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• Anoka County Multi- Jurisdictional All Hazards Mitigation Plan In 1957, the Village of Fridley became a Home Rule Charter City. About the same time, Fridley experienced an industrial boom. By 1960, Fridley's population swelled to 15,182 residents. On May 6, 1965, Fridley was literally devastated by three tornadoes. One of every four homes was destroyed or damaged. Under the leadership of Mayor Nee and countless other people, the city was rebuilt and again became a prosperous community. In 1974, Fridley '49er Days started in celebration of the City's 25th anniversary. City of Ham Lake The City of Ham Lake is a thirty -six square mile (23,040 acres) suburb approximately 20 miles north of Minneapolis /St. Paul, located in the middle of Anoka County, with Latitude of 45.25 N and Longitude of -93.20 W and an elevation of 915 feet. The earliest record of settlers in Ham Lake dates back to 1855, when a group of men settled in the southern part of the area. A year later they started a town just southwest of the lake shaped like a ham. The town was named Glen Cary, a Scottish name meaning "beautiful valley." The original houses were burned in a prairie fire in 1857, and the settlers moved away. Ham Lake Township, settled in 1857, was attached to Grow Township until 1871 when it was separately organized. It had been previously called Glengarry, a name from Scotland, which its Swedish settlers found difficult to pronounce. The county commissioners therefore named the new township Ham Lake from its lake in sections 16 and 17, which had acquired this name on account of its form. Ham Lake, a city in Ham Lake Township, was incorporated November 13, 1973. In 1880, the census found the population to be 253. In 1903, the first telephone service was available for $6 a year. In the late 1930's, the Rural Electrification provided power to the farm families...to have electric lights by turning a switch was a wonder. In the beginning, there was no mail delivery, but it could be picked up in Anoka. One farmer picked up mail for others so often that his farm became the first post office. The mailing address bore the farmer's name of Jesperson, Minnesota. As recently as 1984, Ham Lake residents were served by four different post offices. In 1985 the U.S. Postal Service consolidated service to Ham Lake through the Anoka Post Office. In the early 1920's there was no bus service and the closest railroad station was in Cedar. Central Avenue (Highway 65) was only a wagon trail through a lot of swampland and sand. Through the years the road was widened, graded and graveled, and finally hard - surfaced. The additional lanes were added in 1954. City of Hilltop Hilltop is located at Latitude 45.05 N and Longitude -93.25 W in Anoka County, Minnesota, has a land area of .1 square miles and an elevation of 1015 feet. The City of Hilltop is a small community located in the southern portion of Anoka County, Minnesota. Hilltop is located entirely within the City of Columbia Heights, a first -ring suburb located immediately to the northeast of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The city is surrounded on all four sides by the City of Columbia Heights. Hilltop's northern, eastern, southern and western borders are, respectively, 49th Avenue, State Highway 65, 45th Avenue and Monroe Street.