Wayzata, Minnesota | |
|---|---|
| City of Wayzata | |
 Downtown Wayzata, October 2011 | |
 Logo | |
 Location of Wayzata withinHennepin County, Minnesota | |
| Coordinates:44°58′27″N93°30′24″W / 44.97417°N 93.50667°W /44.97417; -93.50667 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Minnesota |
| County | Hennepin |
| Founded | 1854 |
| Incorporated | 1883 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Andrew Mullin |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.70 sq mi (12.16 km2) |
| • Land | 3.10 sq mi (8.02 km2) |
| • Water | 1.60 sq mi (4.14 km2) |
| Elevation | 942 ft (287 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 4,434 |
• Estimate (2022)[3] | 4,338 |
| • Density | 1,431.9/sq mi (552.86/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 55391 |
| Area code | 952 |
| FIPS code | 27-68818 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0653868[4] |
| Website | www |
Wayzata (/waɪˈzɛtə/wy-ZET-ə) is a city inHennepin County,Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,434 at the2020 census.[2] A suburb of theTwin Cities, Wayzata is located about 9 miles (14 km) west ofMinneapolis along the northern shore ofLake Minnetonka, the state's ninth-largest lake.
Nicknamed "The Gateway to Lake Minnetonka," Wayzata is known for its upscale shopping and restaurant district along the lakeshore. Given its relative proximity to Minneapolis, the city is frequented by boaters, sailors, and visitors during the summer months.[5]
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The name "Wayzata" comes from theDakota wordwazíyata, meaning “north” or “north shore.” TheMdewakanton, a subtribe of the Dakota nation, treasured Lake Minnetonka—the "Big Water"—as a place forhunting,fishing, and harvestingwild rice andmaple sap. Spirit Knob, a peninsula in Wayzata Bay, was regarded as a particularly sacred place.[6] The Dakota resided in this area of Minnesota until 1851, when theTreaty of Mendota was signed and land west of the Mississippi was opened forEuro-American settlement. Most Dakota were exiled from Minnesota after 1862.
Oscar E. Garrison originally platted Wayzata in 1854. In 1855, it saw an influx of Yankeesettlers fromNew England andUpstate New York, who built asawmill, ahotel, and ablacksmith shop. Most early settlers made their living byclear-cutting the land to growcorn andwheat. In 1857, this flourishing economy was nearly terminated by agrasshopper infestation, but the community rebounded whenginseng was discovered in the remaininghardwood forest. Ginseng root was in great demand as anaphrodisiac inChina. During this boom, Wayzata became a collection center for ginseng roots discovered around Lake Minnetonka.
In 1867 theSaint Paul and Pacific Railroad extended its tracks to Wayzata, making it the area's transportation hub. The railroad was particularly important to localfarmers because they now had easy access to markets inMinneapolis,Saint Paul, and beyond. The railroad also made Wayzata the original "gateway" to Lake Minnetonka, which was billed as a place of commanding beauty and good health.
In the 1860s and 1870s many small hotels andboarding houses were erected around Wayzata and Lake Minnetonka to accommodate tourists. One early example was the Maurer House-West Hotel, which was built near the corner of Lake Street and Broadway Avenue. Most local hotels and boarding houses were rather primitive until 1879, when the 150-room Hotel Saint Louis was built inDeephaven.
Most Lake Minnetonka tourists in the late 1800s arrived in Wayzata bytrain.Steamboats waited for new arrivals near the foot of Broadway Avenue and took them to destinations across the lake. Some of these steamboats, such as theCity of Saint Louis andBelle of Minnetonka, were quite large. TheBelle of Minnetonka was 300 feet (91 m) long and could purportedly carry 2,500 passengers.
Wayzata was officially incorporated as avillage in 1883. One of the village council's first orders of business was to reroute the railroad tracks north of town.James J. Hill, who had become chairman of the newly formedSaint Paul, Minneapolis, & Manitoba Railway in 1879, initially ignored the council's order. When the council took the case tocourt, Hill reacted by demolishing thetrain station at the foot of Broadway Avenue and building a new one east of town at a stop called "Holdridge." He declared that Wayzata residents could "walk a mile for the next twenty years" to catch the train. Hill moved the tracks as well, but rather than rerouting them north of town, he moved them closer to the lake.
