8550 MINNETONKA BOULEVARD

The oldest house still standing in the City was built at 8550 Minnetonka Blvd. in 1874. The milestones in the life of the house include:

1884

The house was added onto, as evidenced by "1884" etched in the cement, and a copy of an 1884 newspaper found in the wall during a subsequent renovation. News of the day was a visit to Minnesota by General Grant.

1889

The map shows the property belonging to Mary M. Bruce.

1920's

During prohibition the place was a speakeasy, decorated with umbrellas, and featuring a magic cistern - pull on a rope to retrieve the hooch.

1933

Belmont Tavern and Belmont Stables were both listed in the City's first directory.

1935

Only Belmont Tavern was listed in the directory. A.J. Rowan requested a license to sell beer, although a Mr. Vader Van Slyke was listed as the owner of the Tavern.

1942

The property and acres of land were purchased by Richard J. and Marlys Westling. As early as 1939, the Westlings had raised produce and chickens on land they rented at 31st and Louisiana. The Westlings also farmed at their new location, and raised chickens and pigs.

1947

The Westlings subdivided the property (West Lynn) and built 65 homes. Mrs. Westling designed the houses.

The Westlings also named the streets in the subdivision, which the City said had to be named after American battles. Thus, they named:

Aquila: Mrs. Westling originally wanted to name it Aragon, but it was deemed too close to Oregon. Then she found a book called Action at Aquila, which described a Civil War battle where 8 men were killed. The 1938 novel was written by Hervey Allen (who also wrote Anthony Adverse in 1933, which Warner Bros. made into a major motion picture in 1936, starring Fredric March, Olivia de Havilland, Claude Rains, and Gale Sondergard, and directed by Mervyn LeRoy).

Boone: This street was named in honor of Mrs. Westling's shirt-tail relative, Daniel Boone; she had to show the Village evidence of a battle named Boone to get it approved.

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This information comes from a variety of sources: newspapers, books, yearbooks, phone directories, interviews, etc. Given the varied sources, we cannot guarantee that all of this information is correct, and welcome any additions and corrections. Please contact us with your contributions and comments.