Northfield, Minnesota

Northfield was platted in 1856 by John W. North.[7][8] Local legend says that the town was named for John North and a Mr. Field. North, realizing that the town straddled the proposed northern border of Rice county, went to the state capital to lobby to move the border one mile north. Northfield was founded by settlers from New England known as "Yankees" as part of New England's colonization of what was then the far west.[9] It was an early agricultural center with many wheat and corn farms. The town also supported lumber and flour mills powered by the Cannon River. As the "wheat frontier" moved west, dairy operations and diversified farms replaced wheat-based agriculture. The region has since moved away from dairy and beef operations. Today it produces substantial crops of corn and soybeans, as well as hogs. The local cereal producer Malt-O-Meal is one of the few remnants of Northfield's historic wheat boom. The city's motto, "Cows, Colleges, and Contentment", reflects the influence of the dairy farms as well as its two liberal arts colleges, Carleton College and St. Olaf College.

Since early in its history, Northfield has been a center of higher education. Carleton College (then Northfield College) was founded in 1869 on the northern edge of town by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational churches whose Congregation consisted of the "Yankee" settlers who had largely founded the town. These were people descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s.[10] St. Olaf College was founded in 1874 on the western edge of town by Norwegian Lutheran immigrant pastors and farmers who were eager to preserve their faith and culture by training teachers and preachers. These two institutions, which today enroll more than 5,000 students, make Northfield a college town.

In the 1970s, completion of Interstate 35 six miles west of Northfield enabled the expansion of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metro area south of the Minnesota River. The downtown grain elevator accepted its last load of corn in 2000 and was torn down in 2002. Residential growth has been rapid since the mid-1990s. Northfield Hospital, which opened in 2003 in the town's northwest corner, is in Dakota County, so chosen because government reimbursement rates are more generous for Dakota County than for Rice County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 8.61 square miles (22.30 km²); 8.56 square miles (22.17 km²) is land and 0.05 square miles (0.13 km²) is water.[11] The peak elevation is about 912 feet.[2]

The town is roughly centered around the Cannon River and rises to the east and west from it.

Interstate 35 is 6 mi (9.7 km) west of Northfield. Minnesota State Highways 3, 19, and 246 are three of Northfield's main routes.

The Ames Mill on the Cannon River

Early in the city's history, local merchants created a small town square between Fourth Street to the north, Division Street to the east, the Cannon River to the west, and the southern storefronts. The old Ames Mill/Malt-O-Meal plant was also nearby, originally powered by the dam on the river. Bridge Square and the surrounding downtown area remain a strong cultural attraction for the city. The square has several amenities including a large fountain, a memorial statue, and a concession stand known as "the popcorn wagon" run by the senior center. Several scenic walkways follow the river, and numerous shops and boutiques can be found on the neighboring streets.

Businesses serving the growing senior citizen community of Northfield have expanded to include the Northfield Senior Center (warm water pool, fitness studio, meeting rooms, fitness center, dining program, art classes, computer lab), the Village on the Cannon, Millstream Commons, and new construction at the Northfield Retirement Center complex. The northern edge of the city has also been expanding with several residential and commercial developments.

Jesse James' and the James-Younger Gang's 1876 attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield serves as a heritage tourism draw for the town. The original bank building was converted to a museum operated by the Northfield Historical Society.[13] The First National Bank of Northfield operates from a main office built half a block away from the historic site. In its front lobby, a glass case showcases a gun used during the robbery.

The Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau provides comprehensive tourism information and visit planning services.

• Films based on the failed raid include The True Story of Jesse James (1957), The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (1972), and The Long Riders (1980).
• Northfield was also the setting of the TV-movie Love Always, Santa (2016).[17][18]

Bridge No. 8096 over Spring Creek, which runs through the Carleton College Cowling Arboretum.

The city owns 35 parks consisting of over 400 acres (1.6 km²) of land.[19] Three of these parks have picnic shelters.[19]

The Carleton College Cowling Arboretum is a sizable, well-established arboretum and nature preserve adjacent to and owned by Carleton College. It offers extensive trails for walking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter.

