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History

Presettlement:

The area where Edgerton is located lies on a bedrock of Sioux Quartzite and is very close to the quarry where the Sioux and many other Native American tribes traveled to mine the soft stone used in making ceremonial pipes. "A History of Pipestone County1" gives a more detailed area history before white/European settlement. There was a battle just south of where Edgerton is now located in the Rock County township of Battle Plain. A more detailed account of that battle field will be listed in the future.

First land claims on what is now Edgerton:

In 1876, Alonzo Kingsbury, A.A. Dodge and M. M. Gunsolus staked out and filed claims to the section that is now Edgerton. Kingsbury had a half section and the other two each a quarter to make up the original 640 acres of Edgerton. They didn't actually move into the area until 1877.

Arrival of the Railroad:

The Southern Minnesota Railroad arrived in Edgerton in October of 1879. This line continued over to Hatfield, and arrived, with great fanfare, in Pipestone late in November. The coming of the railroad resulted in an influx of people, and Edgerton grew rapidly. Of the 12 times a federal census was taken, only once did Edgerton see a significant decrease in population. (1930 had 30 less people than 1920.)

The freedom to express their religious faith and educate their children was important to these early settlers, and they established churches and schools. Today Edgerton has 5 churches, public and private schools for more than 650 children from K-12. Each high school has won the Minnesota State Basketball Championship.

Today Edgerton has two grocery stores, two hardware stores, a bakery and meat market, each drawing customers from a fifty mile radius. A post office, bank, library, weekly paper, cafe, medical and dental office, volunteer ambulance and fire department also add to the structure of the community.

Edgerton's commercial base is primarily agricultural, but several employers play a significant role in broadening the economy. Fey Industries is a manufacturer of imprinted vinyl promotional products (3 ring binders, notebooks, calendars etc...), and is now in its second generation of local ownership and management. Blackbourn Industries manufactures media packaging materials for CD's, DVD's, VHS and cassette albums.

Another manufacturer, Cycle Mate, produces a line of motorcycle trailers that is distributed for sales across the United States. Rustrap Manufacturing is a brass heat sealing die and tooling company.

In addition to manufacturing companies, Edgebrook Rest Center also adds to the Edgerton economy with annual salaries totalling $2 million.

Sources:

1Quoted from "A History of Pipestone County" Printed by Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas Texas, July 1984 Copyrighted 1984 by the Pipestone County Historical Society, Pipestone Minnesota