Kasota is a city within the larger Kasota Township,

Le Sueur County Le Sueur County ( ) is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,674. Its county seat is Le Center. Le Sueur County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul- Blooming ...

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 714 at the 2020 census.

Geography

Kasota is about halfway between

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

and St. Peter on the eastern side of the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

. 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 an area of , all land. The city center is about two miles north of th
Kasota Prairie
designated as a Scientific and Natural Area by the stat

Minnesota State Highway 22 Minnesota State Highway 22 (MN 22) is a highway in south-central and central Minnesota, which runs from Winnebago County Road R50 at the Iowa state line near Kiester and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with ...

serves as a main route in the community.

U.S. Route 169 U.S. Route 169 (US 169) is a north-south U.S highway that currently runs for 966 miles (1,555 km) from the city of Virginia, Minnesota, to Tulsa, Oklahoma, at Memorial Drive. Route description Oklahoma US 169 is a major north–sou ...

is nearby, on the western side of the

History

Kasota was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1855. "Kasota" is a name derived from the

Dakota language The Dakota language ( or ), also referred to as Dakhóta, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, commonly known in English as the Sioux. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lak ...

word for "cleared off". On July 1, 1892, the Sontag Brothers,

John Sontag John Sontag (May 27, 1861 – July 3, 1893) was an outlaw of the American West known for train robbery, robberies. Background John Sontag was the oldest son of Maria (Bohn) and Jacob Contant of Mankato, Minnesota. After the death of his father i ...

and George Contant, and their partner in crime, Chris Evans, tried to rob a train between St. Peter and Kasota along the

. The bandits acquired nothing of value, but their activities came under the review of Pinkerton detectives, and both were apprehended in June 1893.

The stone industry

During the 1880s, the

stone industry Stone industry refers to the part of the primary sector of the economy, similar to the mining industry, but concerned with excavations of stones, in particular granite, marble, slate and sandstone. Other products of the industry include crushed s ...

experienced an unexpected boom. During this time, C.W. Babcock took over his father's stone business. He began applying modern quarrying methods, and in 1889 formed a partnership with Tyrrell Swan Willcox, an immigrant from

Rugby, England Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. At the 2021 census, its population was 78,117, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby, ...

, who was instrumental in promoting the use of polished

Kasota limestone Kasota limestone or simply, Kasota stone, also called Mankato stone, is a dolomitic limestone found in southern Minnesota, especially near the Minnesota River and its tributaries. This sedimentary rock is part of the Oneota Dolomite of southern M ...

for interior and exterior residential use. Much of the industry's boom was caused by the railroads' expansion westward, which required large quantities of stone for trestles and culverts. Babcock also was the first to begin quarrying Kasota limestone in and around the city of Kasota. The Babcock Company was the chief stone company during the city's early history, and the relationship between the company and the city was often contentions. At one point, the Babcock Company decided to blast within the city limits. This led to the creation of the park on County Road 21 in the town center, after the company was forced to fill in the quarry near the homes of city residents. In the early 1980s, the Babcock Company went bankrupt. The Vetter Stone Company bought the Babcock quarries, further expanding the business, which now operates just outside the

city limits. The Vetters were former employees of the Babcock Company who left to start their own company in the 1950s. The former Babcock Company plant in Kasota is now occupied by Door Engineering, which manufactures industrial doors. Much of the former Kasota quarry is occupied by Unimin Corporation, which mines silica sand for

hydraulic fracturing Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of Formation (geology), formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the ...

("fracking"). Kasota stone was selected as the primary stone for building the

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Namesakes

Kasota (Dakota for "a cleared place") was the name of a wooden Great Lakes iron ore steamer, built in 1884. The ''Kasota'' sank after colliding with the passenger steamer ''The City of Detroit'' on the Detroit River on July 18, 1890. The ''Kasota'' was salvaged and rebuilt in 1892 but sank again after springing a leak during a storm off

Grand Marais, Michigan Grand Marais ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Burt Township on the shores of Lake Superior, and the community is the eastern gateway to ...

, on September 19, 1903. The USS ''Kasota'' was a naval tugboat, launched in 1944 and struck from the Navy list in 1961. It is believed that the ''Kasota'' (also known as the "Mighty Deuces") was the last wooden hull tug in the Navy at the time.

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 675 people, 293 households, and 175 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 305 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.7%

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 ...

, 1.2%

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 ...

, 0.6% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 1.9% from two or more races.

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 ...

or Latino of any race were 2.2% of the population. There were 293 households, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% 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, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.3% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.84. The median age in the city was 36.9 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29% were from 25 to 44; 30.6% were from 45 to 64; and 10.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 680 people, 275 households, and 196 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 279 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.59%

, 0.74%

, 2.06% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 1.32% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.88% of the population. There were 275 households, out of which 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were

living together, 15.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.81. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 27.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,097, and the median income for a family was $43,750. Males had a median income of $30,300 versus $21,711 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 $17,503. About 6.6% of families and 7.8% 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 10.6% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Le Sueur County, Minnesota Dakota toponyms 1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1855