City of Jordan: A Brief History

Tagged: Scott County, Brentwood, Thomas Holmes, Village of Jordan, City of Jordan, Jordan,

The city of Jordan, Minnesota has a history dating back to the early 1850’s. In 1853, Thomas A. Holmes sent a group from Shakopee to build a sawmill in the area of what is now modern day Jordan.  Thomas Holmes and his family lived in a log house which would eventually be the start of the city.

Due to multiple treaties signed by Native Americans in the 1850’s which led to the Native Americans being relocated to live on government reservations, the area opened up to even more settlers moving westward. In the late 1850’s  the then unnamed village had built a hotel, place of worship, school, tavern, post office, two mills, and several new homes, the village remained nameless for several years, but was later named Jordan by Thomas Holmes after the Biblical reference of the Jordan River in what is now modern day Israel.

In 1872, the village of Jordan and the village of Brentwood were incorporated together as a single village, the village of Jordan.  Soon, more businesses and more churches sprung up.

By 1880 the village hosted 915 residents and had two railways, which was uncommon as most cities only had one.  Businesses consisted of two flouring mills, two breweries, a stone quarry, a lumber shop, a harness shop, a blacksmith, a gunsmith, a bakery, three general merchandise stores, two hardware stores, two grocery stores, two millinery, two meat markets, two jewelers, two hotels, and eight saloons. Later, in 1891, Jordan was incorporated as a city.  

Breweries were a main staple point of the town until 1919 when Prohibition of alcohol was enacted and forced several breweries to either close or to begin manufacturing root beer. After Prohibition was repealed, brewing became a large part of the culture in the town once again.

Today, the City of Jordan is a growing city located in an area of residential development. The City is full of suburban lifestyles mixed with agricultural living.

If you have any questions regarding the city of Jordan, Minnesota, or if you would like to sell or buy a house in the area, please feel free to visit TwinCitiesPropertyFinder.com or call 1-800-909-1953.

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