Sorry, no pending events on file.
Return to Top of Page
Request more information
Community along Hwy 12 serves as a sort of downtown for Orono
It wasn't a case of the train leaving the station but the threat of the
station itself leaving that moved residents of what is now Long Lake to incorporate as a
village 90 years ago.
Back then Long Lake was a farm-to-market-type town, and it built up along
the railroad tracks, so nobody wanted (the depot) to move. They petitioned, and once it
became a village, the depot couldn't move.
Even today Long Lake remains a commercial hub for a predominantly rural
area. Long Lake is like the downtown for Orono.
Covering just 1 square mile, the city of Long Lake is surrounded by the
city of Orono. Children from Long Lake attend schools in the Orono district. The two
cities have cooperative agreements covering various services including police and fire
protection . Because Long Lake has a post office, some Orono residents and businesses have
a Long Lake address.
While the two cities may seem closely related, the truth is they're vastly
different places.
Long Lake is the more affordable of the two. Where Orono has bigger homes
and a 2 acre minimum lot size and much more rural atmosphere, Long Lake has smaller lots,
multi-family housing and more reasonable home prices.
Long Lake has the most desired price range for Long Lake homes is $120,000
to $150,000, adding that it's generally second-time buyers who come to the city.
Typically, it tends to be people from the western suburbs who want to move farther out.
The school district is a big attraction, and so is the uniqueness of the small town
atmosphere.
There are four parks in Long Lake, and the Luce Line, a rails-to-rails hiking and biking trail,
runs just south of the city. The town has an industrial park and two companies, Automated
Building Components and Premier Technology, which together employ nearly 100 people. Long
Lake also is home to a pioneer museum run by the West Hennepin County Pioneer Association.
Return to Top of Page
Request more information
Until 1851, Orono and the region around it remained largely unexplored by
white settlers, partly because of the Dakota Indians' efforts to keep Lake Minnetonka a
secret.
But once it was "discovered," settlers and farmers moved into
the area, just day's journey from city markets. They began clearing forests, and in the
late 1860's rail lines began carrying vacationers who built summer cottages along the
shores of the lake.
Today, Orono covers 24 1/2 square miles in western Hennepin County. It
continues to draw people in search of a rural way of life. It is prestigious community,
with large, wooded lakeshore lots and estates.
Orono officials say that preserving the beauty and allure of the community
is dependent on careful management of its most significant resource: Lake Minnetonka, the
area's largest lake, covering 21 1/2 square miles.
Because the lake is replenished from precipitation, not springs or a
river, it is very sensitive to pollutants. Orono residents and planners adhere to a
comprehensive plan that seeks to preserve a rural quality and to maintain an ecological
balance on land and lakeshore. It's residential development philosophy is one of slow
growth and low density.
Potential home builders in Orono have two options for building sites: away
from lakes where there still is undeveloped land or on a lake, where an existing building
would have to be removed.
Because retail and industrial development is scarce, residents bear most
of the tax burden. Most Orono residents' commercial and retail needs are met in
communities such as Navarre.
Besides Lake Minnetonka, Orono has five small lakes that also provide
waterfront property. In fact, about half of Orono is open water or marshland.
Total units (1990)............................................778
Occupied housing units....................................499
Single-family detached houses.........................508
Single-family attached houses............................86
Median home value (1990)....................$102,100
Housing Profile Orono
Total units ....................................................2,787
Single family homes.......................................2,748
Average est. market value........................$209,371
Specific owner occupied housing units..............75%
Number of rental units subsidized/publicly owned...0
Return to Top of Page
Request more information
As of 1995 the population was 1,951
| Year |
Population |
Percent of Change / Last
10 years / 20 years |
| 1990 |
1,984 |
+13.6% |
+31.7% |
| 1980 |
1,747 |
+16% |
N/A |
| 1970 |
1,596 |
N/A |
N/A |
