Worthington, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Worthington is a city in Nobles County
, Minnesota
, United States
. The population was 12,764 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat
of Nobles County
.
The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway
, later the Chicago and North Western Railway
(now part of the Union Pacific Railroad
) where steam engines would take on water from adjacent Lake Okabena
. More people entered along with one A.P. Miller of Toledo
, Ohio
, under a firm called the National Colony Organization. Miller named the new city after his wife's maiden name.
, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22 km²), of which, 7.2 square miles (18.6 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) of it (16.10%) is water.
Main highways include:
and Missouri
Rivers in the 1830s. He called the region “Sisseton Country” in honor of the Sisseton band of Dakota Indians
then living there. It was a rolling sea of wide open prairie grass that extended as far as the eye could see. One small lake in Sisseton Country was given the name “Lake Okabena
” on Nicollet’s map, “Okabena” being a Dakota
word meaning “nesting place of the herons.”
In 1871, the St. Paul & Sioux CityRailway Company decided to connect those two cities with a ribbon of steel. The puffing steam engines that then chugged across the prairies consumed enormous quantities of water. As a result, water stations were needed every eight to twelve miles (19 km) along the route. One of these stations was designated as “The Okabena Railway Station.”
In that same year, Professor Ransom Humiston of Cleveland, Ohio, and Dr. A.P. Miller, editor of the Toledo Blade, organized a company to locate a colony of settlers along the tracks of the Sioux City and St. Paul Railway. This colony – the National Colony – was to be a village of temperance
with a capital “T”, a place where evangelical Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists could live free of the sins of alcohol. A town was plotted, and the name was changed from the Okabena Railway Station to Worthington, Worthington being the maiden name of Dr. Miller’s mother-in-law.
On April 29, 1872, regular passenger train service to Worthington was started, and on that very first train were the first of the National Colony settlers. One early arrival described the scene:
We were among the first members of the colony to arrive at the station of an unfinished railroad… There was a good hotel, well and comfortably furnished, one or two stores neatly furnished and already stocked with goods, [and] several other[s] in process of erection… The streets, scarcely to be defined as such, were full of prairie schooners, containing families waiting until masters could suit themselves with “claims,” the women pursuing their housewifely avocations meanwhile – some having cooking stoves in their wagons, others using gypsy fires to do their culinary work; all seeming happy and hopeful.
Settlers poured into the region. It was the age of the Homestead Act
when 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) of government land could be claimed for free. All one had to do was live on the land and “improve” it, a vague phrase if ever there was one. In such an atmosphere, settlers without connection to the National Colony also arrived in great number, and few of those were temperance activists. Scandinavian, German, and Irish immigrants were among those who came. American-born settlers invariably included many hardened – and hard-drinking – Civil War veterans hungry for free land.
A curious event took place on Worthington’s very first Fourth of July celebration. Hearing that there was a keg of beer in the Worthington House Hotel, Professor Humiston entered the hotel, seized the keg, dragged it outside, and destroyed it with an axe. A witness described what happened next:
'Upon seeing this, the young men of the town thought it to be rather an imposition, and collected together, procured the services of the band, and under the direction of a military officer marched to the rear of the hotel, and with a wheelbarrow and shovel took the empty keg that had been broken open, and playing the dead march with flag at half staff marched to the flagpole in front of Humiston’s office where they dug a grave and gave the empty keg a burial with all the honors attending a soldier’s funeral.
They then, with flag at full mast and with lively air, marched back to the ice house, procured a full keg of beer, returning to the grave, resting the keg thereon. Then a general invitation was given to all who desired to partake, which many did until the keg was emptied… In the evening they reassembled, burning Prof. Humiston in effigy about 10 p.m. Thus ended the glorious Fourth at Worthington, Minn.
—Sibley Gazette July 5, 1872
In spite of tensions between pro-temperance and anti-temperance factions, the town grew rapidly. By the end of summer in 1872, eighty-five buildings had been constructed where just one year before there had been nothing but a field of prairie grass.
The ensuing winter was a severe one, and swarms of grasshoppers stripped farmers’ fields bare in the summer of 1873. Still, settlers came. 1874 produced a bumper harvest, followed by another grasshopper invasion in 1875. 1876 and 1877 were both good farming years. Grasshoppers returned for the last time in 1879, and a bright future began for southwestern Minnesota. According to the 1880 census, Nobles County boasted 4435 residents, 636 of them living in Worthington. For German, Irish and Scandinavian immigrants seeking a new life, southwestern Minnesota was a new world.
of 2000, there were 11,283 people, 4,311 households, and 2,828 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,578.9 people per square mile (609.3/km²). There were 4,573 housing units at an average density of 639.9 per square mile (246.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.81% White, 1.91% African American, 0.49% Native American, 7.06% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 11.49% from other races
, and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.28% of the population.
