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Kenyon, Minnesota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Kenyon City. It lies in ZIP code area 55946. It stands on Pearl Creek. The Survey maps it on the Kenyon quadrangle. 1,894 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,155 feet above sea level.

Kenyon within Goodhue County

On record in Kenyon

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 4 records

Population over time

2 figures

Kenyon grew from 1,815 to 1,894 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20101,815
20201,894+79 (+4%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

7 surveys from 11 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

4,984 words on this township

History of Goodhue County, Including a Sketch of the Territory and State of Minnesota; Together with an Account of the Early French Discoveries, Indian Massacres, the Part Borne by Minnesota's Patriots in the War of the Great Rebellion, and a Full and Complete History of the County from the Time of Its Occupancy by Swiss Missionaries in 1838. Pioneer Incidents, Biographical Sketches of Early and Prominent Settlers and Representative Men, and of Its Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc, published 1878 names this settlement in its chapter on Kenyon Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

There are two churches in the township: "Gol's" Church, in "Gol's district of the Holden Congregation." It is a stone building, erected on sec.' 5, in 1870, capable of seating 600 people. Rev. B. J. Muus, of Wanamingo, and his assistants, have charge of the district. The " Holden Congregation" has another district with a place of meeting in this township, named " Moland ;" many of the congregation, however, reside in Rice and Dodge counties.

Passage source: History of Goodhue County, Including a Sketch of the Territory and State of Minnesota; Together with an Account of the Early French Discoveries, Indian Massacres, the Part Borne by Minnesota's Patriots in the War of the Great Rebellion, and a Full and Complete History of the County from the Time of Its Occupancy by Swiss Missionaries in 1838. Pioneer Incidents, Biographical Sketches of Early and Prominent Settlers and Representative Men, and of Its Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc, published 1878.

In May, 1856, James H. Day and James M. LeDuc claimed the land on which the village now stands. Subsequently, two men, named Howe and Hilton, became part owners of the land, and by these four men the village was laid out and platted. James H. Day built the first residence in June, 1856, and the same summer the village company erected a building which was occupied by Crowley & Baker as a general store in the fall of the same year. Stephen Bullis built the first hotel in March, 1857, and the same year a steam saw mill was erected by the " Town Company."

Passage source: History of Goodhue County, Including a Sketch of the Territory and State of Minnesota; Together with an Account of the Early French Discoveries, Indian Massacres, the Part Borne by Minnesota's Patriots in the War of the Great Rebellion, and a Full and Complete History of the County from the Time of Its Occupancy by Swiss Missionaries in 1838. Pioneer Incidents, Biographical Sketches of Early and Prominent Settlers and Representative Men, and of Its Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc, published 1878.

Located on the north branch of the Zumbro River, about one mile from Kenyon village, was built in 1871, by a man named Gallish, who operated it about three years. It has, since then, changed owners several times, passing through the hands of Crowell & Gallish, D. B. Marble, Mann & Lucas, and came into the possession of the present proprietor, J. A. McReynolds, in November, 1877, who has repaired and improved it and added one run of stone, so that it now has four run of stone.

Passage source: History of Goodhue County, Including a Sketch of the Territory and State of Minnesota; Together with an Account of the Early French Discoveries, Indian Massacres, the Part Borne by Minnesota's Patriots in the War of the Great Rebellion, and a Full and Complete History of the County from the Time of Its Occupancy by Swiss Missionaries in 1838. Pioneer Incidents, Biographical Sketches of Early and Prominent Settlers and Representative Men, and of Its Cities, Towns, Churches, Schools, Secret Societies, Etc, published 1878.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Kenyon Township - it names this place 7 more 7 times.