Hill was also connected to Wayzata and Lake Minnetonka through the Arlington Hotel, Hotel Lafayette, andBelle of Minnetonka, all owned by the Saint Paul, Minneapolis, & Manitoba Railway. He purchased Wayzata's Arlington Hotel in 1881 and never reopened it. By the 1890s, Lake Minnetonka had largely fallen out of favor as a vacation destination for wealthy tourists. A number of factors including newrailroad regulations, newvacation spots, and a nationaleconomic depression contributed to this decline.
As national tourism to Lake Minnetonka faded in the 1890s, a new era for Wayzata began. Many urban dwellers began to construct summercottages along Lake Minnetonka's shores as the Twin Cities grew. While many of these new cottages were modest, some were monumental. Wayzata became home to a large collection of grandcountry estates along the Ferndale Shore. Notable families who built country estates there include the Bells, Boveys, Crosbys, Peaveys, Pillsburys, and Washburns.
Despite the influx of new summer residences, Wayzata barely grew during this period. That changed in 1905, when the village council voted for a Reconciliation Ordinance to repair relations with Hill and his railway (now known as the “Great Northern”). He responded by building a new traindepot near downtown Wayzata. At the depot's grand opening celebration in 1906, he declared it the “handsomest” on the entire Great Northern line.
Wayzata was also connected to a new form of water transportation in 1906. TheTwin City Rapid Transit Company launched six new “Express Boats” on Lake Minnetonka that served as an extension of the Twin Citystreetcar system. The service was discontinued in 1926 after several years of declining ridership. Some of the Express Boats werescuttled (purposely sunk) in the lake that year. One, theMinnehaha, was raised from the depths in 1980, restored, and returned to passenger service in 1996.
As the cottage era continued, downtown Wayzata rebounded with residences and small commercial centers at each end of Lake Street.Motorboating was all the rage by 1920, and Wayzata was at the center of the trend with two nationally famous boat makers, Ramaley and Wise, based there. In 1929 the Ramaley Boat Company merged with Wise Boat Works and Walker Boat Works to form Minnetonka Boat Works. Minnetonka Boat Works eventually became well-known manufacturers and distributors of Tonka-Craft andChris-Craft power boats.
Wayzata's population nearly doubled in the decades leading up toWorld War II. Wayzatans were fortunate when one of their own, MayorRufus Rand, stepped forward to lead the town in meeting the challenges of modernizing its infrastructure. Under Rand, water and sewer service was provided to every building, streetlights were installed, roads were paved, and the publicbeach and park was opened.
After World War II, many local farms and summer cottages were converted for use as year-round,single-family homes. Many new homes and gas stations were also constructed during this time.U.S. Highway 12, which was built in the 1920s, was widened to four lanes, and the population swelled. Downtown Wayzata residences were replaced by more stores serving not only Wayzatans, but also new families moving onto the formerfarmlands outside Wayzata. By the 1950s, the greaterMinneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area had reached Wayzata.
After it became acharter city, Wayzata began to annex land fromMinnetonka,Plymouth, andOrono, and doubled in size.[6] U.S. Highway 12 was widened again to become a freeway in the 1970s and a new shopping center opened 5 miles (8.0 km) down the road. These physical and economic changes caused some of Wayzata's downtown shops to be replaced by condominiums and office buildings. Strip malls and fast food franchises came to a part of the town near the highway.
