Since the mid-19th century, Minnetonka has evolved from heavily wooded wilderness through extensive farming and thriving industrialization to its present primarily residential suburban character.

The Minnetonka area was home to the Dakota and Ojibwe Native American tribes before Euro-Americans arrived in the 1800s.
 They believed Lake Minnetonka (mni meaning water, and tanka meaning big, anglicized to Minnetonka) and the land around it to be sacred.
 The first recorded exploration of the area by Euro-Americans was in 1822, when a group from newly constructed Fort Snelling made its way up Minnehaha Creek (then known as Brown's Creek or Falls Creek) to the lake.
 In 1851, the Dakota sold the area including Minnetonka to the United States with the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux.
 The first census, the Territorial Census of 1857, lists 41 households.
Twenty-nine of the heads of households are listed as farmers.
 The occupations of the remaining twelve are associated with the operations of Minnetonka Mill and a nearby hotel.

In 1852, a claim was staked on Minnehaha Creek near McGinty Road.
 The sawmill that was constructed in the thick woods of maple, oak, elm, red cedar and basswood was the first privately operated mill in Minnesota west of the Mississippi River.
 Oak timbers from this mill were used to build the first suspension bridge across the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in 1853.
 The settlement of Minnetonka Mills that grew up around the mill was the first permanent European–American settlement west of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.
 In 1855, a two-story sawmill was constructed with a furniture factory on the second floor.
A building for varnishing furniture was built on the south side of the creek, at the present Bridge Street.
 Production consisted mainly of chairs and bedsteads.
 The Minnetonka Republican at St. Anthony published a short article describing the area.
 The February 12, 1857, issue said:
Minnetonka City - We have already called attention to the thrift and activity of that little town.
Large investments are made there.
On January 1, 40 hands were being employed turning out weekly 500 chairs and 200 bedsteads.
By April it will be 2000 weekly.
1,000,000 board feet (2,400 m³) of lumber is in the pond, half of it nicely seasoned.
 Machinery is on the way for a flour mill.
J. P. Miller is erecting a new hotel.

In 1860, after only 8 years of operation, the sawmill closed.
 In 1869, a flour and grist mill were constructed and operated until the late 1880s.
 In 1874, Charles H. Burwell came to manage the Minnetonka Mill Company, and he built a Victorian home on the north bank of Minnehaha Creek (Minnetonka Boulevard at McGinty Road East) for his family.
 The Charles H. Burwell House is now on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned by the city.
 There were two other mills in Minnetonka.
 The St. Alban's Mill, which was less than 1 mile (2 km) downstream from Minnetonka Mills on Minnehaha Creek, operated as a flour mill from 1874 to 1881.
 A grist mill built on Purgatory Creek was washed out in a flood shortly after construction.
 Minnetonka Mills, with its post office and port for Lake Minnetonka, was the principal business and trading center for a large area until the 1870s.

Between 1883 and 1956, the area within the original 36-square-mile (93 km²) township grew smaller as Wayzata, Hopkins, Deephaven, Woodland and Saint Louis Park incorporated or annexed portions of then-Minnetonka Township.
Since the mid-19th century, Minnetonka has evolved from heavily wooded wilderness through extensive farming and thriving industrialization to its present primarily residential suburban character.
The Minnetonka area was home to the Dakota and Ojibwe Native American tribes before Euro-Americans arrived in the 1800s.  They believed Lake Minnetonka (mni meaning water, and tanka meaning big, anglicized to Minnetonka) and the land around it to be sacred.  The first recorded exploration of the area by Euro-Americans was in 1822, when a group from newly constructed Fort Snelling made its way up Minnehaha Creek (then known as Brown's Creek or Falls Creek) to the lake.  In 1851, the Dakota sold the area including Minnetonka to the United States with the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux.  The first census, the Territorial Census of 1857, lists 41 households. Twenty-nine of the heads of households are listed as farmers.  The occupations of the remaining twelve are associated with the operations of Minnetonka Mill and a nearby hotel.
In 1852, a claim was staked on Minnehaha Creek near McGinty Road.  The sawmill that was constructed in the thick woods of maple, oak, elm, red cedar and basswood was the first privately operated mill in Minnesota west of the Mississippi River.  Oak timbers from this mill were used to build the first suspension bridge across the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in 1853.  The settlement of Minnetonka Mills that grew up around the mill was the first permanent European–American settlement west of Minneapolis in Hennepin County.  In 1855, a two-story sawmill was constructed with a furniture factory on the second floor. A building for varnishing furniture was built on the south side of the creek, at the present Bridge Street.  Production consisted mainly of chairs and bedsteads.  The Minnetonka Republican at St. Anthony published a short article describing the area.  The February 12, 1857, issue said:
Minnetonka City - We have already called attention to the thrift and activity of that little town. Large investments are made there. On January 1, 40 hands were being employed turning out weekly 500 chairs and 200 bedsteads. By April it will be 2000 weekly. 1,000,000 board feet (2,400 m³) of lumber is in the pond, half of it nicely seasoned.  Machinery is on the way for a flour mill. J. P. Miller is erecting a new hotel.
In 1860, after only 8 years of operation, the sawmill closed.  In 1869, a flour and grist mill were constructed and operated until the late 1880s.  In 1874, Charles H. Burwell came to manage the Minnetonka Mill Company, and he built a Victorian home on the north bank of Minnehaha Creek (Minnetonka Boulevard at McGinty Road East) for his family.  The Charles H. Burwell House is now on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned by the city.  There were two other mills in Minnetonka.  The St. Alban's Mill, which was less than 1 mile (2 km) downstream from Minnetonka Mills on Minnehaha Creek, operated as a flour mill from 1874 to 1881.  A grist mill built on Purgatory Creek was washed out in a flood shortly after construction.  Minnetonka Mills, with its post office and port for Lake Minnetonka, was the principal business and trading center for a large area until the 1870s.
Between 1883 and 1956, the area within the original 36-square-mile (93 km²) township grew smaller as Wayzata, Hopkins, Deephaven, Woodland and Saint Louis Park incorporated or annexed portions of then-Minnetonka Township.
Minnetonka, Minnesota