There were 4,311 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.
The U.S. Bureau of Census now classifies Worthington as one of its micropolitan areas. Population of the Worthington Micropolitan Area is 20,508.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $44,643. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $20,880 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $18,078. About 9.1% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
, represented by Mankato
educator Tim Walz
, a Democrat
. At the state level, Worthington is located in Senate
District 22, represented by Republican
Doug Magnus
, and in House
District 22B, represented by Republican Rod Hamilton
.
There is a sister-city relationship between Worthington and Crailsheim, Germany
founded in 1947 and therefore is considered to be the oldest relationship between an American and a German city that has survived post-World War II
.
meat packing plant
in Worthington and at five other Swift plants in western states, interviewing workers and hauling hundreds off in buses.
High School: Worthington High School
Middle School: Worthington Middle School
Elementary School: Prairie Elementary School
Community/Technical College: Minnesota West Community and Technical College
Nobles County, Minnesota
Nobles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 21,378. Its county seat is Worthington.-Geography:...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 12,764 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Nobles County
Nobles County, Minnesota
Nobles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 21,378. Its county seat is Worthington.-Geography:...
.
The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
, later the Chicago and North Western Railway
Chicago and North Western Railway
The Chicago and North Western Transportation Company was a Class I railroad in the Midwest United States. It was also known as the North Western. The railroad operated more than of track as of the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states before retrenchment in the late 1970s...
(now part of the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
) where steam engines would take on water from adjacent Lake Okabena
Lake Okabena
Lake Okabena is a small lake located in Nobles County in southwestern Minnesota. It was first noted on a map made by French explorer Joseph Nicollet in 1841, based upon his explorations of the 1830s. The name okabena means "home of the heron" in the Sioux language...
. More people entered along with one A.P. Miller of Toledo
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, under a firm called the National Colony Organization. Miller named the new city after his wife's maiden name.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 8.5 square miles (22 km²), of which, 7.2 square miles (18.6 km²) of it is land and 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) of it (16.10%) is water.
Main highways include:
Interstate 90Interstate 90Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
U.S. Highway 59
Minnesota State Highway 60Minnesota State Highway 60Minnesota State Highway 60 is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line , where the route becomes Wisconsin Highway 25 upon crossing the Mississippi River.Highway 60 is...
Minnesota State Highway 266Minnesota State Highway 266Minnesota State Highway 266 was a highway in southwest Minnesota that had connected the communities of Wilmont and Reading to the city of Worthington...
Discontinued - Renamed Nobles County 25- Nobles County Road 25
- Nobles County Road 35
History
Worthington's First Decade: The first European to set eyes on southwestern Minnesota was French explorer Joseph Nicollet. Nicollet mapped the area between the MississippiMississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
and Missouri
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
Rivers in the 1830s. He called the region “Sisseton Country” in honor of the Sisseton band of Dakota Indians
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
then living there. It was a rolling sea of wide open prairie grass that extended as far as the eye could see. One small lake in Sisseton Country was given the name “Lake Okabena
Lake Okabena
Lake Okabena is a small lake located in Nobles County in southwestern Minnesota. It was first noted on a map made by French explorer Joseph Nicollet in 1841, based upon his explorations of the 1830s. The name okabena means "home of the heron" in the Sioux language...
” on Nicollet’s map, “Okabena” being a Dakota
Dakota language
Dakota is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language.-Dialects:...
word meaning “nesting place of the herons.”
In 1871, the St. Paul & Sioux CityRailway Company decided to connect those two cities with a ribbon of steel. The puffing steam engines that then chugged across the prairies consumed enormous quantities of water. As a result, water stations were needed every eight to twelve miles (19 km) along the route. One of these stations was designated as “The Okabena Railway Station.”
In that same year, Professor Ransom Humiston of Cleveland, Ohio, and Dr. A.P. Miller, editor of the Toledo Blade, organized a company to locate a colony of settlers along the tracks of the Sioux City and St. Paul Railway. This colony – the National Colony – was to be a village of temperance
Temperance movement
A temperance movement is a social movement urging reduced use of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements may criticize excessive alcohol use, promote complete abstinence , or pressure the government to enact anti-alcohol legislation or complete prohibition of alcohol.-Temperance movement by...
with a capital “T”, a place where evangelical Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists could live free of the sins of alcohol. A town was plotted, and the name was changed from the Okabena Railway Station to Worthington, Worthington being the maiden name of Dr. Miller’s mother-in-law.
