53-547: Holdingford is a city in Stearns County , Minnesota , United States. The population was 708 at the 2010 census . It claims to be "The Gateway to Lake Wobegon ", the fictional central Minnesota town created by author Garrison Keillor . Holdingford is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area . Writing in 1997, Jewish-American historian of America's religious architecture Marilyn J. Chiat described early settlement in
106-453: A booze runner who has had many conflicts with the law. At the time of his death, a Federal charge of illegal possession of liquor was hanging over his head, the trial being scheduled for later in the year. It is alleged that he peddled liquor at dance halls over a wide area and other rumors credit him with having hijacked many liquor runners in this section of the State." Following the 1941 entry of
159-697: A family with roots in the parish removed the bell from St. Mary's church in Holdingford and gave it as a donation to Holy Myrrh Bearers Orthodox Church in St. Cloud. The only priest who lies buried in St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church cemetery in Holdingford is Fr. H. William Wilkens. According to his 1914 obituaries in local newspapers, Fr. Wilkens was a member of the Belgian nobility from Namur , and former seminary professor in Galveston, Texas . After concerns about his health forced
212-523: A household in the city was $ 34,000, and the median income for a family was $ 42,788. Males had a median income of $ 31,053 versus $ 21,141 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 15,410. About 6.2% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line , including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over. Holdingford Public Schools are part of the Holdingford Public School District. Schools in
265-472: A household in the county was $ 42,426, and the median income for a family was $ 51,553. Males had a median income of $ 34,268 versus $ 23,393 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 19,211. About 4.30% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the poverty line , including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over. In its early history Stearns County was heavily Democratic due to being largely German Catholic and opposed to
318-581: A loaded shotgun. As he and Buchan fled back to their escape vehicle, Tuffy Olson received two fatal shotgun blasts in the back. Following an investigation by the Stearns and Todd County Sheriff's Departments, Tuffy's two surviving enforcers and the Dzierweczynski brothers were both arrested pending criminal charges. According to the Long Prairie Leader , "Tuffy Olson has for years had a reputation of being
371-456: A recognized ethnicity today), and in 1905 negotiated with the Canadian authorities to establish the St. Peter Colony in north-central Saskatchewan ." The first courthouse was put into service on July 12, 1864, and it remained in use until the present courthouse was dedicated in 1922. In 1913 a campaign was mounted to shift the county seat to Albany , due to its more central location. The effort
424-504: A transfer to the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Cloud , Fr. Wilkens served at a series of local parishes. He also became very well known locally in the decades before his death as a highly intelligent German-language essayist on religious and philosophical topics and a regular contributor to Der Nordstern . Similarly to other Stearns County German- and Polish-American communities, the Holdingford area opposed American entry into
477-415: Is devoted to agriculture or has been developed. The terrain slopes to the east and south, with its highest point a local protuberance at 7.6 miles (12.2 km) west and 1.6 miles (2.6 km) south of St. Joseph , at 1,461 ft (445 m) ASL. The county's total area is 1,390 square miles (3,600 km ), of which 1,343 square miles (3,480 km ) is land and 47 square miles (120 km ) (3.4%)
530-911: Is now Stearns County, each centered on a church-oriented hamlet. As the farmers prospered, the small frame churches were replaced by more substantial buildings of brick or stone such as St. Mary, Help of Christians , a Gothic Revival stone structure built in 1873. Stearns County retains in its German character and is still home to one of the largest rural Catholic populations in Anglo-America." Furthermore, according to Kathleen Neils Conzen, "Stearns County Germans early established daughter settlements at West Union in Todd County , Millerville in Douglas County , and Pierz in Morrison County, later flooded into North Dakota (where 'Stearns County German' remains
583-588: Is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area , which is also included in the Minneapolis - St. Paul Combined Statistical Area . The Stearns County area was formerly occupied by numerous indigenous tribes, such as the Sioux ( Dakota ), Chippewa ( Ojibwe ) and Winnebago ( Ho-chunk ). The first large immigration was of German Catholics in the 1850s. Early arrivals also came from eastern states. The Wisconsin Territory
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#1732859388834636-601: Is water. The northeastern border of Stearns County is formed by the Mississippi River. The land consists of rolling hills, scenic lakes, prairies, savannas and woodlands of a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees. Stearns is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils. The county has 166 lakes. Source: Sources: Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from
689-521: The First World War , but produced many local recruits and draftees once America declared war on Imperial Germany in May 1917. In November 1917, the largely German-American parish of St. Mary's heard a "very impressive sermon" on American patriotism by Fr. Scheuer followed by the presentation of the parish's service flag, which bore 15-stars in honor of each of the young men from the parish who were serving in
