Community Council Staff

Executive Director: Afton Martens

Afton joins the Macalester-Groveland staff after obtaining a Master's in City and Regional Planning from Rutgers University in 2008. Before getting her degree, Afton gained experience in community organizing in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Community Organizer: Callie Recknagel

Callie is eager to be back in the neighborhood after graduating from Macalester College where she studied Anthropology and first started community organizing. Since graduating, she has developed and taught environmental and arts education programs and volunteered with several Twin Cities non-profit organizations.

Recycling and Environmental Coordinator: Lauren Anderson

Lauren is excited to join the Council after working on recycling, composting, urban gardening, and environmental education programs over the past four years.  Lauren has a degree in environmental studies and has taught workshops and classes throughout Saint Paul.

Business Manager: Bethany Gladhill

Bethany is pleased to join the Council's regular staff, after several years of serving as their contract bookkeeper. Bethany has worked with a number of community and arts non-profits, and has her Master's degree in historic preservation.

Meetings of the Macalester-Groveland Community Council are open to the public.  Community members are encouraged to attend.  For more information about the Macalester-Groveland Community Council or its committees, please call 651-695-4000 or visit www.macgrove.org.

Note: As the Macalester-Groveland Community Council Board of Directors Annual Meeting takes place in April and the Board did not meet in August and December, there are no meeting minutes for April, August, and December 2009.

Available demographics compiled by Minnesota Compass, October 2011. Please see attachment below for the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood profile. Profiles of all 17 Saint Paul planning districts are available through Wilder Research Center's Minnesota Compass.

Click on your grid for a more detailed map and further information.

When Minnesota became a state in 1858, the area now known as Macalester-Groveland was part of the Fort Snelling military reserve. This area, known as Reserve Township, was annexed by the City of Saint Paul in 1887.

The Macalester-Groveland neighborhood is home to several post-secondary institutions, many of which date back to before a majority of the area was settled. In 1884, Macalester College moved to its present site at Grand and Snelling Avenues. The College of St. Thomas (now known as the University of St. Thomas ) was established in 1885 and the St. Paul Seminary was built upon its present Summit Avenue location in the early 1894.

During the late 1880s and early 1890s, a unique residential area was developed immediately to the west of Macalester College. This area, known as "Tangletown", has numerous winding streets and an eclectic mix of architecture. During the same period, a farm near the present intersection of Randolph and Lexington Avenues was developed into homes.

In 1890, the first electric streetcar line was built in Saint Paul. This streetcar line helped to link the Macalester-Groveland neighborhood with downtown Saint Paul. The result of this connection was a significant amount of commercial and residential development along the Randolph and Snelling streetcar lines. A majority of homes in the Macalester-Groveland area date back to the era between 1915 and the late 1920s, when streetcar use was in its prime.