City of Northfield history

From it have been taken the various municipalities which comprise Atlantic County today, starting with Galloway Township in 1774, Weymouth in 1798, and Hamilton in 1813.

Later, in 1817, Bakersville considered itself large enough to have a public school, and leading citizens held a meeting to plan for it.

The present Zion Church was built in 1822 and 23.

At the time the county was created, there were four large voting places; Egg Harbor, Weymouth, Hamilton and Galloway, and the census of 1830 showed a population of 8,164.

The Baker homestead, formerly at the corner of Mill and Shore Roads, was a long, straight building of brick and frame, Daniel Baker having built the brick part, and had a marble stone under the eaves with 'Daniel and Mary Baker - 1832' on it.

On February 7, 1837 an act was passed creating Atlantic County from Gloucester County which at that time extended from the Delaware to the sea and included what is now Camden, Atlantic and Gloucester Counties.

In January 1855, John Wesley North set out from St Anthony Falls, MN, to settle land recently ceded by the Dakota tribe.

In 1856, the first school in Northfield was founded with 25 students reporting.

Before its erection the people met and worshipped in a small school house on the Shore Road near what is now called Sea View. "The Central Church was built in 1861.

Northfield College was founded in 1866 by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational Churches.

At the 1867 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Jesse Ames and Sons, the new owners of North’s mill, won the straight flour category for best flour in the United States.

The present school on Mill Road was built in 1872.

At the time Bargaintown Circuit was divided in the spring of 1873 and Central and Bethel Churches became a separate charge, they were without debt upon either place of worship.

A little less than a decade later in 1874, Saint Olaf College was founded on the western part of town by Norwegian Lutheran immigrant pastors and farmers.

On September 7th, 1876, the gang rode into town attempting to rob First National Bank of Northfield.

As a last item of historical import is the construction of a narrow gauge railroad from Pleasantville to Somers Point, opened October 26, 1880.

Captain Richard Adams built the home just above Miss Price's within a year or two of 1886.

Later in 1927, the mill was sold L.G. Campbell and Northfield became the headquarters for Campbell Cereal Co., which produced Malt-O-Meal cereal.

The town experienced steady growth until 1970’s when construction of Interstate Highway 35 was completed, which allowed for the expansion of Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro south of the Minnesota River.