742-662: The United States military . America's Independence Day 1918 was understandingly the largest ever seen in Holdingford, beginning with a Requiem Mass at St. Hedwig's Church for the fallen soldiers of all the Allied Armies, followed by a dinner served at noon by the women of the parish. Five Holdingford-area Doughboys lost their lives while serving in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), Private Nicholas Heinz, who died on 13 September 1918 from wounds received in
795-643: The 2 September capture of a German machine gun nest near Vilcey-sur-Trey , for which he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross ; Ernest Roehrs, who died of the influenza on Sept. 29, 1918 at Camp Funston , Kansas; Gregor Hartung, who was killed in action on France in October 1918; John Elkanic who was killed in action on 22 October 1918 and buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial ; and Private Francis Feia who
848-768: The Head of the Japanese Orthodox Church , also served at St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church in Holdingford as a Reader and schoolteacher. The parish altar lamp was a personal gift from Tsar Nicholas II . During the 1920s and '30s, the Russian Orthodox priests from Holdingford sometimes made missionary visits to the Rusyn Americans living in a similar farming settlement in Browerville, Minnesota . They made some converts, but otherwise had little success. The Divine Liturgy
901-670: The Pitzl Brewery in New Munich and Holdingford. The other suspects were Stanley Dobis of St. Anna , as well as Albin Bohmer and Joseph Sigmeth of Avon, Minnesota . All were held in Minneapolis pending trial on Federal charges of violating the Volstead Act . According to local historian Fr. Vincent A Yzermans, during the Prohibition era , "a popular little ditty was being sung and hummed along
954-691: The United States into the Second World War , young men from every ethnic background living in Holding Township became voluntary recruits to the United States military . In April 1944, Holdingford native Private Walter Krystosek was killed in action at the Anzio landing . On New Years Day 1945, Clarence Scepaniak, was a paratrooper serving in the European Theater with the 17th Airborne Division when he
1007-425: The age of 18 living with them, 44.8% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.9% were non-families. 32.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92. The median age in
1060-412: The book Mabou Pioneers , one elderly Holdingford settler recalled, "As I look back, I can remember they were a jolly group of people, and when all their children were born, they made quite a gathering when they were all together at parties in their different homes, with singing of Scottish songs , violin music , and of course, dancing Scottish reels ." The Highland Scottish dancing at local ceilidhs
1113-559: The city was 37.3 years. 25.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 25.1% were from 25 to 44; 25.2% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.7% male and 49.3% female. As of the census of 2000, there were 736 people, 286 households, and 197 families living in the city. The population density was 1,182.1 inhabitants per square mile (456.4/km). There were 297 housing units at an average density of 477.0 per square mile (184.2/km). The racial makeup of
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#17328593888341166-464: The city was 99.18% White , 0.54% Asian , and 0.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.14% of the population. There were 286 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.8% had someone living alone who
1219-420: The city. The population density was 832.9 inhabitants per square mile (321.6/km). There were 330 housing units at an average density of 388.2 per square mile (149.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 98.6% White , 0.1% Asian , 0.4% Pacific Islander , and 0.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population. There were 306 households, of which 29.7% had children under
1272-508: The county's isolationism gave strong support to William Lemke ’s Union Party . Stearns County turned Republican until another Catholic nominee, John F. Kennedy , returned it to the Democratic ranks after being one of only 130 counties nationwide to back George McGovern in 1972. Since the “Reagan Revolution”, Stearns County has voted reliably Republican, with no Democrat gaining a majority since Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton in 1996
1325-512: The district include Holdingford Elementary School and Holdingford High School. Holdingford Elementary serves Preschool to 6th grade, and Holdingford High School serves Grades 7–12. The Holdingford Huskers are expanding in the sports area. They have baseball/softball, volleyball, football, basketball, tennis, swimming, track, wrestling, and cheerleading. Stearns County Road 9 (4th Street), Stearns County Road 17 (River Street), and Main Street are three of
1378-477: The earliest settlers and founders of St. Mary's Church were Irish-Americans and Canadian Gaelic -speaking immigrants from Sight Point, Cape Mabou , Cape Breton , Nova Scotia . For this reason, Holdingford was originally called, "The Scotch Settlement." The early Scottish-Canadian pioneers of Holdingford included descendants of Clan Stewart , Clan MacArthur , Clan Campbell , Clan Kennedy , and Clan MacPherson . In an interview with Rev. Alex D. MacDonald for
