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I <br />I <br />I <br />t ■ <br />I 4 <br />r 4 <br />► •4 <br />f ♦ <br />P <br />CHAPTER 1 <br />BASIC COMMUNITY PHILOSOPHY <br />HISTORICAL BACKGROUND <br />Every community has a unique character arising from its location, natural resources, <br />history and population. Orono is no exception to this rule. But Orono's plan for the <br />future may be exceptional, because its basic premise is the maintenance and <br />furtherance of our very own mique features. <br />Orono's corporate hi.story dates to 1858 when Minnesota became a state, and <br />western Hennepin County was surveyed and divided into townships. All of Orono <br />south of Watertown Road was located in Excelsior Township, with the area north of <br />Watertown Road being located in Medina Township. But the citizens of Orono, few <br />as they were, found the going difficult in having to negotiate the lake in order to <br />transact business in far away Excelsior. So, in 1868, the townships were realigned <br />with everything north of the Narrows becoming part of Medina. <br />The separate Township of Orono was created out of the southern half of Medina on <br />April 9,1889. The name Orono was brought to the area by Major George Brackett, <br />a native of Orono, Maine, who first used it to designate the area now known as <br />Brackett's Point. <br />Orono Township once included areas now part of neighboring cities. Minnetonka <br />Beach was incorporated out of Medina Township in 1884. Long Lake was <br />incorporated from Orono Township in 1906. Long Lake expanded, Wayzata grew <br />westward, and then Spring Park was incorporated in 1952. <br />Finally, effective January 1,1955, Orono Village was incorporated encompassing all <br />the remaining parts of the township including the settlements of Navarre, Crystal <br />Bay, Orono and Bederwood (Stubbs Bay). A number of minor boundary changes <br />have occurred since then, including detachment of the tip of Three Points Peninsula <br />to Mound in 1963; annexation of small strip from Minnetrista in 198_for McCulley <br />Road; detachment of the Fleming Trail Addition to Long Lake in 19_; and <br />annexation of property along North Ferndale and West Ferndale Roads from <br />Wayzata in 19_in exchange for detachment of a property along Highway 12 to <br />accommodate Wayzata's public works facilities.