On April 29, 1872, regular passenger train service to Worthington was started, and on that very first train were the first of the National Colony settlers. One early arrival described the scene:
We were among the first members of the colony to arrive at the station of an unfinished railroad… There was a good hotel, well and comfortably furnished, one or two stores neatly furnished and already stocked with goods, [and] several other[s] in process of erection… The streets, scarcely to be defined as such, were full of prairie schooners, containing families waiting until masters could suit themselves with “claims,” the women pursuing their housewifely avocations meanwhile – some having cooking stoves in their wagons, others using gypsy fires to do their culinary work; all seeming happy and hopeful.
Settlers poured into the region. It was the age of the Homestead Act
Homestead Act
A homestead act is one of three United States federal laws that gave an applicant freehold title to an area called a "homestead" – typically 160 acres of undeveloped federal land west of the Mississippi River....
when 160 acre (0.6474976 km²) of government land could be claimed for free. All one had to do was live on the land and “improve” it, a vague phrase if ever there was one. In such an atmosphere, settlers without connection to the National Colony also arrived in great number, and few of those were temperance activists. Scandinavian, German, and Irish immigrants were among those who came. American-born settlers invariably included many hardened – and hard-drinking – Civil War veterans hungry for free land.
A curious event took place on Worthington’s very first Fourth of July celebration. Hearing that there was a keg of beer in the Worthington House Hotel, Professor Humiston entered the hotel, seized the keg, dragged it outside, and destroyed it with an axe. A witness described what happened next:
'Upon seeing this, the young men of the town thought it to be rather an imposition, and collected together, procured the services of the band, and under the direction of a military officer marched to the rear of the hotel, and with a wheelbarrow and shovel took the empty keg that had been broken open, and playing the dead march with flag at half staff marched to the flagpole in front of Humiston’s office where they dug a grave and gave the empty keg a burial with all the honors attending a soldier’s funeral.
They then, with flag at full mast and with lively air, marched back to the ice house, procured a full keg of beer, returning to the grave, resting the keg thereon. Then a general invitation was given to all who desired to partake, which many did until the keg was emptied… In the evening they reassembled, burning Prof. Humiston in effigy about 10 p.m. Thus ended the glorious Fourth at Worthington, Minn.
—Sibley Gazette July 5, 1872
In spite of tensions between pro-temperance and anti-temperance factions, the town grew rapidly. By the end of summer in 1872, eighty-five buildings had been constructed where just one year before there had been nothing but a field of prairie grass.
The ensuing winter was a severe one, and swarms of grasshoppers stripped farmers’ fields bare in the summer of 1873. Still, settlers came. 1874 produced a bumper harvest, followed by another grasshopper invasion in 1875. 1876 and 1877 were both good farming years. Grasshoppers returned for the last time in 1879, and a bright future began for southwestern Minnesota. According to the 1880 census, Nobles County boasted 4435 residents, 636 of them living in Worthington. For German, Irish and Scandinavian immigrants seeking a new life, southwestern Minnesota was a new world.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 11,283 people, 4,311 households, and 2,828 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,578.9 people per square mile (609.3/km²). There were 4,573 housing units at an average density of 639.9 per square mile (246.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 76.81% White, 1.91% African American, 0.49% Native American, 7.06% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 11.49% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 2.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.28% of the population.
There were 4,311 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.4% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.12.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 20.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.6 males.
The U.S. Bureau of Census now classifies Worthington as one of its micropolitan areas. Population of the Worthington Micropolitan Area is 20,508.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,250, and the median income for a family was $44,643. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $20,880 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $18,078. About 9.1% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.4% of those under age 18 and 12.3% of those age 65 or over.
Politics
Worthington is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional districtMinnesota's 1st congressional district
Minnesota's 1st congressional district extends across southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. The First District is primarily a rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, although this is changing rapidly due to strong population growth in...
, represented by Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
educator Tim Walz
Tim Walz
Timothy James Walz is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party .The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa...
, a Democrat
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
The Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
. At the state level, Worthington is located in Senate
Minnesota Senate
The Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
District 22, represented by Republican
Republican Party of Minnesota
The Republican Party of Minnesota is the Minnesota branch of the United States Republican Party. Elected by the party’s state central committee in June 2009, its chairman is Tony Sutton, and its deputy-chairman is Michael Brodkorb.-Early history:...
Doug Magnus
Doug Magnus
Douglas Rudy "Doug" Magnus is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate, representing District 22, which includes all of Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, Nobles, Pipestone and Rock counties in the southwestern part of the state...
, and in House
Minnesota House of Representatives
The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
District 22B, represented by Republican Rod Hamilton
Rod Hamilton
Rodney W. "Rod" Hamilton is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 22B, which includes all or portions of Cottonwood, Jackson and Nobles counties in the southwestern part of the state...
.
