Editing Nerstrand, Minnesota

{{Short description|City in Minnesota, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Nerstrand
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    =

<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = 2010-1021-NerstrandCityHall.jpg
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Nerstrand's historic City Hall building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               =

<!-- Maps -->
|image_map = Rice_County_Minnesota_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Nerstrand_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Nerstrand, Minnesota
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             =

<!-- Location -->
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Minnesota]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Minnesota|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Rice County, Minnesota|Rice]]

<!-- Government -->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         =

<!-- Area -->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_27.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 24, 2022}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 3.67
|area_land_km2            = 3.67
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.42
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.42
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00

<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_est           = 
|pop_est_as_of            = 
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 273
|population_density_km2   = 74.47
|population_density_sq_mi = 192.93

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
|timezone_DST             = CDT
|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 1188
|coordinates              = {{coord|44|20|35|N|93|03|50|W|region:US-MN|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 55053
|area_code                = [[Area code 507|507]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 27-45196<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2395175<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2395175}}</ref>
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
}}

'''Nerstrand''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɪər|s|tʃ|r|æ|n|d}} {{respell|NEER|schrand}})<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ap.org/minnesota/prono.html |title=Minnesota Pronunciation Guide |website=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=July 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722194213/http://www.ap.org/minnesota/prono.html |archive-date=July 22, 2011 }}</ref> is a city in [[Rice County, Minnesota|Rice County]], [[Minnesota]],  United States.<ref name="2010 Census (City)">{{cite web|title=2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411124723/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2015|work=American FactFinder|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=27 April 2011}}</ref>

[[Minnesota State Highway 246]] serves as a main route in the community.  Minnesota State Highways [[Minnesota State Highway 56|56]] and [[Minnesota State Highway 60|60]] are nearby.

== History ==
[[File:Osmundsonhouse.jpg|thumb|left|The Osmund Osmundson House, c. 1890s.]]
In 1856, [[Norwegian people|Norwegian]] immigrant Osmund Osmundson moved to [[Wheeling Township, Rice County, Minnesota|Wheeling Township]] in Rice County. He [[homestead (buildings)|homestead]]ed the present site of Nerstrand, building a [[Osmund Osmundson House|house]] and farm, and began to envision a town on the site. In 1877 he built a store on what became the [[Right-of-way (transportation)|right-of-way]] for railroad tracks on what is now Main Street. In 1885 the Minnesota and North Western Railroad (later the [[Chicago Great Western Railway]]) was constructed, extending from [[Lyle, Minnesota]] to [[St. Paul, Minnesota|St. Paul]], and Osmundson [[plat]]ted the town on the line, naming it after his hometown of [[Nedstrand]] in [[Tysvær]], [[Norway]].<ref name=MHPIF1>Britta Bloomberg, Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form, February 1981; copy accessed from Osmund Osmundson House file, State Historic Preservation Office in the Minnesota History Center.</ref>

The town was the center of a significant Norwegian immigrant community, which included people in the surrounding township and county. Some, like Osmundson and Tosten Bonde (who lived just outside the city limits), became state legislators.<ref name=MHPIF3>Britta Bloomberg, Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form, February 1981; copy accessed from Bonde, Totsen, Farmhouse file, State Historic Preservation Office in the Minnesota History Center.</ref><ref name=Legislature>[http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=11403 Osmundson, Osmund], Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Accessed December 9, 2010.</ref><ref name=Legislature1>[http://www.leg.state.mn.us/legdb/fulldetail.asp?ID=12387 Johnson, Tosten "T., Tostin"], Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, Accessed December 9, 2010.</ref> [[Thorstein Veblen]], who grew up just outside the town, became a noted [[sociologist]] and [[economist]].

The town incorporated in 1897 and its first city hall was built that year. It proved too small within a few years, and a new city hall was built in 1907.<ref name=MHPIF>Britta Bloomberg, Minnesota Historic Properties Inventory Form, February 1981; copy accessed from Nerstrand City Hall file, State Historic Preservation Office in the Minnesota History Center.</ref> [[Nerstrand City Hall]] was placed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] on April 6, 1982, alongside the [[Osmund Osmundson House]] and the [[Bonde Farmhouse]]. The [[Thorstein Veblen Farmstead]] became a [[National Historic Landmark]].<ref name="nord">{{cite book|title=The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota|last=Nord|first=Mary Ann|publisher=[[Minnesota Historical Society]]|year=2003|isbn=0-87351-448-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/nationalregister0000nord}}</ref> The railroad tracks have been removed.