Wayzata is asuburb ofMinneapolis, Minnesota, 9 miles (14 kilometres) to its west on the northeast tip ofLake Minnetonka.[7] According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 3.16 square miles (8.18 km2), of which 3.08 square miles (7.98 km2) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km2) is water.[8] The "land cover types" that compose the Wayzata area in descending order by square acreage are open water (36%);residential areas,farmsteads, andcommercial lands (35%);forest (13%); andfarms (8%).[9]
Wayzata'sclimate ishumid continental, with hot summers, cold winters, and moderate autumns and springs. Average summer temperatures range from 56 to 82 degreesFahrenheit. Average winter temperatures range from 2 to 27 degrees Fahrenheit. The average annualrainfall is 30.4 inches (77 cm). The average annualsnowfall is 54.4 inches (138 cm).[10]
Before it was settled byEuro-Americans, the Wayzata area was largely "uplanddeciduous forest, with small inclusions of wetprairie, andlakes."[9] Forest types typical in and around Wayzata have been "maple-basswood forest, oak forest, lowland hardwood forest, and floodplain forest. Non-native forest types within the city were predominantly disturbed second growth forest types made up ofelm,box elder,ash, andcottonwood, with occasionalbasswood,maple, andoak."[9][11] Some of the species of plants considered invasive in the Wayzata area arepurple loosestrife,narrow-leaf cattail,common buckthorn,leafy spurge,tartarian honeysuckle,garlic mustard,reed canary grass,Siberian elm, andAmur maple.[9] Some rare native species have also been seen in Wayzata, including theAcadian flycatcher,pugnose shiner, andred-shouldered hawk.[9]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 132 | — | |
| 1890 | 273 | 106.8% | |
| 1900 | 276 | 1.1% | |
| 1910 | 492 | 78.3% | |
| 1920 | 633 | 28.7% | |
| 1930 | 1,100 | 73.8% | |
| 1940 | 1,473 | 33.9% | |
| 1950 | 1,791 | 21.6% | |
| 1960 | 3,219 | 79.7% | |
| 1970 | 3,700 | 14.9% | |
| 1980 | 3,621 | −2.1% | |
| 1990 | 3,806 | 5.1% | |
| 2000 | 4,113 | 8.1% | |
| 2010 | 3,688 | −10.3% | |
| 2020 | 4,434 | 20.2% | |
| 2022 (est.) | 4,338 | [3] | −2.2% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[12] 2020 Census[2] | |||
As of thecensus of 2010, there were 3,688 people, 1,795 households, and 944 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 1,197.4 inhabitants per square mile (462.3/km2). There were 2,041 housing units, at an average density of 662.7 per square mile (255.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 92.5%White, 3.0%African American, 0.4%Native American, 1.3%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 1.5% fromother races, and 1.1% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 3.6% of the population.
There were 1,795 households, of which 20.8% included children under the age of 18, 42.3% weremarried couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.4% were non-families; 41.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.04, and the average family size was 2.80.
The median age in the city was 47.8 years; 19.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.7% were from 25 to 44; 31.9% were from 45 to 64; and 22.2% were 65 years of age or older. Among residents of the city, 47.5% were male and 52.5% were female.
As of thecensus of 2000, there were 4,113 people, 1,929 households, and 1,041 families residing in the city. Thepopulation density was 1,292.6 persons per square mile (499.4/km2). There were 2,047 housing units, at an average density of 643.3 per square mile (248.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.11%White, 0.41%African American, 0.32%Native American, 1.34%Asian, 0.19%Pacific Islander, 0.75% fromother races, and 0.88% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 1.41% of the population.
There were 1,929 households, of which 20.9% included children under the age of 18, 46.6% weremarried couples living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.0% were non-families; 39.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06, and the average family size was 2.77.
The median age was 44 years; 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.0% were between the ages of 18 and 24, 25.8% were from 25 to 44, 28.1% were from 45 to 64, and 20.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 88.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $65,833, and the median income for a family was $96,859. Males had a median income of $51,000 versus $39,257 for females. Theper capita income for the city was $63,859. None of the families and 2.3% of the population were living below thepoverty line, including no under eighteens and 5.0% of those over 64.
Andrew Mullin has been the mayor since 2025[13]
Johanna Mouton has been the mayor since 2021.[14]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 41.1%1,162 | 56.6%1,601 | 2.3%64 |
| 2020 | 42.0%1,350 | 56.3%1,811 | 1.7%57 |
| 2016 | 43.9%1,238 | 48.0%1,354 | 8.1%231 |
| 2012 | 55.6%1,405 | 43.2%1,091 | 1.2%32 |
| 2008 | 51.4%1,286 | 47.3%1,183 | 1.3%34 |
| 2004 | 54.1%1,372 | 44.7%1,133 | 1.2%51 |
| 2000 | 55.3%1,370 | 39.4%975 | 5.3%131 |
| 1996 | 51.7%1,179 | 40.5%923 | 7.8%180 |
| 1992 | 43.4%1,042 | 32.3%777 | 24.3%131 |
| 1988 | 63.1%1,422 | 36.9%833 | 0.0%0 |
| 1984 | 65.3%1,486 | 34.7%791 | 0.0%0 |
| 1980 | 56.7%1,195 | 33.6%709 | 9.7%205 |
| 1976 | 64.0%1,427 | 34.2%762 | 1.8%40 |
| 1972 | 67.2%1,327 | 31.1%613 | 1.7%34 |
| 1968 | 58.0%1,095 | 39.8%751 | 2.2%41 |
| 1964 | 56.8%997 | 42.8%752 | 0.4%7 |
| 1960 | 72.7%1,248 | 27.2%467 | 0.1%1 |
The corporate headquarters of bothCargill andCarlson are inMinnetonka, within 1 mile (1.6 km) of Wayzata. They are two of the largest employers in the Wayzata area.
