Settling and beginning
The history of Maplewood goes back about 150 years. Before settlers arrived, the land in Maplewood was inhabited by the Dakota Indians. The landscape was a mix of scrub oak and prairie, with many marshes and lakes.

In 1850, a group of families ventured out from St. Paul along an old Indian trail which is now Hazelwood Street. They were the Bells, Caseys, Conlins, and Vincents. At today’s County Road C they turned to the east and began to build their log cabins. The sound of their axes alerted the nearby Dakota who quickly surrounded the homesteaders. The Dakota asked them to leave and the newcomers quickly retraced their steps. The settlers made repeated attempts to claim the land they had bought for 2 dollars an acre. But again and again they were driven back. Finally, in 1853, they found that the Ojibway had pushed the Dakota out of the area. The Ojibway just wanted to hunt on the land and they didn’t mind the clearing of trees. At about this same time southern Maplewood was being settled as well. In 1852, Thomas Carver began farming to the west of Carver Lake. This area, the south leg of Maplewood, later became McLean township. Northern Maplewood was included in the township of New Canada in when it was formed in 1858.

The first organized transportation in this area was a stagecoach line that was along present day Edgerton Street. This line began in 1856, and it cost 10 dollars for the trip from St. Paul to Duluth. This stagecoach line remained in service until the first railroad was built to Duluth in 1870. This was the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad and followed the Vento Trail. By the 1880’s the line was owned by the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad. This owner would play a big part in Maplewood’s development.

In 1886, the Wisconsin Central Railroad built a line that intersected with the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad. A townsite was planned at the junction of these two railroads that was predicted to “rival St. Paul.” William and Mary Dawson platted out a town and decided to name the place “Gladstone” after William Gladstone, a popular British statesman of the time. Dawson planned to relocate his plow work business there and was able to entice the St. Paul and Duluth Railroad to put its shops in Gladstone. For a time, the little village prospered. In the 1890’s the town employed 1,000 workers. It had a post office, a hotel, at least two saloons, a brothel and a population of about 150.

Turn of the century
Gladstone suffered a series of misfortunes that was its demise. First, a fire destroyed the Plow Works. Then the founder of the town, William Dawson filed for bankruptcy. The last straw was when the railroad shut down the shops sometime around 1917. Gladstone became a ghost town with many people leaving or burning their houses for insurance. Trains still remained an everyday sight in Gladstone for many years after. The depot stayed in service through 1950’s but the railroad changed the name to Gloster in 1910 to avoid confusion with Gladstone Michigan. The people who stayed behind were the farmers.

Truck farming was the main business in the areas adjacent to St. Paul through much of the first half of this century. The farmers were the local government for many years. In 1878, a town hall was built for New Canada along the north shore of Lake Phalen and was moved to Gladstone in 1900. Annual meetings were a big event and the little building was packed with people. By the early 1950’s the old building was run down. The town decided to have its meetings in a room in the back of the Gladstone Fire Building.

Post-WWI
After World War II, the housing boom began in New Canada Township. Veterans could receive discounts on new homes and developments began around Wakefield Lake. Residents wanted improved services like sewer, water, and better roads. These items were the subject of debate at the township meetings. In 1953, Little Canada broke away from the township and became a city. Many new people were hired to replace the empty spots on the town board. These were the people who set the wheels in motion for the City of Maplewood. Not only was the population of New Canada increasing, industry also had interest in the area. 3M (still known as Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing) was looking for expansion and bought a large chunk of land in the southern leg. This land was outside of the city limits of St. Paul. Rumors began that St. Paul wanted to annex the area where 3M was going to be.

An offer was made to the New Canada Township to swap a connection to St. Paul’s sewer and water to add the 3M land to the city limits. The township didn’t like this idea and decided that the best action was to form a city on its own. On February 26, 1957 the vote was 5 to 1 in favor of becoming a village.

Waldo Luebben was the first mayor and many of the former New Canada Township board members became village officials. Ed O’Mara was one of the persons who suggested the name “Maplewood” Warren Berger went out to his backyard and traced a maple leaf and that became the village logo. Maplewood had a population of 14,200 people when it incorporated. For a few years, life in Maplewood was much like that of the former township. The village operated out of the same building attached to the Gladstone Fire Building. The township constables slowly evolved into the Maplewood Police Department. Len Pepin became a constable in 1954, was later Maplewood’s first chief of police. Fire protection for the Village of Maplewood was by the Gladstone, Parkside, and East County Line Fire Departments. These organizations merged into the Maplewood Fire Department in 1997.

In the late 50’s and early 60’s the city continued to use buildings in the old Gladstone site. The Police Department had a converted house and the engineering department was in an old barber shop and grocery store. According to legend, work on the new village hall was so slow, Building Inspector Oscar Londin grabbed a shovel and said “I’ll do it myself!” The two story city hall was built on Frost Avenue in 1965. It only took 20 years to outgrow the new city hall and a new one was built in the woods off County Road B and White Bear Avenue.

The Village of Maplewood was changed to the City of Maplewood by the 1970’s and adopted the council manager form of government. The Maplewood Mall opened in the early 1970’s and became the major center of retail business in Maplewood. In the late 60’s and 1970’s there was a Maplewood Fall Festival with parades and a Miss Maplewood pageant. The main event of the city became the 4th of July celebration held at Wakefield Park in the 1970’s and 80’s and at Hazelwood in the 1990’s. The highlight of each event is the fireworks display. By 1990, 30,954 people lived in Maplewood. The city was rapidly being developed, especially the southern leg. Open space became a concern. The home of the 3M Post-It Note became one of the first cities in Minnesota to buy land and set it aside to remain undeveloped.