1431-443: The farmers prospered, the small frame churches were replaced by more substantial buildings of brick or stone... Stearns County retains in its German character and is still home to one of the largest rural Catholic populations in Anglo-America." Holdingford was platted in the 1870s by Randolph Holding on a site near a ford. A post office has been in operation at Holdingford since 1872. According to local historian Fr. Vincent Yzermans,
1484-482: The farmhouse of Holdingford bootleggers Joseph and Anthony Dzierweczynski to buy 85 gallons of Minnesota 13 , Tuffy Olson first announced that the Dzierweczynskis would now be paid in cash. Then, however, Tuffy Olson and his enforcer Harley Buchan drew their sidearms and announced that they intended to take to 85 gallons of moonshine for free. Joseph Dzierweczynski, however, managed to flee the room and returned with
1537-484: The highways and byways of Holding Township": In June 1933, Clarence Olson, alias Tuffy, a bootlegger and gangster based in Eagle Bend, Minnesota who, according to The Long Prairie Leader , "has long had a reputation as a liquor runner and hijacker and who has been claimed by many to be the toughest man between Minneapolis and Duluth ", met his destiny in a Holdingford area gunfight. After arriving with two associates at
1590-557: The influence of visiting theology student John Sabol in 1886, founded the Slovak Congregational Church, locally called "the Country Church", which still stands across a country road from the former site of St. Mary's Orthodox Church. In 1902, Bishop Tikhon , the future Patriarch of Moscow , travelled from Minneapolis to bless the first completed Orthodox Church. While still a seminarian, Vasily Basalyga, who later became
1643-652: The main routes in the community. Holdingford is home to the longest covered bridge in Minnesota. The bridge is located along the Lake Wobegon Trail extension that runs from Albany past Holdingford. It is 186 feet (57 m) long and was built in 2008 by the Holdingford Lions club. Each May since 2008, runners in the Lake Wobegon Trail Marathon start in Holdingford before running 26.2 miles south on
Holdingford, Minnesota - Misplaced Pages Continue
1696-514: The mutual distrust, attended different Catholic parishes and only rarely intermarried. The Holdingford area remains, however, a center of traditional German and Polish folk music and of the speaking in local homes of both Silesian Polish and "Stearns County German". During the 1880s and '90s, a small farming colony of Slovaks and Rusyns migrated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire via Pennsylvania , and then settled on homesteads to
1749-582: The naming of three county commissioners and specified St. Cloud as the county seat. Writing in 1997, Jewish-American historian of America's religious architecture Marilyn J. Chiat commented, "Father Francis X. Pierz , a missionary to Indians in central Minnesota, published a series of articles in 1851 in German Catholic newspapers advocating Catholic settlement in central Minnesota. Large numbers of immigrants, mainly German, but also Slovenian and Polish , responded. Over 20 parishes where formed in what
1802-652: The northeast of Holdingford. The immigrants were mainly Roman Catholics , or Byzantine Catholics from the Slovak Greek Catholic Church or the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church , but enough converted to the Russian Orthodox Church that, with the assistance of Fr. John Maliarevsky from St. Mary's Cathedral in Minneapolis , they were able to build St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Church around 1897. Local converts to Protestantism under
1855-452: The only one to manage a plurality. The county's growing social conservative bent has fueled the Republican trend. In 2016 Donald Trump won the county with 59.8% of the vote, the highest percentage any presidential candidate has received since President Eisenhower in 1956. He improved on that in 2020 with 60.1% of the vote. As of 2024, one city in the county leans Democratic: St. Cloud ,
1908-412: The pietistic Scandinavian Lutheran Republican Party of that era . It did not vote Republican until Theodore Roosevelt swept every Minnesota county in 1904. Anti- Woodrow Wilson feeling from World War I caused the county to shift overwhelmingly to Warren G. Harding in 1920 before swinging to Robert M. La Follette , coreligionist Al Smith and fellow “wet” Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt . In 1936
1961-438: The population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 56.9% were of German and 9.4% Norwegian ancestry. There were 47,604 households, out of which 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.40% had someone living alone who
2014-588: The racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. As of the census of 2000, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families in the county. The population density was 99.2 per square mile (38.3/km ). There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of 37.4 per square mile (14.4/km ). The racial makeup of the county was 95.99% White , 0.83% Black or African American , 0.26% Native American , 1.58% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.47% from other races , and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.37% of
2067-406: The region, "Father Francis X. Pierz , a missionary to Indians in central Minnesota, published a series of articles in 1851 in German Catholic newspapers advocating Catholic settlement in central Minnesota. Large numbers of immigrants, mainly German , but also Slovenian and Polish , responded. Over 20 parishes where formed in what is now Stearns County, each centered on a church-oriented hamlet. As
2120-577: The surrounding communities of Bowlus , Upsala , Browerville, and St. Cloud . During the late 1980s, however, the parish "metrical books" were transferred to the Cathedral in Minneapolis and the Church was closed. Writing in 1997, Marilyn J. Chiat , described the empty church as, "a small white Gothic Revival building crowned with a tin onion dome , a rare sight on the edge of a cornfield in Minnesota." In 2002,
