LAKEFIELD, MINNESOTA

Circa 1879

The date was July 1, 1879.  Mr. Kilen then met with officials of the Southern Minnesota Railroad (later known as the Milwaukee Railroad) an agreement was reached for a side-track on the land.  Finally, he hired James E. Palmer to survey and plat the new town site, and by August of 1879, there was much interest and excitement about the new town born on the prairie.  For a time, the people in the area called the new town Bethania.  However, on September 5, 1879, Anders R. Kilen, the town founder and proprietor, dedicated the new town and called it Lakefield.