Native North American settlements appear to have existed in Victoria and in the annexation area based on artifacts found at a number of locations. A year ’round village may have been located between Stieger Lake and Lake Auburn. Another site was located on the McKnight farm and a third site was near Carl Krey Lake. The artifacts are possibly from the Mound builder’s civilization which were in the area before the Mdewakanton Dakota. The Mdewakanton Dakota had summer residences in the Carver area along the Minnesota River. Winter deer hunts quite possibly took the

Michael Diethelm is thought to be the first European settler in the area when he set up a temporary shelter in 1851, not far from the present site of St. Victoria Church. Michael returned to St. Paul where he stayed and worked during the severe winter of 1851-52. The following spring he returned with his wife and repaired his shelter. In 1852, Michael’s brother, Carl, and his wife, Elizabeth, and two children set up a claim not far away.

Other European settlers came to Victoria shortly after the Treaty of Mendota went into full legal effect on Feb. 24, 1853.

The hardwood forest provided material to build the homes. Tamarack, which grew in the meadows, were straight and slender and often used for rafters, joists and beams in building houses and barns.

The name Victoria goes back to 1856, when after several years of disagreement the families located on the north side of Lake Bavaria and those on the south side reached an agreement. Two families on the north side donated 30 acres of land for the church and at the suggestion of the southern faction, the church was named St. Victoria, a favored saint among those families. In 1857 steamboats began to make periodic trips from St. Paul to Chaska and some businessmen established themselves in Chaska. They carried supplies which earlier settlers had to travel to St. Paul to get.

The soil in the area was known to be good and early settlers notified their friends and relatives in Germany, Holland and Switzerland. This attracted more farmers, whose early crops consisted of potatoes, carrots, cabbage and corn. Wheat was the main cash crop, with raspberries, gooseberries, grapes, black currants, strawberries, and cranberries also readily available.

In 1882, the railroad came. The first automobile appeared in Victoria in 1911. It was owned by Anton Schmieg. Victoria Drive was the first road of great importance to Victoria and its settlers. It extended from Chaska toward what is now known as St. Bonifacius and Watertown. With steamboats plying between St. Paul, Chaska and Carver, the trading center for Victoria moved from St. Paul to Chaska and Carver. Wood and grain were sold in Chaska, which promoted clearing more land to grow crops.

The first European settlers constructed log houses. St. Victoria parish was organized in 1855 and a log church and school were completed in 1858. Around 1875 a larger, two-story school was constructed. In 1870, the parish constructed its second and present church using bricks manufactured in Chaska. The first Moravian Church was constructed of logs in 1863 and was replaced in 1878 by the present church.

After Charles Diethelm returned from western Minnesota in 1897, he constructed the town’s first store near the intersection of Rose and Stieger Lake Lane.

Source: City of Victoria