The regional bankTCF was founded in Wayzata in 1923.[16] The company was headquartered in Wayzata until 2019.
Northern Oil and Gas, Inc. is headquartered in Wayzata.[17]
Ace Casual Furniture is headquartered in Wayzata.[18]
TheUnited States Postal Service maintains apost office in Wayzata, which is assigned theZIP code 55391. Although this ZIP code serves an area much larger than the city of Wayzata and includes seven other municipalities around easternLake Minnetonka, all locations in the ZIP code area use the name Wayzata in their postal addresses.[19]The BNSF Railway serves Wayzata.
Wayzata Public Schools are part of Independent School District (ISD) 284 and serve all or parts of eight west suburban municipalities (Plymouth,Corcoran,Hamel,Maple Grove,Medicine Lake,Medina,Minnetonka, andOrono). The only school within Wayzata's city limits is West Middle School. The district covers 38 square miles (98 km2), extending north and east from Wayzata Bay on Lake Minnetonka, and lies approximately 8 miles west of Minneapolis. There are approximately 9,510 students enrolled in eight publicelementary schools (K–5), threemiddle schools (6–8), and onehigh school (9–12). Some students in the area attend public schools in other school districts that their families choose under Minnesota's open enrollment statute.[20] In 2012,Newsweek rankedWayzata High School one of the top 1,000 public high schools in the United States.[21]
| Schools in the Wayzata School District | ||
|---|---|---|
| Elementary schools | Middle schools | High School |
| Sunset Hill | West Middle School | Wayzata High School |
| Plymouth Creek | Central Middle School | |
| Oakwood | East Middle School | |
| Meadow Ridge | ||
| Kimberly Lane | ||
| Greenwood | ||
| Gleason Lake | ||
| Birchview | ||
| North Woods | ||
TheDakota Rail Trail is a 13.5 miles (21.7 km) paved regional trail. In Hennepin County, the trail winds around Lake Minnetonka through Wayzata,Orono,Minnetonka Beach,Spring Park,Mound,Minnetrista andSaint Bonifacius. The trail continues for 12.5 miles (20.1 km) inCarver County and terminates inMayer. The trail is managed by theThree Rivers Park District.[22][23]
The Wayzata Beach is in downtown Wayzata onLake Minnetonka. The beach is open to the public and has permit and non-permit parking. A lifeguard is on duty from mid-June to mid-August when the temperature is above 65 degreesFahrenheit. The beach features
In the 1990s TV seriesBeverly Hills, 90210,Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) andBrenda Walsh (Shannen Doherty) moved toCalifornia from Wayzata. In the show, both characters mispronounce Wayzata as "Way-za-da."
In the 1996 filmFargo, Jerry Lundegaard intends to purchase a parking lot in Wayzata.
Much of the 1999 filmDrop Dead Gorgeous (starringKirsten Dunst,Kirstie Alley,Denise Richards,Allison Janney,Ellen Barkin,Brittany Murphy, andAmy Adams) was filmed in Wayzata. Scenes were filmed at West Middle School, the Wayzata VFW, and 634 Park Street.
The characterBen Linus in the TV seriesLost assumed the identity of a Henry Gale from Wayzata, Minnesota. In the show, the character mispronounces Wayzata as "Why-Zah-tah."
Aerial shots of Wayzata were featured in the fourth episode of the 2018 TV seriesThe Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.
Municipalities and communities ofHennepin County, Minnesota,United States | ||
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| Cities |
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| Unincorporated area | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
