Located in the curling capital of Minnesota, the Heather Curling Club in Mapleton has been at its present location since 1950.
Club History
“On the outskirts of Mapleton, there is a Minnesota State Highway marker which recognizes the importance of curling to Mapleton and refers to this area as the “Cradle of Curling.” This refers to early Scottish immigrants who came to this area in 1856-1857 and began to farm and build a community. They also brought with them their love of Scotland, Robert Burns, and curling.
Everyone wants to be first, and I suppose our club is no different. It is almost impossible to say exactly when curling began in this area. For years ,the local newspaper would say we had the oldest club by direct or lineal descent which I think means that we have current members who can trace their lineage back to those early Scottish settlers.
We will probably never know exactly when curling began in this area. However, to think of the possibility of an early Scottish settler sliding a stone down the Maple River in 1857–a year before Minnesota became a state–is stunning!” -Tim Solie
To read the rest of Tim’s “A Brief History of the Heather Curling Club”, click here.
