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Planned Community of Jonathan

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Black and white image of an artist's rendering of Jonathan Village, late 1960s or early 1970s.

An artist's rendering of Jonathan Village (here called Hazeltine Village), late 1960s or early 1970s.

The 1960s and 1970s were a time of rapid suburban growth. City planners were frustrated by the growing pollution, traffic, urban sprawl. One solution to these problems was the "new town" movement. Designed as planned communities, these "towns" were intended to control population growth in a systematic way. The community of Jonathan, located within the existing city of Chaska, was built according to this concept.

The idea of a "new town," designed to meet the needs of the people living there, has been around for centuries in military and trade towns. The idea did not really catch hold until an Englishman named Sir Ebenezer Howard suggested "garden cities" within the area of London in 1898. "New towns" were planned in Finland, England, Scotland, and the United States.

One of the first "new towns" to be built in the United States was Jonathan. It was the dream of former Minnesota state Senator Henry T. McKnight, who was known for supporting bills and acts that protected natural resources. On April 29, 1966, McKnight joined with other individuals to form the Ace Development Corporation. Ace grew into the Jonathan Development Corporation in 1967, taking its name from Jonathan Carver, the eighteenth century explorer. This self-contained town was built on 8,000 acres of woods, lakes, and farmlands within Chaska city limits. Hazeltine Golf Course and the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum border it.

Designed as a town within a town, Jonathan was meant to be built over a period of twenty years. Designers set out to regulate the growth of population, industry, housing, and recreation. Long-term planning allowed the city to save time in future construction. It also helped protect the surrounding natural environment while allowing residents to be closer to it. Initial development plans left one-fifth of the land open for future development.

Though it was within Chaska city limits, Jonathan was more than just a neighborhood. Designed to grow into a series of five villages, each with schools, churches, recreation areas, and more, Jonathan was unique. This "town" had a city center with offices, stores, and restaurants. Housing was offered as apartments, town homes, or houses. Jonathan fell under the jurisdiction of both the city of Chaska and the Jonathan Development Corporation.

By October 1967, most of the land had been acquired. Community plans were made public, and construction began that same year. In October 1970, Jonathan became the first large-scale development to gain federal aid under Title IV of the New Communities Act, part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968. This act provided a loan guarantee for up to $21 million, allowing developers and builders to speed up construction.

Jonathan did not become the town it was expected to be. A recession and loss of interest in planned communities in the early 1970s slowed growth. With the death of Henry McKnight in 1972, the driving force behind planning and development was lost. Rezoning removed industrial and commercial shopping areas, leaving behind only homes. When the corporation ran short of funds, partially due to federal housing funding cutbacks in 1976, it halted development. In 2016, Jonathan remains within Chaska's jurisdiction but is governed by both that city and by the Jonathan Association. No longer considered a "town" within a town, Jonathan is unique, and remains true to McKnight's dream of creating a community with more parks, wooded areas, ponds, and walking paths than most neighborhoods, keeping it closer to the natural world.

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© Minnesota Historical Society
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Caldwell, Dick. "'New Town' of 50,000 Planned." Minneapolis Star, August 1, 1967.

Halberg, Marsh. "The New Town Movement." Chaska Herald, October 2008. Reprint.
http://www.jonathaninchaska.com/index.cfm/linkservid/EE32461C-5056-A306-AF8BBB6E468822C7/showMeta/0/

"Henry McKnight Wanted Something Different and He Got It: a City Called Jonathan." N.W. Bell Magazine (1972): 10–15.

The Jonathan Association. "The Jonathan Story." 1972.
http://media.wix.com/ugd/cb865a_48e3c67de869425bbb7837e8db164d15.pdf

"New-Town Development Has Chaska in Limelight." Weekly Valley Herald, August 1967.

Peterson, George. "McKnight Mixes Town Planning and Farming." Minneapolis Tribune, January 24, 1971.

Podevels, Eric. "The Jonathan Story." Senior Division paper, University of Minnesota, 1994.

Untitled. [Chaska, MN], 1991.
Editor's Note: This is a brochure about Jonathan, available in the Carver County Historical Society Research Library.

Related Images

Black and white image of an artist's rendering of Jonathan Village, late 1960s or early 1970s.
Black and white image of an artist's rendering of Jonathan Village, late 1960s or early 1970s.

Turning Point

In 1967, Jonathan becomes the first "new town," or planned community, to be built in Minnesota.

Chronology

1898

New Town movement begins with the idea of "garden cities" by Sir Ebenezer Howard in London.

April 29, 1966

Former U.S. Senator Henry T. McKnight joins with other individuals to form the Ace Development Corporation, which became part of the Jonathan Development Corporation in 1967.

October, 1967

Most of the land for Jonathan has been acquired and construction on the "new town" is well underway.

October, 1970

Jonathan becomes the first large-scale development to gain federal aid under Title IV of the New Communities Act, part of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968.

Early 1970s

An economic recession and loss of interest in planned communities leads to a dwindling interest in Jonathan.

1972

Henry T. McKnight, the driving force behind the "new town" of Jonathan, dies and interest continues to wane.