First Settlers

    Blooming Prairie is located in the extreme southeastern corner of Steele County, nudging up against Dodge, Mower, and Freeborn counties.  It began as a railroad town for men working on the railroad for the Minnesota Central Railroad.  It was named after a railroad official's wife called it Blooming Prairie.  The first settlers to what is now Blooming Prairie area found a vast prairie covered with tall grass, which was perfect for growing wheat.  Wheat was the big crop for decades, so a flour mill was soon erected for settlers who came in to farm the land.

    In the 1860's after the first rail station was erected, merchants began coming to the village to set up shop.  Stores were erected and sold all types of goods to the people of the village.  These goods inlcuded blacksmithing, general store food products, a hotel, and even a post office.  In 1892 the first cooperative creamery was built with the backing of the business people.  It prospered for many years, until it closed due to financial problems in 1967.  The creamy building is still being used today as part of the ARKEMA plant.

First Schools

    The first school house was built in the village in 1868, at a cost of $700.  It was a one story building with J. K. Bucklin as the lone teacher.  The building was used for about five years before it was sold and used as a meat market.  But that didn't mean there was no school.  In 1873 a new school building was built at a cost of $3,000.  This time it was built as a two story building with Mr. Fate as the first teacher in the new building.  Then in 1899 with the population growing and a need for more rooms, an eight room brick building was built and served the community for many years before being demolished.

Finally Incorporated

    During the legislation session of 1873-74, Blooming Prairie was officially incorporated as an independent village, and the first city council was elected.  Improvements to the village began quickly with streets being graded, sidewalks brought to even level, hitching posts for horses built along Main St., and trees being planted in vacant lots.  Even a city hall was built, which included council chambers, a jail, and fire station.

Let the Celebration Begin

    The 4th of July was as big in the past as it is today.  In the early 1900's the 4th of July was a celebration many people enjoyed.  There were a lot of activities to enjoy from horse races, to baseball games, to tug of war competitions.  In the early days, the day would start as early as 4 a.m. with 100 guns being fired.  This was one way to let everyone know that the 4th of July has arrived.  Throughout the day the activities would begin along with family picnics, the grand parade, and even a little bit of gambling.  The people couldn't wait until the sun would set so they could enjoy the spectacular square dances to be held and the fireworks display.  The celebration brought in about 8,000 people back then, which was considered alot.  Today, the 4th of July is still the communities biggest celebration of the year with a lot of activities for families. But today it brings in more than 35,000 people year after year.

More history coming soon.....

The following history of Blooming Prairie was taken from the book Blooming Prairie Update by Harold Severson, c1980.  To learn the complete history of Blooming Prairie, it is recommended to check out the book at your local library.