Granger is a hamlet located in Bristol Township of Fillmore County, Minnesota

Fillmore County, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 21,122 people, 8,228 households, and 5,718 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 8,908 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...

, just north of the Iowa-Minnesota border and adjacent to the village of Florenceville, Iowa

Florenceville, Iowa

Florenceville is an unincorporated village located in Howard County, Iowa, United States. It is adjacent to the village of Granger, Minnesota.-Geography:...

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Geography

Granger is located at 43°30'00" North and 92°8'15" West. The Iowa-Minnesota line forms the village's southern border. The Upper Iowa River

Upper Iowa River

The Upper Iowa River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the upper Midwest of the United States.Its headwaters are in southeastern Minnesota, in Mower County near the border with Iowa. It then flows through the Iowa counties of Howard, Winneshiek, and Allamakee, and finally into the Upper...

 runs through it. Across the border to the south lies its twin village, Florenceville

Florenceville, Iowa

Florenceville is an unincorporated village located in Howard County, Iowa, United States. It is adjacent to the village of Granger, Minnesota.-Geography:...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

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History

The engineers C. H. Lewis and Brown L. Granger surveyed and plotted the land in 1857. This is the same year that the neighboring village of Florenceville was established. The railroad never came to Granger/Florenceville. While several businesses were successfully established, the town failed to take off as hoped and would remain small. In September 1982, Granger celebrated its 125th anniversary along with Florenceville and drew a crowd of over 5000 people.

Economy

Granger once featured all the services of a full-fledged town: an IGA grocery store, a bank, a post office, a Pure Oil and other gas stations, the Long Branch Saloon and other businesses. The post office closed upon the retirement of its last postmaster. Ike's IGA closed not long after the owner's passing. The Long Branch was destroyed by fire and later reopened across the state line in Florenceville. The Granger State Bank has since closed and the creamery closed in May 2007.