ...
's
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
novel
''The Emigrants'' first settled. It was adapted into a
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, and later a musical called
Kristina från Duvemåla.
Almelund
The village of Almelund was founded in 1887 by Swedish immigrant John Almquist.
See also
*
U.S. Highway 8
*
Chisago Lakes School District
References
External links
Chisago Lakes Chamber of CommerceChisago Lakes
{{Coord, 45, 23, N, 92, 51, W, display=title
Geography of Chisago County, Minnesota
History of Minnesota