Isanti
What started as an early settlement on the current intersection of Highway 65 and 301st in Isanti Township, “old” Isanti, can trace its roots back to the early 1860s. Situated on the crossroads of the Princeton-Sunrise and Anoka-Brunswick (Manomin trail), Isanti witnessed many of the earliest settlement activities as loggers, land speculators, settlers, and others stopped as they spread out through the territory. Surnames like Norelius, Eastlund, Chilstrom, Selin, Shulean, Danielson, and others became synonymous with the Isanti area. A gentleman by the name of George Nesbitt opened a hotel and store in 1863, which helped initiate other services like a post office, blacksmith shop, and a school. Along with those amenities, the first church was organized just north of Isanti by members of the Eastlund family in 1860. Eventually, in 1870, a small log structure was built to serve as the county’s first Baptist church.
As the area continued to grow, a ferry located on the Rum River, just west of Isanti, was put into service in 1874. In 1887, a wagon bridge spanned the banks to offer a more stable and reliable method of crossing. By 1899, a significant change occurred near the well-established settlement town. News of the railroad brought much excitement to the area, but when the “Coon Creek Cutoff” of the Great Northern line was laid out, it was to miss Isanti altogether.
So, Isanti pulled up stakes and moved one and a half miles southwest to its current location. Life along the new railroad further spurred the business and economic growth of the town, which laid the path for the town’s eventual residential boom that is steadily increasing to this day.