== Law/government ==
Nerstrand has four city council members and a mayor.

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|1.417|sqmi|sqkm|2|abbr=}}, all  land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web|title=US Gazetteer files 2010|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2012-11-13|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt|archivedate=2012-01-25}}</ref>

The town was notorious for the nearby Nerstrand Hill, bane of the locomotive engineer, with the steepest grade on the line from St. Paul to [[Manly Junction, Iowa|Manly Junction]], [[Iowa]].

== School ==
The town has an elementary school for grades K-5, Nerstrand Elementary School, operated by [[Faribault Public Schools|Faribault Public School ISD#656]] as a [[charter school]] under state law.<ref>[https://nerstrand.charter.k12.mn.us/ ''Nerstrand Elementary School''], Faribault Public Schools</ref> The school has 155 students as of the 2019–20 school year.

== Attractions ==

[[Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park]] is nearby.

The nearby [http://www.valleygrovemn.com Valley Grove Church Building] is considered an important historical site, though several active churches around the area are better preserved:
* [http://www.stjohnsucc-wheelingtownship.org St. John's United Church of Christ] (3&nbsp;mi southwest)
* Grace Lutheran Church (ELCA) (in town)
* Nerstrand United Methodist Church (in town)
* [http://www.cannon.net/~golchurc Gol Lutheran Church] (ELCA) (4&nbsp;mi southeast)
<!-- none of the other churches have websites> -->

== Economy ==
Throughout its history, Nerstrand has been a source of services to area farmers. A full-service [[grain elevator]] still operates today and provides over half the employment in Nerstrand.

The business district declined with the advent of the automobile, with most area residents choosing to shop in [[Northfield, Minnesota|Northfield]], which has always been more prominent because of its two colleges, or [[Faribault, Minnesota|Faribault]], the county seat.

As businesses left, Nerstrand became more of a [[bedroom community]] for people working in Northfield, Faribault, or [[Kenyon, Minnesota|Kenyon]]. A few nonretail businesses, including a cabinet shop and two specialty construction firms, have come to the community, occupying what would otherwise be vacant storefronts.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1900= 256
|1910= 292
|1920= 245
|1930= 283
|1940= 251
|1950= 228
|1960= 584
|1970= 231
|1980= 255
|1990= 210
|2000= 233
|2010= 295
|2020= 273
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2012-11-13}}</ref> of 2010, there were 295 people, 108 households, and 91 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|207.7|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 120 housing units at an average density of {{convert|84.5|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.9% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.3% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.7% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 1.7% from [[Race (U.S. Census)|other races]], and 0.3% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 3.1% of the population.

There were 108 households, of which 40.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.1% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 15.7% were non-families. 12.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 2.96.

The median age in the city was 37.1 years. 28.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.5% were from 25 to 44; 22.8% were from 45 to 64; and 15.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 233 people, 80 households, and 65 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|164.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 82 housing units at an average density of {{convert|57.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}.

There were 80 households, out of which 45.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.5% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.8% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 33.9% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 15.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,500, and the median income for a family was $50,156. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $23,333 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $15,362. None of the families and 0.4% of the population were living below the [[poverty line]].

==Notable person==
[[Thorstein Veblen]] (1857–1929), usually characterized as an economist or sociologist, and best known for his book ''The Theory of the Leisure Class'' ({{ISBN|0-14-018795-2}}), lived about a mile northeast of town. His house and farm, the [[Thorstein Veblen Farmstead]], contained several innovations, including what is believed to be the first [[bucket elevator]] installed on a farm in Rice County. The Thorstein Veblen Farmstead was renovated in 1994 as a historic site and is occasionally open to the public. As of September 2016 it is a flower farm.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
*Nerstrand Bicentennial Committee, The. 1976. Nerstrand: a history. Nerstrand, Minnesota: The committee.
*Nerstrand Women's Club. 1949. History of the Nerstrand Community. [Nerstrand, Minnesota].

{{Rice County, Minnesota}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Rice County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Cities in Minnesota]]