St. Olaf College also owns many hundreds of acres called the St. Olaf Natural Lands. These include 350 acres (1.4 km²) of natural habitat and 444 acres (1.80 km²) acres of agricultural land.[20][21] Of that, 150 acres (0.61 km²) is restored prairie with 10 species of native grasses, and 25-40 species of wildflowers,[22] 15 acres (0.061 km²) of big woods habitat,[23] and up to 9 acres (0.036 km²) of surface wetlands.[24] The St. Olaf Natural Lands are open to the public all year long.[25]

The Mill Towns State Trail was built in 1998 as a joint effort of the cities of Northfield and Dundas.

The City of Northfield has a mayor-council government. The City Administrator is responsible for managing daily operations. The current mayor is Rhonda Pownell.[26] The city council consists of six members, four of whom represent city districts and two of whom are at-large members serving four year terms.[27]

Northfield is served by Minnesota State Senator Rich Draheim (RPM) in District 20 and State Representative Todd Lippert (DFL) in District 20B.

In the United States Congress, Northfield is part of Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, represented by Angie Craig (DFL) since 2019, and in the Senate by Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, both members of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party.

Northfield is home to St. Olaf and Carleton colleges. Their student and staff populations account for a large portion of the town's year-round population.

The Northfield Public School district operates three elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and an alternative learning center. In addition, Northfield has public charter schools: Arcadia (grades 6–12) and Prairie Creek Community School (grades K–5) in nearby Castle Rock. They receive state funding from the State of Minnesota.

• Peter Agre (born January 30, 1949), Nobel laureate in chemistry
• Adelbert Ames (October 31, 1835 – April 13, 1933), Union Army general during the Civil War and Mississippi politician during Reconstruction; father Jesse Ames purchased the Ames Mill, producers of Malt-O-Meal, in 1865
• Cyril Archibald (1837 – April 13, 1914), member of Canadian Parliament
• Ian Barbour (October 5, 1923 – December 24, 2013), winner of 1999 Templeton Prize
• Steven Brust (born November 23, 1955), author and musician
• Lincoln Child (born 1957), author
• F. Melius Christiansen (April 1, 1871 – June 1, 1955), pioneer of a cappella choral music
• Raymond Cox (1951-2017), Minnesota state legislator and businessman
• Michael Dorris (January 30, 1945 – April 10, 1997), author
• Joan N. Ericksen (born 1954), federal judge
• Steve Grove (born 1978), American businessman, former Google News Lab Director and Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
• Laurence McKinley Gould (August 22, 1896 – June 21, 1995), geologist, educator, polar explorer
• Joel Heatwole (August 22, 1856 – April 4, 1910), U.S. Representative
• Lucius Roy Holbrook (April 30, 1875 – October 19, 1952), U.S. Army major general
• Alexandra Holden (born April 30, 1977), actress
• Siri Hustvedt (born February 19, 1955), author, poet, and essayist
• Justin Kloos, NHL player for the Anaheim Ducks
• Karl Rolvaag (July 18, 1913 – December 20, 1990), governor of Minnesota
• Ole Edvart Rølvaag (April 22, 1876 – November 5, 1931), author
• Gilmore Schjeldahl (June 1, 1912 – March 10, 2002), inventor and entrepreneur
• Peter Schjeldahl (born March 20, 1942), art critic and writer
• Marilyn Sellars (born 1944), country music singer
• Chad Setterstrom (born June 13, 1980), professional football player
• Mark Setterstrom (born March 3, 1984), professional football player
• Edward Sovik (June 9, 1918 – May 4, 2014), architect, liturgist
• Steve Strachan (born January 26, 1965), former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, former sheriff of King County, Washington
• Edward John Thye (April 26, 1896 – August 28, 1969), governor of Minnesota and U.S. Senator
• Thorstein Veblen (July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929), economist and sociologist
• Paul Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002), U.S. Senator
• Jon Wee (born 1965?), professional juggler
• Johnny Western (born October 28, 1934), singer-songwriter, actor, radio host
• Charles Augustus Wheaton (July 1, 1809, - March 14, 1882), major figure in the abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad
• Ida Belle Clary Wilcox (August 6, 1850 – January 26, 1928), missionary honored by South Africa in 2009[28]
• Jerome J. Workman, Jr. (born on August 6, 1952), American spectroscopist, editor, author

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Northfield, Minnesota.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Northfield, Minnesota.

Wikisource has the text of a 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article about Northfield, Minnesota.

• City of Northfield, MN – Official site
• Northfield.org
• Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau – Visitor Information