Lakefield, MN

Lakefield began when Anders Kilen bought an 80-acre town site beside a planned railroad siding in 1879. For a short time the new place was called Bethania, but on September 5 Kilen dedicated it as Lakefield, a name tied to nearby Heron Lake. The railroad helped the town become a trade and farm center, and Minnesota 86 still runs through the middle of town. Heron Lake remains part of the local story through Community Point, a long-used access site that became part of the Jackson County park system in 1967; Kilen Woods State Park and Sandy Point add more lake-and-river geography nearby. Lakefield's current shape is a blend of railroad grid, farm town, and the lakes that gave it its name.