News & Events
Upcoming CMHS Events
Burwell House Tours
Tour the 1883 Burwell House
on Minnehaha Creek and McGinty Road
From 1 to 4PM on Saturdays, Sundays, and Tuesdays with an expert guide.
Past CMHS Events
Annual MHS Holiday Open House
November Self Guided Tours
The Historic Burwell House was open for the Holiday season!
The City of Minnetonka Historical Society is happy to announce that
the Historic Charles H. Burwell house was open for holiday tours on
Sundays from 1 to 4 pm.
November 13 November 20 November 27
Come and stroll through the entire home, decorated for a Victorian Christmas.
Admission is free, but donations are appreciated
The Historic Burwell House
13209 E. McGinty Road, Minnetonka
December Holiday Open House
Burwell Holiday Open House
Sunday, December 4 from 1 to 4 pm
at the Historic Burwell House
Join us next year for a self-guided tour of this beautiful Victorian house
decorated for the holidays. Refreshments in the cottage.
Free (donations appreciated). Parking available in St. David’s lot across the street.
About 200 people attended the Burwell House tours in 2019 over a succession of four Sunday afternoons in November and December. They enjoyed touring the 1883 house while it was decorated in traditional Holiday trimmings which were put up by local High School student volunteers. Afterwards they warmed up in the cottage with some hot tea and cookies.
Click here to see a gallery of photos from the event.
The City of Minnetonka Historical Society Annual Meeting
Was Tuesday, September 13
6:30 pm
Minnetonka Community Room
14600 Minnetonka Blvd
Our Special Presentation:
Minnesota's Involvement in the Dakota War of 1862 and the Civil War
focusing on the 1st Minnesota and 3rd Minnesota Volunteer Regiments
by Tom Peterson
Retired Attorney and Local Civil War Expert
We are very pleased to have Tom share his knowledge of the courage and the controversy of these two Minnesota regiments, during a critical time in our nation’s history.
Colonel William J. Colvill the 1st Minnesota Volunteer Regiment Gettysburg battle 1863
​
Vintage – Collectables –
Antiques Appraisal Extravaganza!
Was Presented by: City of Minnetonka Historical Society
and the Hopkins Historical Society
Sunday, September 11
1 pm to 4 pm
Minnetonka Community Center
14600 Minnetonka Blvd., Minnetonka
Bring your items and see what they’re worth!
*This is a verbal estimate and not designed for insurance purposes
Spaces are limited, so register soon!
Limit 2 items per person
Cost per item: $13 Society Members
$16 Non Members
Pre-registration required
​
Use this link to register:
• for members:
https://www.hopkinshistory.org/store/p5/appraisal.html
• for nonmembers:
https://www.hopkinshistory.org/store/p6/Appraisal_Non_Member.html
Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social memories
For those of you that are missing our wonderful Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social at the Burwell House this summer, here is a nostalgic video of the festivities in the year 2000! Hopefully we will have it again some time after 40 plus years of tradition?
Click here or on the picture to watch the video.
And click here to see a large gallery of photos with many memories from past Minnetonka ice Cream Socials at the Burwell House from 2008 - 2019
Video Presentation about Dana Frear's
"Minnetonka Town" Manuscript
MHS recently received a Research and Writing Grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to hire a writer to edit the 350+ page manuscript “The History of Minnetonka Town” written by Dana Frear. Frear grew up across from the Burwell House and his parents ran the Frear grocery where Station Pizza is today. He was Minnetonka’s first historian, and began in the 1930’s compiling information for a comprehensive history of our city. He worked on his manuscript for almost 40 years, but in the 1970s, publishing a book was an expensive and difficult process. On October 6, as part of the MHS Speaker’s bureau fall series, Bill gave us a preview of the manuscript and detailed Mr. Frear’s struggle to have the manuscript published. You can watch it here as it is streamed from the City of Minnetonka's website.
​Attend our
Minnetonka History presentations
at the Minnetonka City Hall this year
​
The Minnetonka Historical Society sponsors presentations every Spring and Fall about different topics in Minnetonka History. We have many more topics to hear about every month in early 2022. Watch here for details. You can also watch past presentations in our 'presentation' page here where most of the videos are streamed by the city. Some of the topics include Grays Bay Marina,Oak Knoll, the last dairy farm, horses, railroads, schools, parks, and the Glen Lake Sanitorium.
Click here to see our Glen Lake History slidshow.
