The City of Lakeland is a quiet, mostly residential community nestled along the West bank of the St. Croix River. According to the 2000 census, its population is 1,917. Lakeland occupies 1,328 acres.
The story of Lakeland begins in the early 1800s, when logging interests spurred the first non-native settlements in the area. The loggers were soon followed by settlers, who built supply stores, churches, a school and a saloon. Originally, this area was known as Shanghai Coulee, after the large and presumably tasty chickens raised by early settler Freeman Tyler. By the mid-1800s the loggers began to move on, leaving behind a small but vigorous agricultural and rural residential community.
In 1858, this community officially organized, naming itself Lakeland for the small rural village first platted in 1839. Life remained rural, slow-paced and peaceful. It was not until almost a century later that significant development began. To this day, Lakeland remains a quiet, residential community.
