Your Guide to Buying a Home in North Mankato, MN

Buying a Home in North Mankato, Minnesota

North Mankato is located in Nicollet County

The area of land that is now North Mankato has always been a prime location for settlement. The land was a favorite campsite for Indian tribes. North Mankato's position at the "bend" in the Minnesota River made it a perfect site for early steamboat landings. North Mankato continued to grow as river traffic increased and as the rich farm land of Southern Minnesota was settled. In 1880, the first bridge connecting North Mankato and Mankato was completed. With a link to Mankato's railroad lines now established, the City began a period of commercial and industrial growth. The brick industry was a prominent feature in these early years.

To provide much needed civic improvements and to stave off annexation attempts from Mankato, North Mankato, incorporated into a village in December, 1898. The rapid growth on both sides of the river made the bridge obsolete. A new bridge, completed in 1917, was the largest in the State at that time. The City of North Mankato celebrated its centennial in 1998.

North Mankato has grown rapidly since 1900. In 1900, the town had a population of 939, which was more than triple the population of five years earlier. By 1950, North Mankato had grown to 4,788. During the next twenty years, the City grew physically and numerically. The City left the original "lower" sections next to the river and annexed land along the bluffs overlooking the City to the west.

The annexations fostered further population growth. By 1980, the population reached 9,140. At the same time, the corporate limits encompassed almost twice as much land as was in the City twenty years earlier. By January 1, 2000, the population was estimated to be 12,300. There is a history book available at City Hall if you want more information about the history of North Mankato.