2173-518: The trail to St. Joseph . Stearns County, Minnesota Stearns County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota . As of the 2020 census , the population was 158,292. Its county seat and largest city is St. Cloud . Included within the Minnesota Territory since 1849, the county was founded by European Americans in 1855. It was originally named for Isaac Ingalls Stevens , then renamed for Charles Thomas Stearns . Stearns County
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2226-452: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.13. In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males. The median income for
2279-441: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15. The county population contained 25.70% under the age of 18, 16.10% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.80 males. The median income for
2332-589: Was because organized crime figures from the Twin Cities , Chicago , and Kansas City , made frequent trips to the Holdingford area to purchase Minnesota 13 ; a very high quality moonshine distilled locally by Polish- and German-American farmers with the collusion of corrupt local politicians and law enforcement. In October 1923, four Stearns County residents, including mobbed up County Commissioner Val Herman, were arrested by Federal Prohibition Enforcement Agents following an extremely violent car chase between
2385-639: Was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as Wisconsin ) in 1848. The federal government set up the Minnesota Territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. The original counties had portions partitioned off in 1851 to create Cass County and in 1853 to create Sibley , Pierce , and Nicollet counties. In 1855 parts of those counties were partitioned off to create Stearns County. It
2438-481: Was killed in action aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor , were posthumously identified through DNA testing by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency and returned to his family for burial. Kerestes' whole 25-mile funeral route from Melrose to Holdingford was lined with local people who wished to pay their respects as his American flag -draped casket passed by. Kerestes'
2491-499: Was killed in action on the fall of 1918 and whose Polish-American parents only received definitive word of his death on 12 July 1919. A Tridentine Requiem Mass was offered for Pvt. Feia at St Hedwig's Church on 21 July 1919. Holdingford's American Legion Post #211 was later named in Private Feia's honor. During Prohibition , Holdingford earned the title of "moonshine capital of Minnesota". According to historian Elaine Davis, this
2544-631: Was not successful. Stearns County was also founded off of farmers' markets and crop trades, making it one of the top grossing crop producing counties in the state of Minnesota. Stearns County borders nine counties. The Mississippi River flows southeast along its northeast border, and the Sauk River drains the central part of the county into the Mississippi at St. Cloud . The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, lightly wooded, dotted with lakes and ponds, and carved with drainages. All available area
2597-602: Was often "a source of scandal" to their Steans County German neighbors. Despite the later Germanisation and Polonisation of both parishes in Holdingford, Fr. Vincent Yzermans often heard the famous lines from the Canadian Boat Song quoted in later years by the descendants of the Holdingford Scottish-Americans who had stayed, As the Holdingford area is traditionally ethnically polarized between German- and Polish-Americans, who until assimilation lessened
2650-827: Was still offered in the traditional Old Church Slavonic liturgical language and only in 1978 did the Orthodox Church in America , which supplied the Orthodox priests who still visited St. Mary's, switch to Elizabethan English instead. In August 1978, the 14th-century Wonder Working Icon of the Our Lady of Tikhvin was brought for veneration from Holy Trinity Cathedral in Chicago to St Mary's Russian Orthodox Church in Holdingford, by Archbishop John of Chicago and Minneapolis . As of 1985, however, Orthodox laity continued to attend services from
2703-401: Was taken prisoner by the enemy. After being held as a POW in conditions that traumatized him for the rest of his life at Stalag IV-B , Scepaniak was liberated and returned him to Holdingford. He remained silent about his experiences until finally giving an interview about them in 1985. In July 2017, the remains of United States Navy Fireman First Class Elmer Kerestes, a Holdingford native who
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#17328593888342756-510: Was then buried next to his parents in Holdingford with full military honors . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 0.85 square miles (2.20 km), all land. Holdingford is located nine miles north of the city of Avon at Interstate 94 in central Minnesota. The city of Albany is also nearby. As of the census of 2010, there were 708 people, 306 households, and 190 families living in
2809-478: Was to be named Stevens County for territorial governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens , who had conducted an expedition through the area in 1853, but due to a clerical error, the county was named Stearns for Charles Thomas Stearns, a member of the Territorial Council. (To compensate for this error the area two counties west was later named Stevens County .) The February 20, 1855, act that created the county directed
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