# Jonathan, Minnesota *Planned community inside Chaska, Carver County, Minnesota, organized in 1966* Jonathan was a planned community laid out on 8,000 acres within the city limits of [[Chaska]], Minnesota, and designed for 50,000 residents.[^1] The [[Minnesota Historical Society]] identifies its founder as former state senator Henry T. McKnight. Its development company was formed as Ace Development Corporation on April 29, 1966, and took the name Jonathan Development Corporation in 1967.[^1] In October 1970 the federal government guaranteed a $21 million loan for the project under Title IV of the New Communities Act.[^1] The Minnesota Historical Society attributes the project's end to three events: the recession of the early 1970s, McKnight's death in 1972, and federal housing cutbacks in 1976. The City of Chaska now governs the area.[^1] Chaska's population rose from about 2,000 in 1960 to 24,500 in 2014. The [[Carver County Historical Society]] describes that growth as "largely due to the Jonathan planned community development."[^2] ## Who Henry T. McKnight, a former state senator, founded the community. Ace Development Corporation, later renamed Jonathan Development Corporation, was its corporate vehicle.[^1] The federal government guaranteed the project's $21 million loan.[^1] ## What Jonathan was a planned community covering 8,000 acres inside Chaska and intended for 50,000 residents. It was not completed as planned.[^1] The cited sources do not give the number of residents it reached before the project ended. ## When - April 29, 1966: Ace Development Corporation formed.[^1] - 1967: the company became Jonathan Development Corporation.[^1] - October 1970: $21 million federal loan guarantee under Title IV of the New Communities Act.[^1] - 1972: McKnight died.[^1] - 1976: federal housing cutbacks.[^1] ## Where The site lies within the city limits of Chaska, in Carver County.[^1] Carver County was organized in March 1855 and named for the explorer [[Jonathan Carver]]. [[San Francisco Township]] was the first county seat; "voters moved it to Chaska in 1856."[^3] The Carver County Historical Society gives Chaska's name as a [[Dakota]] word meaning "first born son." It records that Thomas Andrew Holmes claimed a twenty-acre clearing on the [[Minnesota River]] there in 1851.[^2] ## Why According to the Minnesota Historical Society, the project ended because of the early-1970s recession, McKnight's death in 1972, and the federal housing cutbacks of 1976.[^1] ## How much The federal loan guarantee was $21 million, issued in October 1970 under Title IV of the New Communities Act.[^1] ## How many - Planned population: 50,000 residents, on 8,000 acres.[^1] - Chaska's population was about 2,000 in 1960 and 24,500 in 2014, according to the Carver County Historical Society.[^2] ## In the at-issue record The project's at-issue record lists Jonathan as pair AI-Carver-074, in Block D, *The Appointed Planner*. The pair places the October 1970 guarantee of $21 million for a 50,000-person community on 8,000 acres beside the project's end and Chaska's later growth.[^1][^2] The record describes the pair as concerning "a federal loan guarantee whose failure still reshaped the jurisdiction." It designates a March 2025 presidential action as the pair's anchor.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Minnesota Historical Society, *MNopedia: Jonathan (planned community)* — founder Henry T. McKnight, former state senator; Ace Development Corporation formed April 29, 1966, renamed Jonathan Development Corporation in 1967; $21 million federal loan guarantee under Title IV of the New Communities Act, October 1970; 8,000 acres inside Chaska city limits; planned for 50,000 residents; ended by the early-1970s recession, McKnight's death in 1972, and 1976 federal housing cutbacks; now governed by the City of Chaska. https://www.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/place/planned-community-jonathan [^2]: Carver County Historical Society, *Chaska* — Chaska's population grew from about 2,000 in 1960 to 24,500 in 2014, "largely due to the Jonathan planned community development"; the name is a Dakota word meaning "first born son"; Thomas Andrew Holmes claimed a twenty-acre clearing on the Minnesota River in 1851. https://www.carvercountyhistoricalsociety.org/chaska.php [^3]: Carver County Historical Society, *Carver County Driving Tour* — county organized March 1855 and named for the explorer Jonathan Carver; San Francisco Township was the first county seat; "voters moved it to Chaska in 1856." https://www.carvercountyhistoricalsociety.org/pdfs/CarverCountyDrivingTour.pdf [^4]: White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025) — the presidential action designated as the anchor for at-issue pair AI-Carver-074; its contents are not characterized here. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/