Stanton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in Stanton Township, Goodhue County,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States. The center of Stanton is generally considered near the junction of State Highway 19 ( MN 19) and State Highway 56 ( MN 56). Nearby places include

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connec ...

, Dennison, Randolph, and Cannon Falls. Stanton is located seven miles east of Northfield. Stanton is six miles north-northeast of Dennison; and seven miles west-southwest of Cannon Falls. Stanton is near the northwest corner of Goodhue County, and immediately adjacent to Dakota County. Rice County is also nearby.

Community

Prairie Creek and the Little Cannon River both flow through the community. The Cannon River and Lake Byllesby are nearby. The community is served by an airport,

Stanton Airfield Stanton Airfield is a public use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) east of the central business district of Stanton, in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. The airport is privately owned by Stanton Sport Aviation, Inc. Hi ...

, with two grass-surfaced runways. The runways are plowed in the winter. The

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

serves the sport

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' includes fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air craft such as hot a ...

community, with a notable volume of

glider Glider may refer to: Aircraft and transport Aircraft * Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight ** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...

, classic aircraft, and

Sport Pilot Pilot certification in the United States is typically required for an individual to act as a pilot-in-command of an aircraft. It is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USD ...

activity. The airport was previously known as ''Carleton Airport'', and still appears with that name on some maps, due to its prior association with Carleton College. Stanton Airfield is also home of the Minnesota Soaring Club, the largest soaring club in the upper Midwest. Over 25 gliders are based at Stanton Airfield. Soaring takes place primarily on weekends from mid April through November. Despite its small size, the airport was used by U.S. president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, who arrived there by helicopter for a commencement address at Carleton College in 2000. Stanton Airfield was designated a historic site in November 2004. It has been in continuous use for flight training since April 1942, when it was used to train pilots during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Stanton Airfield also has a

Link Trainer The term Link Trainer, also known as the "Blue box" and "Pilot Trainer" is commonly used to refer to a series of flight simulators produced between the early 1930s and early 1950s by Link Aviation Devices, founded and headed by Ed Link, based o ...

, one of the first

flight simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

s, used to train World War II pilots. A post office previously operated in Stanton. The post office closed in the 1970s due to federal budget cuts.

References

External links

Stanton Airfield Website
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Goodhue County, Minnesota