Editing Carver, Minnesota (section)

===Boomtown===
The [[Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate#Treaty of 1851 Traverse de Sioux|1851 Treaty of Traverse de Sioux]], signed between the Dakota and the U.S. Government, legally opened the area to white settlers.  Before the Treaty was fully ratified, Axel Jorgenson, an immigrant from [[Fredrikshald, Norway]], settled in the area by 1852 as a [[sooner]].  Jorgenson laid claim to {{convert|415|acre|km2 sqmi}} that would become Carver.  He called the area Lukenborg (or Luksenborg), but called it Fulton.  In order to augment his barge transport business, to and from [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], he opened a cheap hotel, the Hotel Luksenborg.<ref name="CHSpdf"/>

[[File:2009-0713-Carver-TemperanceHotel.jpg|thumb|Temperance Hotel (1857)]]
A [[land boom]] in the 1850s led to widespread speculation along key river locations.  Carver's position between navigable sections of the Minnesota River, as well as Carver and Spring Creeks, was an ideal location for a [[steamboat]] and barge terminal for transferring cargo.  In 1854, Jorgenson sold his claim to the Carver Land Company, a group of seven speculators, who planned to [[plat]] and develop a town.  Among the investors were [[Alexander Ramsey]], the former Territorial Governor, and Levi Griffin, the first sheriff of Carver County.  Ramsey was responsible for naming the town Carver. The Town of Carver was platted in 1857 and lots were divided up among the seven according to their investment.<ref name="CHSpdf"/>

By 1855, Carver already had a tailor, a hotel, a boarding house, a building designer, a carpenter, a livery stable, a blacksmith, two shoemakers, and a general store. When the town was platted in 1857, it already had 35 buildings; the school district was established the same year and was known as Minnesota School District #1 for a century.  Also during this period, the steamboat ''The Antelope'' was making daily round trips between Carver and St. Paul, a one-way river run of {{convert|32|mi|km}}.  Steamboats brought passengers and immigrants, who rapidly opened up the surrounding area to settlement by farmers who could buy land from the U. S. government for $1.25 an acre, as well as the supplies needed to grow these settlements.<ref name="CHSpdf"/>

[[File:Carver Hist District 1.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Typical residence in the historic district]]

The [[Panic of 1857]] caused many frontier settlements to collapse.  One such community, Louisville, located directly across the Minnesota River in present-day [[Louisville Township, Scott County, Minnesota|Louisville Township]], collapsed and many of its buildings were moved to Carver. In 1858 Carver had a small [[gold rush]] when gold was purportedly found in Spring Creek.  By 1860, immigrants who had previously come from the Eastern U.S. were supplanted by those from [[Sweden]] and [[Germany]].<ref name="CHSpdf"/>

The [[Dakota War of 1862]] erupted in the region as most of the regions soldiers were embroiled in the concurrent [[American Civil War]].  Between 400 and 500 pioneers in southern and western Minnesota were killed as war parties attacked settlements throughout the region.  Many settlers sought refuge in Carver due to town's steamboat transportation, which offered evacuation to [[Fort Snelling, Minnesota|Fort Snelling]], if needed.  The town was spared, but rumors of its attack caused residents of [[Shakopee, Minnesota|Shakopee]] to flee to Fort Snelling.<ref name="CHSpdf"/>