East Union is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
in
Carver County
Carver County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The county is mostly farmland and wilderness with many unincorporated townships. As of the 2020 census, the population was 106,922. Its county seat is Chaska. Carver County is named for ...
,
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 ...
, United States.
The community lies on the boundary line between
Dahlgren Township and
San Francisco Township. The center of East Union is generally considered at the junction of Carver County Roads
40,
43, and
50. Nearby places include
Chaska,
Carver, and
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
. Bevens Creek flows through the community.
History
The area was originally settled by Swedish immigrants in 1854, who traveled up the nearby
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa.
It ris ...
via flatboat. They established King Oscar's Settlement, which later divided into the parishes of East Union and West Union. East Union Lutheran Church and its parish hall are 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 ...
as King Oscar's Settlement. West Union was split off as a separate parish, west, so worshipers wouldn't have to travel so far.
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its nam ...
was founded in East Union in 1862; the college is now in
St. Peter, Minnesota
St. Peter is a city in Nicollet County, Minnesota, United States. It is 10 miles north of the Mankato – North Mankato metropolitan area. The population was 12,066 at the 2020 census. St. Peter is the county seat of Nicollet County and home ...
.
Notable person
*
Andrew Holt, Minnesota Supreme Court justice, was born in East Union.
Minnesota State Law Library-Andrew Holt
References
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Unincorporated communities in Carver County, Minnesota
Unincorporated communities in Minnesota
Swedish-American culture in Minnesota