City Tour of Golden Valley


The Village of Golden Valley was incorporated on December 16, 1886. During its early years, Golden Valley was an agricultural community of only a few hundred residents, full of farms, mills, and dairies. Residential development began after the Electric Luce Line Railroad was cut through the village in 1912. Between 1910 and 1940, Golden Valley's population increased from 692 to 2,040. More residential development followed industry's discovery of Golden Valley after World War II, and the village continued to grow. It became a City in 1972. A video history of Golden Valley ("Celebrate Golden Valley"), produced in 2003 by Curtis Laine of Studio 23, is available for purchase through the Golden Valley Historical Society.

How Golden Valley Got Its Name
Was it daffodils or wheat? The story of how Golden Valley got its name has several variations; however, references to grain outnumber those to wildflowers.

The most recent explanation, published in 1986, cites daffodils as the inspiration. According to Golden Valley: A History of a Minnesota City, 1886-1986, the city was named by William Varner, one of the area's first settlers. Upon arriving at St Anthony Falls in 1854, Varner headed west to find a home site and eventually came upon "a hill so high that he thought it was a mountain. He climbed the hill and looking down he could see the whole valley lush and green dotted with golden daffodils. In the distance he could see a lake shining in the sunlight and he said, 'This is my valley, my Golden Valley.' " That hill, now much eroded by nature and humans, is currently home to the Golden Valley Country Club.

Backtrack to May 29, 1958. An unattributed article in the Suburban Press claimed the name Golden Valley "came about because of the yellow of the cowslips, goldenrod, and sunflowers which covered the hills in 1852 when the first pioneers settled in the valley." As soon as he read that article, 75-year-old Robert Moser, lifelong resident and son of early homesteader Carl Moser, called the paper to set the record straight. He said "it was wheat, acres of it glimmering in a summer sun, that put the word 'golden' in Golden Valley."

Moser's family arrived in the area in 1853, followed a year later by the Varners. Within a few years, other settlers arrived and turned the prairie land into wheat fields. Moser says that William Varner, looking out over those fields from his hilltop homestead, observed: "this is truly a golden valley," and the name stuck. In a June 1959 Suburban Press article, one-time mayor Walter McKinnon told the same story, having heard it from Varner's sons. It was followed by a letter from William Sweeney, who wrote "Where [Golden Valley] got its name I don't know but it was not from goldenrod or buttercups."

Fast forward to June 1970, and another variation. Midwest Planning and Research, a consulting firm that used to do most of the City's big planning reports, prepared a document entitled "Historical Background and Statistics of Golden Valley." According to that report, the origin of the name Golden Valley is somewhat obscure. "Various stories concerning the naming of the Village do not bear close scrutiny in view of the physical situation of the Village in the 1880s. The most plausible account of the naming of the Village holds that the name came from Irish immigrants who settled in the area. Wishing to retain some reminder of Ireland, they named the Village 'Golden Valley' after the Golden Vale of Shannon, a portion of the Shannon River Valley in western Ireland."

So, although the Golden Valley name story has a few documented references to fields of flowers or Irish namesakes, these stories are not attributed to any source. But if you go by the oral history passed down to descendents of the area's earliest settlers, Golden Valley was named for the glimmering fields of wheat that once swept across it.

Found in Hennepin County, Minnesota, Golden Valley is a first-ring suburb of Minneapolis and is conveniently located five miles west of downtown. Featuring ample parks and nature areas, the city is known as one of the premiere places to live in the Twin Cities because of its diverse neighborhoods, excellent housing stock, flourishing business community, and award-winning school districts.

The City of Golden Valley covers 10.5 square miles and has more than 8,600 housing units, 81% of which are owner occupied. According to the 2000 US Census, the median household income is $62,063 and the average home price is $158,200. Golden Valley, a wooded, fully developed community, is home to 20,971 people, and the location of more than 30,000 jobs. Several major corporations base their operations out of Golden Valley, including General Mills, Tennant Co, Dahlberg Industries, United Healthcare, Honeywell, and CyberOptics. Service-related companies lead the commercial mix, followed by retail and manufacturing.

Golden Valley is bisected by four major highways--Interstate 394, US 169, MN 100, and MN 55--allowing for ready access to the rest of the Twin Cities metro area. The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport is 17 miles south and is served by all the major airlines, including Northwest, TWA, American, Delta, and United.

Golden Valley operates under the council/manager form of government. This means the City Council sets the policy and overall direction for the City and appoints a city manager to serve as administrator. The city manager directs City staff in carrying out council decisions and providing services. The City of Golden Valley employs approximately 125 full-time employees (including 30 sworn police officers), about 50 paid on-call volunteer firefighters, and about 150 seasonal employees.


Golden Valley Links
City of Golden Valley
Perpich Center for Arts Education
Golden Valley Schools