Best Web Design in Maplewood, MN (2026)

Web Design for Maplewood, Minnesota

Maplewood is an oddly shaped St. Paul suburb in Ramsey County that wraps around the northern and eastern edges of Minnesota's capital in a long, bent 'L.' It grew out of the old New Canada and McLean townships and incorporated as a village in 1957, largely to keep the low taxes that had drawn 3M to build there. The global manufacturer 3M still has its world headquarters and sprawling research campus in the city, even though, famously, there are essentially no maple trees in Maplewood.

AppWT works with Maplewood, MN businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Maplewood

History. European and French-Canadian settlers began farming the area in the mid-1800s; the Dakota lived there earlier, with French and English fur traders and explorers passing through. When Minnesota became a state in 1858, the land south of Hudson Road became McLean Township and the area to the north became New Canada Township. In 1955 3M built its Central Research Laboratory on 150 acres in New Canada Township. Township residents voted 5 to 1 to incorporate as the village of Maplewood on February 26, 1957; council member Ed O'Mara proposed the name. The city's unusual borders are the land left over after St. Paul and other east-metro suburbs annexed the surrounding area through the 1880s and into the 20th century.

Local economy. 3M's global headquarters and main research-and-development campus are the city's dominant economic anchor. By 1965, after becoming the largest corporation in both Maplewood and the state of Minnesota, 3M made up roughly a third of the city's tax base. New Canada's low taxes, much lower than St. Paul's, were a decisive factor in 3M's decision to build there. Retail (anchored by Maplewood Mall) and health care (St. John's Hospital, opened 1985) round out the local economy.

Culture and community. The Bruentrup Heritage Farm, an 1891 farmstead relocated to a 25-acre restored prairie, operates as a museum run by the Maplewood Area Historical Society. The farm hosts festivals including the Big Red Barn Folk Arts & Crafters Fair and the German St. Nikolaustag celebration. The Maplewood Community Center, with a fitness center, pool, and ice arena, is a hub for residents. Battle Creek Regional Park and the Maplewood Nature Center anchor extensive parks, lakes, and trails.

What makes Maplewood distinct. Despite the name, 'there are no maple trees in Maplewood'; the area was largely prairie and oak savanna when it was named, and theories tie the name to a council member's nursery or his hometown of Maplewood, New Jersey. The city wraps around St. Paul in a long bent 'L,' roughly 10 miles north to south with a narrow southern leg, because it is literally the land left over after neighbors annexed the rest of the east metro. The Bruentrup farm once covered 175 acres, including land now occupied by Maplewood Mall. 3M grew so large that it became the biggest corporation in both the city and the entire state of Minnesota.

Maplewood Landmarks and Local Life

• The 3M world headquarters campus.
• Maplewood Mall - opened July 31, 1974, on a 125-acre site at County Road D and White Bear Avenue
• Bruentrup Heritage Farm - with a 1905 barn and 1912 farmhouse
• Battle Creek Regional Park.