Local politics
The mayor of Worthington is Al Oberloh. City council members are Lyle TenHaken, Michael Kuhle, Scott Nelson, Ronald Wood, and Mike Woll.There is a sister-city relationship between Worthington and Crailsheim, Germany
Crailsheim
Crailsheim is a town in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, 32 km east of Schwäbisch Hall, 40 km southwest of Ansbach in the Schwäbisch Hall district, incorporated in 1338....
founded in 1947 and therefore is considered to be the oldest relationship between an American and a German city that has survived post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Worthington in the news
On December 12, 2006 the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E) staged a coordinated predawn raid at the Swift & CompanySwift & Company
Swift & Company is an American food procession company a wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A. , a Brazilian company that is the world's largest processor of fresh beef and pork, with more than US$30 billion in annual sales as of 2010. It is also the largest beef processor in Australia.Swift &...
meat packing plant
Meat packing industry
The meat packing industry handles the slaughtering, processing, packaging, and distribution of animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and other livestock...
in Worthington and at five other Swift plants in western states, interviewing workers and hauling hundreds off in buses.
Notable natives
- George DaytonGeorge DaytonGeorge Draper Dayton was an American businessman and philanthropist.-Life and career:Dayton came to the U.S. state of Minnesota from New York in 1883. His family was one of average means, and he had hoped to become a minister, but was lured by the urge to be in the business world...
, a banker and real estate developer in Worthington before moving to Minneapolis to start Dayton's Department Store (now part of Macy'sMacy'sMacy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
). Recently restored, the 1890 Dayton House is a community historic site and bed and breakfastBed and breakfastA bed and breakfast is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast, but usually does not offer other meals. Since the 1980s, the meaning of the term has also extended to include accommodations that are also known as "self-catering" establishments...
. - Matt Entenza, former minority leader of the Minnesota House of RepresentativesMinnesota House of RepresentativesThe Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...
(2002–2006) and a 2010 DFLMinnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor PartyThe Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party is a major political party in the state of Minnesota and the state affiliate of the Democratic Party. It was created on April 15, 1944, with the merger of the Minnesota Democratic Party and the Farmer–Labor Party...
candidate for governor of Minnesota. He grew up in Worthington and attended Worthington public schools. - Stephen MillerStephen MillerStephen Miller was an American Republican politician. He was the first Civil War veteran to serve as Minnesota Governor. He was the fourth Governor of Minnesota.-Early years and business entrepreneur:...
, fourth governor of MinnesotaGovernor of MinnesotaThe Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
from 1864–1866, later settled in Worthington, representing the area in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1873-1874. He was an 1876 presidential elector. Upon his death in 1881, he was buried in Worthington Cemetery. - Lee NystromLee NystromLee Nystrom is a former player in the National Football League. He was member of the Green Bay Packers for two seasons, though he did not see any playing time in a regular season game during his first season.-References:...
, NFL player, was born in Worthington. - Tim O'BrienTim O'Brien (author)Tim O'Brien is an American novelist who often writes about his experiences in the Vietnam War and the impact the war had on the American servicemen who fought there...
, an American novelist known for his astute Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
literature, grew up in Worthington in the 1950s. He references Worthington in several of his novels, including driving around Lake Okabena in The Things They CarriedThe Things They CarriedThe Things They Carried is a collection of related stories by Tim O'Brien, about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, originally published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin, 1990...
, published in 1990. - John OlsonJohn Olson (Minnesota politician)John L. Olson was a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota Senate from southwestern Minnesota. First elected in 1958 when he defeated incumbent senator A. A. "Andy" Anderson of Luverne, Olson was re-elected in 1962, 1966, 1970 and 1972...
, longtime state senator and Worthington native, represented southwestern Minnesota from 1959–1977. He chaired the Minnesota SenateMinnesota SenateThe Minnesota Senate is the upper house in the Minnesota Legislature. There are 67 members, half as many as are in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In terms of membership, it is the largest upper house of any state legislature. Each Senate district in the state includes an A and B House...
's General Legislation Committee from 1967–1971, and the Higher Education Committee from 1971-1973.
Education
Worthington is served by Independent School District 518.High School: Worthington High School
Middle School: Worthington Middle School
Elementary School: Prairie Elementary School
Community/Technical College: Minnesota West Community and Technical College
External links
- City of Worthington, MN -- Government site
- Community Web Site of Worthington, Minnesota
- Worthington's Volunteer Literacy Program
- Historic Dayton House
- Video: the Very First King Turkey Day
- Video: the Unvarnished Music Festival, an annual event in Worthington
- Videodocumentary on George Dayton and the Dayton House
- Worthington Daily Globe newspaper site
- Worthington Windsurfing Regatta and Unvarnished Music Festival