Champlin, Minnesota

Champlin (/ˈtʃæmplɪn/ CHAMP-lin) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,919 at the 2020 census. Champlin is a northern suburb of Minneapolis.

U.S. Highway 169 and Hennepin County Road 12 (CR 12) are two of the main routes in Champlin.

Champlin lies along the Mississippi River, surrounded by the cities of Anoka, Dayton, Brooklyn Park, Maple Grove and Coon Rapids, 18 miles (29 km) northwest of Minneapolis.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 8.73 square miles (22.61 km²), of which 8.17 square miles (21.16 km²) is land and 0.56 square miles (1.45 km²) is water.

The average elevation is 875 feet (267 m) above sea level, and the Mississippi River is approximately one-eighth of a mile wide throughout Champlin.

The Champlin area was first settled when Father Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan priest from whom Hennepin County gets its name, Michael Accult, and Peter Dulay were captured by Lakota Indians. An Indian trading post was later established in the area. Charles Miles created the first permanent settlement in what came to be named Marshall Township. In 1859, it was split into two towns, Champlin and Dayton.

Champlin's name came from U.S. Navy Commodore Stephen Champlin. He was active in the war against England and Canada in 1812 and in the establishment of the Canadian–United States boundary. He died in 1870 in Buffalo, New York.

On August 30, 1853, Stephen Champlin's daughter, Eliza Ellen Champlin, married John B. Cook, a partner of Minnesota's Alexander Ramsey. Cook never resided in Champlin, but he was involved in real estate transactions there and in its incorporation. In 1947, part of the former Champlin Township was incorporated to form the village of Champlin, and on January 2, 1971, as the result of a petitioned order from the Minnesota Municipal Commission, Champlin Township and the village of Champlin consolidated to form the city of Champlin.