Mountain Lake is a city in Cottonwood County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The population was 2,104 at the 2010 census. Mountain Lake was initially composed mostly of the 1,800

Low German Low German is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language variety, language spoken mainly in Northern Germany and the northeastern Netherlands. The dialect of Plautdietsch is also spoken in the Russian Mennonite diaspora worldwide. "Low" ...

(or more specifically,

Plautdietsch Plautdietsch () or Mennonite Low German is a Low Prussian dialect of East Low German with Dutch influence that developed in the 16th and 17th centuries in the Vistula delta area of Royal Prussia. The word ''Plautdietsch'' translates to "fl ...

) speaking Mennonites from Russia who settled there between 1873 and 1880. Although the city has gradually become more diverse, with the more recent addition of immigrant groups including Lao, Hmong, and

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

people, a significant percentage of its inhabitants still have Mennonite surnames.

History

The city of Mountain Lake was formally platted on May 25, 1872. It has had a post office in operation since 1871.

Original settlement

The name "Mountain Lake" is usually attributed to early settler William Mason. The city's official website recalls, "the first white settler to the area, William Mason, found a shallow 900-acre lake with three islands. The two smaller islands just broke the water's surface. The third much larger, higher island looked to Mason like a mountain rising from the lake. He named the lake Mountain Lake and the island Mountain Island." The top of the island was covered with trees, and could be seen for miles around, thus serving as a landmark to early settlers. The story continues that in 1871 the St. Paul & Sioux City Railway had selected "Midway" as the name of the village, since it was located midway between

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

and

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

. However, Mason insisted that the village being platted be named "Mountain Lake". First Org Train

Demand for more tillable farmland and construction advances led to the draining of the original lake in 1905–1906, which was located in Mountain Lake township, southeast of town. However, in 1937–1938 a dam, bridge, and outlet were constructed by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

at a new site in Midway township to create a new Mountain Lake. This lake, located on the north edge of town, also has an island. The large island of the original lake – now just a hill amidst the surrounding cornfields – became a county park which has since 1973 been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Archeological evidence suggests that early settler William Mason was not the first to appreciate the unique qualities of the original lake's island. Artifacts unearthed in a 1976 dig indicated evidence of habitation as early as 500 BC, thus making the location the oldest human habitation yet to be discovered in the state of Minnesota.

Mennonite immigration and influence

The coming of the railroad in 1873 played a big role in the expansion of the village. By the time Mountain Lake was formally incorporated in 1886, it had a population of three hundred people, primarily composed of Mennonites immigrating from southern Russia (present-day Ukraine). In 1873,

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

immigrants from

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

(at that time, Ukraine was part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

) began to arrive in Mountain Lake, having been recruited by William Seeger, a member of the Minnesota State Board of Immigration. Seeger had specifically targeted Mennonites, “because they were believed to be hard workers of good character.” The majority of these Mennonite families came from the Molotschna Colony, located near the present-day city of Melitopol, Ukraine. However, a number of

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Mennonites originally from the Chortitza Colony, near the present-day Ukrainian city of

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

, also settled in the Mountain Lake area. By 1880, it is estimated that some 295 Mennonite families had settled there. Because Mountain Lake was already an established community and its surrounding farmland largely surveyed, the Mennonites could not arrange themselves in the traditional communal villages they had been accustomed to in their Ukrainian colonies. This forced them to adapt to American-style, single family farms and to live amongst their non-Mennonite neighbors. As settlement continued, the Mennonites of Mountain Lake had soon established a successful and cohesive community, “based primarily on agriculture and local commerce.” For many decades thereafter, they retained the speaking of

, the Mennonite variation of

. On October 14, 1889, the ''Konference der Vereinigten Mennoniten-Brueder von Nord America'' was founded in Mountain Lake. Elder Aaron Wall, founder of the Bruderthaler Church of Mountain Lake and Elder Isaac Peters of the Ebenezer Church of Henderson, Nebraska were instrumental in the establishment of this new Mennonite denomination. Known today as the '' Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches'' (FEBC), for many years the conference was popularly called the Bruderthaler Conference, because of the influential nature of the Mountain Lake founding church. In 1914 the name was officially changed to ''The Defenceless Mennonite Brethren in Christ of North America''. The name was changed once again, in 1937, to ''Evangelical Mennonite Brethren'' (EMB). The denominational headquarters was located in Mountain Lake until 1956. Around the year 1905, several local men founded the Mennonite hospital of Mountain Lake. The institution struggled until 1912, when it was sold and reorganized as the Bethel Deaconess Hospital. The physicians in charge were Dr. Piper of Mountain Lake and Dr. Sogge of Windom, who were assisted by three deaconess sisters. The hospital was managed by a local board of directors consisting of one member from each of the town's five Mennonite churches.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Minnesota State Highway 60 Trunk Highway 60 (MN 60) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line (at Bigelow) and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (at Wabasha), where the ro ...

serves as a main route around the city, running generally east to west. Secondarily, County Road 1 runs north and south through town.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,104 people, 829 households, and 526 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 923 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.8%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.8%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 10.3% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.9% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 10.7% of the population. There were 829 households, of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.9% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. Of all households, 34.0% were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.16. The median age in the city was 39.3 years. 27.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.6% were from 25 to 44; 23.1% were from 45 to 64; and 20.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,082 people, 817 households, and 531 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 896 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.29%

, 0.58%

, 0.48% Native American, 6.82% Asian, 0.10%

, 4.27% from other races, and 3.46% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 5.76% of the population. There were 817 households, out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were

living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. Of all households, 32.3% were made up of individuals, and 20.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.07. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 16.5% from 45 to 64, and 27.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,146, and the median income for a family was $36,652. Males had a median income of $30,291 versus $17,917 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $13,845. About 8.5% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Mountain Lake is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional district, represented by Jim Hagedorn, a Republican. At the state level, Mountain Lake is located in

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District 22, represented by Republican

Doug Magnus Douglas Rudy Magnus (born November 1950) is an American, Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate, who represented District 22, which includes all of Cottonwood County, Minnesota, Cottonwood, Jackson County, Minnesota, Ja ...

, and in

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

District 22B, represented by Republican

Rod Hamilton Rodney W. "Rod" Hamilton (born March 25, 1968) is a Minnesota politician and former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represented District 22B, which includes all or portions of ...

. Gilbert Esau, one of southern Minnesota's longest-serving legislators in state history, made his home in Mountain Lake. Esau represented Mountain Lake in the Minnesota House for all but four of the years between 1962 and 1982.

Notable people

* Silas Bartsch, school administrator * Larry Buhler, football player * George Buhr, coach * Gilbert Esau, politician *

Herman Becker Fast Herman Becker Fast (May 19, 1887 – December 20, 1938) was an American farmer, businessman, and politician. Fast was born in a Mennonite farming family in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, Mountain Lake, Cottonwood County, Minnesota. He lived with hi ...

, politician * Walter Franz (politician), politician *

, politician * Orlando J. Heinitz, politician * Chuck Loewen, football player * George W. Olson, politician * Neva Pilgrim, soprano * Samuel J. Schultz, Old Testament scholar * Paul Tewes, political organizer

References

External links

City of Mountain LakeMountain Lake Public SchoolsMountain Lake Christian School''The Observer / Advocate'' newspaper site

"Mennonites of Mountain Lake" by the Minnesota Historical Society"A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways" by Chicago and North Western Railway Company p. 184
{{authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Cottonwood County, Minnesota German-Russian culture in the United States Hmong-American culture in Minnesota Laotian-American culture Russian-American culture in Minnesota Former Native American populated places in the United States