Sioux and Dakota tribes were active in this area when the first of many Norwegian immigrants began arriving in 1854, four years before Minnesota statehood. In a few short years the land of the surrounding townships of Wanamingo, Minneola, Cherry Grove and Roscoe had been preempted in accordance with the Preemption Act of 1841. It is believed that the township of Wanamingo was named after a heroine of an Indian novel that was popular at the time it was organized. The original village of Wanamingo – located on a forty-acre parcel of land platted by James Brown in sections 25 & 26 of Wanamingo Township – dates back to 1857, and was located one-mile west of the present day Wanamingo. Today it is a ghost town and is referred to as “Old Wanamingo,” its former location marked by historical signage.
In 1903, the demise of Old Wanamingo began when the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Company platted and sold lots for a new town, Wanamingo’s present location. One year later the railroad’s newly extended line from Zumbrota to Faribault was serving the new and rapidly growing village of Wanamingo. The town’s fast paced growth led to its incorporation in 1917.
Over the years the number of churches in the community has grown to three. The oldest congregation, Wanamingo Lutheran, organized in 1869, has roots reaching back to Old Wanamingo. In 1911 – by then the demise of Old Wanamingo was evident – the congregation built a new and larger church in Wanamingo. Trinity Lutheran Church congregation celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1999. Both Lutheran churches belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
New Life Church celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2009. The church was planted by North Central CBA (Conservative Baptist Association) in 1999, and met for several years at the local school. The church purchased its present facility in 2004.
In 1917, young men of the community and surrounding four townships answered the call to duty to join the Army for home and country. Like Americans in every city and hamlet, those remaining at home braced themselves for a share of casualties from the field of battle. And a total of thirteen local men did not return. But, due in great part to the 1918 influenza pandemic, eleven men of the community died from complications of influenza, one from spinal meningitis and one, Albert Quamme, was killed in action during the Meuse-Argonne offensive of October 1918. Quamme Post 186, Wanamingo’s VFW Post, was organized following the war and is named in honor of Albert Quamme.
Locally, the economic and financial turmoil connected with the Great Depression began shortly after the stock market crash in October of 1929. Although not connected to the Wall Street crash in any way, Farmers State Bank of Wanamingo was declared insolvent and closed by the Minnesota Banking Department in early November of 1929. However difficult the bank failure, setbacks and other hardships of the 1930s were to the townsfolk, on the brighter side Wanamingo enjoyed being on the receiving end of two Federal economic stimulation projects. The first was a concrete dam completed in 1936, which created a recreational lake at the City Park. Over the years, however, the flooding Zumbro River gradually silted in the lake. Now the former lake area accommodates outdoor volleyball courts, playground equipment and two picnic shelters. The second project was a school gymnasium/auditorium, a WPA project completed in 1942 and is still in use today.
The people of Wanamingo did their part in the Nation’s collective effort of winning WWII, a war that called many to service. One example was the town’s eight-member 1938 high school championship basketball team. All eight members of that team were serving in the armed forces by 1944. All but team center Donald Bolmgren, whose plane was shot down over Germany in 1945, returned home safely.
Organized in 2007, Wanamingo Veterans Honor Guard is made up of local military veterans. Along with members of Quamme Post 186, its membership partakes in local Memorial Day and Veterans’ Day observance planning, veterans’ funerals and an annual July Fourth Field of Honor display.
With the game of baseball older than Wanamingo, the great American pastime has been a part of the town’s history since its beginning. First it was played on local pastureland. During the 1920s, an organized town team played on a field next to the elevator. Following WWII the town’s ball field was moved from the elevator location to the west side of Hwy. 57. WWII veterans organized a raffle that resulted in raising sufficient funds to purchase land near the school for athletic purposes. In 1952, Memorial Field was dedicated during the school’s homecoming game. The baseball and softball fields were upgraded in 2000 and 2002, funded through various fundraising events and monetary gifts. These two facilities are considered to be some of the finest in the area and are now the home of the K-W Knights and the town’s amateur baseball team, Wanamingo Jacks.
In 2003 – with its population then exceeding 1000 – Wanamingo celebrated its centennial with many special events, a centennial logo contest and pin, plays and the printing of a centennial calendar. Over time other celebratory firsts have resulted with them being repeated annually. In 1976, the town’s first “all out” Fourth of July celebration was held in conjunction with America’s nationwide Bicentennial celebration. Since then the town celebrates every Fourth throughout the day in various ways, including a huge parade and fireworks a dusk.
Norwegian traditions remain strong in the community, handed down through the generations. Syttende Mai, a celebration of the community’s Norwegian heritage, is held annually on the weekend closest to May 17, Norway’s Independence Day.
To learn more of the town’s history, you are invited to read the historical stories that are included with this Web site.
Wanamingo Historical Society