Fires near this place

1 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Kenyon in 2015, burning under an acre in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
15 April 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Goodhue County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Kenyon: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Anderson Sand & Gravel PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Grose QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Wacobson QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Goodhue County

Storms near this place

33 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Kenyon in 33 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 17 thunderstorm wind, 8 hail, 3 tornado, 2 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2012Thunderstorm WindKenyon$250,000There were numerous reports of trees snapped, power lines and barns blown down, with injuries to livestock from Kenyon to Wanamingo and Zumbrota.
July 2022Thunderstorm WindKenyon$5,000Several large trees were blown down in Kenyon, including some taking down power lines.
April 2025Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Photos of roof damage to large commercial warehouse in Kenyon.
September 2024HailKenyon-Lots of hail occurred, with the largest being ping pong ball size.
September 2024HailKenyon-There were several reports of quarter to half dollar sized hail in Kenyon.
June 2024Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Several 14 to 24 inch diameter trees were downed.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Various trees and branches were reported down in and around Kenyon.
July 2023HailKenyon-Mix of quarter to half-dollar sized hail. Picture via Twitter.
May 2020Thunderstorm WindKenyon-A large tree limb was blown down at the corner of Red Wing Avenue and 1st Street.
September 2018Tornado (EF1)Kenyon-This is the continued tornado track from the Rice County tornado that moved an additional 1.4 miles northeast into Goodhue County. A storm survey, and high resolution satellite imagery, concluded that damage was associated with flattened corn and soy bean fields, and a loss of a silo's roof panel. The damage is consistent with EF1 damage with winds up to 90 mph, and a width of 100 yards.
August 2018Tornado (EF0)Kenyon-A storm survey determined that a tornado started just east of Nerstrand MN (in Rice County) and continued into Goodhue County, where is dissipated. It damaged trees and crops.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindKenyon-A social media video showed several large trees branches blown down, and a couple of large diameter trees uprooted near Kenyon. A local farm noted that their corn had been flattened near Kenyon.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindKenyon-A 8 inch diameter tree branch was blown across Highway 56, south of Kenyon.
September 2016Heavy RainKenyon-A local trained weather observer measured 5.16 inches of rainfall near Kenyon between Wednesday afternoon, September 21st, to the early morning of Thursday, September 22nd.
September 2016FloodKenyon-Runoff from torrential rainfall that occurred across most of southern Goodhue County Wednesday night, September 21st, caused numerous roads to remain impassable and closed.
July 2013Flash FloodKenyon-Several areas in the town of Kenyon had over six inches of flowing water in streets and county roads. This water drained into the Zumbro River system. Very heavy rain also fell to the north of Kenyon, in Holden Township, and this water drained into the Cannon River system. Eventually, there was high water on both the Cannon and Zumbro Rivers.
June 2012Heavy RainKenyon-A measured rainfall report of 4.54 inches occurred in less than 18 hours.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Few trees and power lines down.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Downed power lines.
August 2006HailKenyon-A two to three mile wide swath of very large hail extended from Northfield in Rice County to Wanamingo in Goodhue County. About 40,000 acres of crops were damaged or destroyed in Goodhue County. Vehicles, homes and businesses damaged. Damage total includes all storm reports from August 24 in Goodhue County.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Two trees were downed. One tree fell onto a garage.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Along 430th Street in Holden Township, Section 23, a large commodity shed was destroyed after 5 support beams were ripped from the structure. One of the beams was thrown 75 feet and the roof of the structure fell onto a tractor. Doors on two free standing barns were also damaged. In addition, a very large Maple tree that was estimated to be over 100 years old was felled.
June 2005HailKenyon-A newspaper published a picture of hail that fell in Kenyon that looked to be at least 1.25 inches in diameter.
July 2002Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Numerous trees down, chimney toppled.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Few trees and power lines down.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Trees down. Estimated windspeed. Also received 5 inches of rain.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed.
June 1995Thunderstorm WindKenyon-Large tree toppled by strong thunderstorm winds at Kenyon Country Club at 1657 CST. Four inches of rain flooded Highway 60 1.5 miles east of Kenyon. Water washed out part of the north shoulder and traffic was reduced to one lane. Kenyon Golf Course received three and one-half inches of rain in one hour. Five fairways that run parallel with the Zumbro River were flooded.
August 2007HailKenyon-no account filed
July 2007HailKenyon-no account filed
August 2006HailKenyon-no account filed
August 1999Funnel CloudKenyon-no account filed
June 1998Tornado (F0)Kenyon-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Goodhue County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Bombay5.0 miles11
Skyberg5.1 miles10
Nansen6.1 miles11
Wangs9.3 miles11
Dennison9.7 miles9
Sogn9.7 miles11
Wanamingo10.6 miles11
Wastedo11.6 miles11

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on KenyonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1938036The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 646112. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.