- Montgomery, Minnesota
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Montgomery, Minnesota — City — The Westerman Lumber Office and House structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Nickname(s): Kolacky Capital of the World Motto: Vitame Vas Location of Montgomery, Minnesota
Coordinates: 44°26′25″N 93°34′50″W / 44.44028°N 93.58056°WCoordinates: 44°26′25″N 93°34′50″W / 44.44028°N 93.58056°W Country United States State Minnesota County Le Sueur Government - Type Mayor - Council - Mayor Jean Keogh Area - Total 1.6 sq mi (4.0 km2) - Land 1.6 sq mi (4.0 km2) - Water 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) Elevation 1,070 ft (326 m) Population (2010)[1] - Total 2,956 - Density 1,790.7/sq mi (691.4/km2) Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6) - Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5) ZIP code 56069 Area code(s) 507 FIPS code 27-43738[2] GNIS feature ID 0648047[3] Website www.montgomery.govoffice.com Montgomery is a city in Le Sueur County, Minnesota, in the United States, 45 miles south of Minneapolis. It was named after Richard Montgomery, an Irish-American soldier who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. The population was 2,956 at the 2010 census.[1]
Contents
Community
This rural community can be characterized by its Bohemian heritage. The original settlement was by Bohemian and German immigrants who brought their traditions and customs to the rural landscape of the Montgomery area around 1856-1860.
The Torch Light Parade and fireworks are held every year near the end of November.
Montgomery is also home to Big Honza's Museum of Unnatrual History.
Mural depicting downtown Montgomery in the late 1800's, painted by Victor Garcia
Kolacky Days Festival
Downtown Montgomery during the 74th Annual Kolacky Days FestivalAnnually, Montgomery celebrates their Czechoslovakian heritage at the end of July with one of Minnesota's oldest festivals, Kolacky Days.
The festival dates back to 1929, when an estimated 6,000 people visited Montgomery for the first Kolacky Day celebration, held on October 1.
"The Kolacky Day spirit reigned supreme from early Tuesday morning until a comparatively late hour Wednesday morning. More than 1,600 of the celebrated delicacies were devoured," according to a Montgomery Messenger account from the following week.
Events at the first celebration included a trap shooting tournament, a parade, sports and races and a football game between Montgomery and Le Sueur Center (now Le Center).
In 1931 Miss Leatta Ehmke, (Mrs. Joe Trnka) was crowned the first Kolacky Queen by Mayor Henry Westerman. Her attendants were Ella Krocak, Sylvia Zelenka, Anna Zelenka and Berniece Malone.
For the 1934 celebration, a novelty button, sold by the Kolacky girls, was devised and is still in use today.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Kolacky Day retreated to the background until the Montgomery Community Club revived the celebration in 1948.
Kolacky Days officially became a summer festival in 1966 when the traditional date, the last Sunday in September, was dropped in favor of the first weekend in August. The earlier date and warmer weather brought huge crowds to the festival. Currently, the festival is celebrated the fourth full weekend in July.[4]
In 1975, Kolacky Day became Kolacky Days and the event was held for the first time at the end of July. The move to July was done at the urging of the Green Giant vegetable canning company in order to avoid conflict with the busy corn processing season.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak competed in the kolacky eating contest against Montgomery Mayor Mick McGuire in 2008 and again in 2010.
2010 Marked the 76th annual Kolacky Days. The 77th annual Kolacky Days will begin July 22, 2011.
Media Reference
Area resident Andrew Rogers finished in 5th place at the Poker Dome Challenge, a 43-week series of speed poker tournaments that offered a grand prize of $1,000,000.00 USD.
Industry
Seneca Foods (formerly Green Giant) has a Freezing and Canning facility in Montgomery. Many residents of Montgomery have "paid their dues" working at Seneca. United Steel Products also has a large facility in town.
Geography
Hilltop Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2), all of it land.
Minnesota State Highways 13 and 21 are two of the main routes in the city.
Minnesota State Highway 99 is nearby.
Montgomery is 15 miles from Interstate 35.
The closest towns to Montgomery are as follows:
- North - New Prague
- South - Kilkenny
- East - Lonsdale
- West - Le Center
Closest Major City - Faribault.
Demographics
Historical populations Census Pop. %± 1880 261 — 1890 1,086 316.1% 1900 979 −9.9% 1910 1,267 29.4% 1920 1,297 2.4% 1930 1,570 21.0% 1940 1,741 10.9% 1950 1,913 9.9% 1960 2,118 10.7% 1970 2,281 7.7% 1980 2,349 3.0% 1990 2,399 2.1% 2000 2,794 16.5% 2010 2,956 5.8% U.S. Decennial Census As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 2,794 people, 1,105 households, and 690 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,790.7 people per square mile (691.5/km²). There were 1,137 housing units at an average density of 728.7 per square mile (281.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.59% White, 0.32% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 4.29% from other races, and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.77% of the population.
There were 1,105 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.7% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 32.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,145, and the median income for a family was $48,011. Males had a median income of $30,707 versus $23,977 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,128. About 8.1% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.6% of those under age 18 and 18.3% of those age 65 or over.
Climate
Climate data for Montgomery, Minnesota Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °F (°C) 19
(−7)26
(−3)38
(3)55
(13)68
(20)77
(25)81
(27)78
(26)70
(21)58
(14)39
(4)24
(−4)52.8
(11.5)Average low °F (°C) −1
(−18)6
(−14)19
(−7)31
(−1)45
(7)55
(13)58
(14)56
(13)45
(7)34
(1)20
(−7)5
(−15)31.1
(−0.5)Precipitation inches (mm) 0.76
(19.3)0.52
(13.2)1.62
(41.1)2.34
(59.4)3.40
(86.4)4.42
(112.3)3.86
(98)4.68
(118.9)2.97
(75.4)2.14
(54.4)1.71
(43.4)0.72
(18.3)29.14
(740.2)Source: The Weather Channel[5] References
- ^ a b "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
- ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ http://www.montgomery.govoffice.com/
- ^ "Monthly Averages for Montgomery, Minnesota". Weather.com. 2010. http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/56069. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
Further reading
- Montgomery: From the "Big Woods" To the "Kolacky Capital", second edition (2000), Montgomery Arts and Heritage Center.
External links
- Montgomery, MN -- Official site
- Official Kolacky Days website
- Kolacky Days on Facebook
- Big Honza's Museum of Unnatural History
- ePodunk entry for Montgomery
- Montgomery Chamber Of Commerce
Municipalities and communities of Le Sueur County, Minnesota Cities Cleveland | Elysian‡ | Heidelberg | Kasota | Le Center | Le Sueur‡ | Kilkenny | Mankato‡ | Montgomery | New Prague‡ | Waterville
Townships Cleveland | Cordova | Derrynane | Elysian | Kasota | Kilkenny | Lanesburgh | Lexington | Montgomery | Ottawa | Sharon | Tyrone | Washington | Waterville
Unincorporated
communityCordova | Greenland | Lexington | Ottawa | St. Henry | St. Thomas | Union Hill‡
Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
Categories:- Cities in Minnesota
- Czech American history
- Populated places in Le Sueur County, Minnesota
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