Editing Blaine, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Phillip Leddy, a native of [[Ireland]], was recorded in the 1857 census<ref name="Census" /> as having settled in the township of Anoka until his death in 1872, on land that later became Blaine. In 1862, he moved near a lake that now bears his misspelled name, Laddie Lake. Another early settler was the [[England|Englishman]] George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what today is Lever St. and 103rd Ave.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blainemn.gov/587/Blaines-History |title=Blaine's History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214104754/https://www.blainemn.gov/587/Blaines-History |archive-date=February 14, 2022}}</ref>

In 1865, Blaine's first permanent resident, Greenberry Chambers, settled on the old Townsend claim.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blainemn.gov/588/Greenberry-Chambers |title=Greenberry Chambers - Blaine, MN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214102145/https://www.blainemn.gov/588/Greenberry-Chambers |archive-date=February 14, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> Chambers was a former [[slave]] who moved north from [[Barren County, Kentucky]], after the [[American Civil War]]. Around 1884, Chambers and his family moved to St. Paul.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://anokacountyhistory.org/latest-news/2020/7/23/slavery-to-freedom-the-greenberry-chambers-story |title=Slavery to freedom: The Greenberry Chambers story - Anoka County Historical Society |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214105832/https://anokacountyhistory.org/latest-news/2020/7/23/slavery-to-freedom-the-greenberry-chambers-story |archive-date=February 14, 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1870, George Wall, Joseph Gagner, and others soon settled in the area and it began to grow.{{Citation needed|date=February 2022}}

In 1877, Blaine separated from Anoka and organized as a township.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blainemn.gov/587/Blaines-History |title=The Story of Blaine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410191201/https://www.blainemn.gov/587/Blaines-History |archive-date=April 10, 2021}}</ref> That year the first election was held and Moses Ripley was elected the first Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Ripley, who had come to Minnesota from Maine, persuaded his fellow board members to name the new township in honor of [[James G. Blaine]], a U.S. Senator, statesman and three-time presidential candidate from Maine. By 1880, Blaine's population had reached 128.

While many other Anoka County communities experienced growth due to farming, Blaine's sandy soil and abundant [[wetland]]s discouraged farmers and it remained a prime hunting area. Blaine's growth remained slow until after [[World War II]], when housing developments began in the southern part of town and the community became more [[suburb]]an. Blaine's population grew from 1,694 in 1950 to 20,573 in 1970, 57,186 in 2010, and 70,222 in 2020. By 2023, the population was over 72,500.

The [[land development]] technique of sand mining opened thousands of acres of peat sod farms up for development. Beginning with the development of the Knoll Creek, Club West, Pleasure Creek and TPC Twin Cities, the existing land was modified through extensive grading efforts in the large open water areas. The sand from the excavation of those ponds was used to raise the level of the site. These site modifications are needed to accommodate the development of the homes and neighborhoods.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.blaine.mn.us/_docs/_eAgenda/_Agendas/_2003/_Council/030403reg_eAgenda.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=February 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040123134136/http://www.ci.blaine.mn.us/_docs/_eAgenda/_Agendas/_2003/_Council/030403reg_eAgenda.pdf |archive-date=January 23, 2004 }}</ref> The success of mining sand allowed for further development. The centerpiece of those developments is The Lakes of Blaine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://liveinthelakes.com/|title=Travis Sabby - The Lakes|website=liveinthelakes.com|access-date=April 3, 2018}}</ref> Corporate residents include the [[Aveda Corporation]], Infinite Campus, PTC Inc, MagnetStreet, the parking lot portion of a Medtronic Development, and Dayton Rogers Manufacturing.