Wayzata, Minnesota

Wayzata is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, with a population, as of the 2010 census, of just under 4,000. Wayzata received its name from the Lakota Sioux phrase meaning “North Shore.” In 2010, Wayzata High School made Newsweek Magazine’s list of the top 100 public high schools in the nation.

The land on which Wayzata sits was originally inhabited by the Mdewakanton Dakota, an offshoot of the larger Dakota Tribe. In 1852, two white families settled on the present site of Wayzata. Oscar E. Garrison built a cabin at what is now considered “downtown” Wayzata. Two years later he surveyed the area and filed a claim to own most of present-day Wayzata. The town was officially incorporated later that year.

Following the end of the Civil War, tourists and vacationers from all over America began passing through Wayzata en route to Lake Minnetonka. This period, generally considered to be Lake Minnetonka’s “Glory Years,” peaked in 1882 when James J. Hill built the Hotel Lafayette in Minnetonka Beach, about five miles west of Wayzata.

Large employers in Wayzata include the regional branch of TCF and Cargill, Inc. Elementary schools in Wayzata include Sunset Hill, Plymouth Creek, Oakwood, Kimberly Lane, Gleason Lake, Greenwood and Birchview. Middle schools include West Middle School, Central Middle School and East Middle School.

Wayzata has been referenced in Beverly Hills, 90210, Fargo and the television show Lost.

A branch of the Hennepin County Courthouse is located at 12601 Ridgedale Drive in Minnesota.