Almelund is a small town in Amador Township, Chisago County, Minnesota, United States. It is located at +45° 29' 29.00", -92° 47' 7.01", about 55 miles north-northeast of Minneapolis at the intersection of State Highway 95 and Chisago County Road 12 (Park Trail).
History
The first European visitors to the area were French traders who bought furs from the resident Ojibwa Indians in the 17th century. Swedish immigrants arrived in the 1850 to buy farm land along the St. Croix River and beside the lakes of Amador Township. Almelund was founded in 1887 by John Almquist. The first building was a Lutheran Church. Almquist built a general store and ran it for thirty years until is burned down in 1911. A school was built in 1910. The two-room brick building now houses the Amador Heritage Center.
Still in a prominent place at the center of town is Immanuel Lutheran Church. Originally known as the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Emmanuel Church, the current building was built in 1926.
Community Life
Almelund is surrounded on all sides by farm land. Many of the farmers, who raise corn, soybeans, dairy and beef cattle, and feed for those cattle, are descendants of the original Swedish immigrants. The area is also know for its lakes and outdoor recreation. Almelund is three miles south of Wild River State Park.
Almelund is also well known throughout east central Minnesota for hosting the annual Threshing Show, known by people in the area as the "Threshing Party." It is a fifty-year-old celebration of vintage tractors, old farm equipment and traditional threshing methods.
In September the Amador Apple Festival, another heritage festival, is held at the Amador Heritage Center Museum.
External links
Pictures on the Howard Family Homepage