Editing Edina, Minnesota (section)

===Early settlement===
Edina was not the first settlement in its location. According to historian Deborah Morse-Kahn, the [[Quakers|Quaker]] village that existed where Edina would be built included African American families of Civil War veterans and freed slaves "became very involved in community life—especially as farmland owners, civic and cultural leaders."<ref name=morsekahn>{{cite book|title=Edina: Chapters in the City History|location=Edina, MN|publisher=City of Edina|last=Morse-Kahn|first=Deborah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iLmeAQAACAAJ|year=1991}}</ref> At the November 1898 general election, [[John Francis Wheaton|J. Frank Wheaton]], a Republican African American, was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 42, which included all of Edina. Wheaton beat his white Democratic opponent in every Minneapolis city ward and in every village within the legislative district, including Edina, even though the legislative district had only approximately 100 African American residents out of a total of 40,000 residents.<ref>William D. Green, Degrees of Freedom, The Origins of Civil Rights in Minnesota, 1865-1912, Univ. of Minn. Press, 2015, p. 235-243</ref>