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() is a city located 8 miles (12.5 km) south of Saint Paul in Washington County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River, north of a backwash from the confluence with the Saint Croix River. Cottage Grove and nearby suburbs form the southeast portion of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, the sixteenth largest metropolitan area in the United States, with about 3.2 million residents. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 33,081 in 2007.
The city is a bedroom community of Saint Paul and to a lesser extent Minneapolis linked by U.S. Routes 10 and 61 (co-signed). Once a rural township known for the state's first creameries and wheat production, the area was served by rail lines, river shipping, and grist mills. The primary settlers were from New England and left their architectural influence, which is preserved today.
Formerly containing the railway station village of Langdon, the entire township incorporated into Cottage Grove in 1963. New Englander James Sullivan Norris, an early farmer, called his homestead Cottage Grove which was adopted by the town.
The area was settled in the 1840s with the creation of two villages, Langdon and "Old Cottage Grove." When the early settlers arrived, the land was thick with oaks and prairie grasses. This savannah-like landscape was developed into farmland, with many settlers founding dairy farms.
Historic places include: Historic Cedarhurst Mansion, Schilling Archeological District, Atkinson Cemetery, Cottage Grove Town Hall, Old People's Home of the Northwest Cemetery, Grey Cloud Lime Kiln, Historic John P. Furber House, Historic Dr. Arthur H. Steen House, Historic First Congregational Church (Accacia Lodge No. 51), Historic William W. Furber House, Cottage Grove Cemetery, Historic Harry Roberts House, Lamar Avenue Larch Trees, and Hope Glen Farm. The "founding father" of Cottage Grove was James Sullivan Norris. Norris was a New Englander who settled in Afton in 1839.