Friends of Wolsfeld Woods

The Wolsfeld family sailed from Germany to the New World in 1852. They worked on farms in Illinois for three years to save money to travel to Minnesota and stake a claim on newly opened Dakota Indian land west of the Mississippi River. The father died of typhus during the journey, but his wife, daughters, and sons John and Charles Wolsfeld carried on.

John staked the first claim at the west end of what is now Wolsfeld Lake in 1855. His barn of rough-hewn oak continues as a working barn today.  Two year later, Charles claimed the land at the east end of the lake. 

Charles hand-built a log cabin for his family with the help of his brother, John. As the family grew, they framed in the original log cabin, adding a second story, bedrooms and sleeping porches for hot summer nights.  The original cabin, dismantled and reconstructed in 1999, now stands near Medina City Hall and is open to the public upon request.

The two brothers used the forestry practices they learned in Germany to manage the virgin Big Woods. They sold basswood, second-growth hickory and oak to the cooperage (barrel works) in Long Lake. The brothers used ash, butternut, hickory and ironwood for tool handles, wagon parts and furniture.

In the 1930s and 1940s, the Wolsfeld family descendants supplemented their farming with a large-scale maple syrup-making business that became known regionally.

For more information about Wolsfeld Woods, the Wolsfeld Family and area history, contact:

West Hennepin History Center

1953 W. Wayzata Blvd
Long Lake, MN 55356 

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