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Otsego, Minnesota

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Otsego City. It lies in ZIP code area 55330. The Survey maps it on the Elk River quadrangle. 19,966 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 879 feet above sea level.

Otsego within Wright County

Population over time

2 figures

Otsego grew from 13,571 to 19,966 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
201013,571
202019,966+6,395 (+47%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 13 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

2,441 words on this township

History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915 names this settlement in its chapter on Otsego City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Otsego township is in the northeastern part of Wright county, and embraces the east half of township 121, range 24, and fractional township 121, range 23, covering in all some 20,000 acres, spread over about thirty sections. It is bounded on the north and east by the Mississippi river, for a short distance on the east by the Crow river, on the south by Frankfort township, and on the west. by Monticello township.

Passage source: History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915.

From 1850 or 185] to 1854 the Winnebago Indians had a settlement in Otsego township, and Samuel E. Carrick, a fur trader, was located here with them. The Winnebago reservation was north of the Watab river, but they had gradually wandered into Wright county and established themselves here. Carrick located here permanently late in 1852.

Passage source: History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915.

The first permanent white settlers in Otsego were John MeDonald, Sr., and David MePherson, They arrived about July 31, 1852. McPherson remained here a few years and then went to Pike's Peak. John McDonald, Sr., remained here. Other early settlers were Charles Laplant, Caleb Chase, Alvah Cooley, D. L, Ingersoll, Archie Downie, Otis T. True, Dudley P. Chase, Ezra Tubbs, Josiah B. Loeke, Henry Heap, Philip Boyden and A. J. Wood.

Passage source: History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915.

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 Otsego City - it names this place 11 more 11 times.

Fires near this place

74 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 74 fires within 5 miles of Otsego between 1992 and 2020, burning about 209 acres in total. None started naturally. 6 were 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
Debris and open burning28
Railroad operations and maintenance15
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Arson/incendiarism6
Smoking5
Equipment and vehicle use4
Other causes2
Recreation and ceremony1
Misuse of fire by a minor1

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
24 September 1999Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 August 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 August 2006Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
8 June 1997Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 June 1992Misuse of fire by a minorunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
22 June 1998Railroad operations and maintenance1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
13 June 1997Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
8 May 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Wright County

Mines and quarries near this place

8 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Otsego: 7 producers, 1 prospect. 7 still produce. What was taken out: 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
Barton Pit No 715Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Barton Pit No 717Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Country Club PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProspect
Elk River PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Elk River Sand & GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Hanson Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Kreger Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Malstrom Pit No 726Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Wright County

Storms near this place

18 since 2005

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Otsego in 18 storm reports between 2005 and 2023: 13 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning. The reports record 2 injuries. 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
September 2005LightningOtsego2 hurtTwo people sustained minor injuries when lightning struck a nearby tree.
September 2005HailOtsego$25,000,000Hail damaged roofs and siding of houses, as well as many vehicles. Property damage total includes damage from across all of Wright County from 9-21-05.
April 2016LightningOtsego$500,000The morning of Sunday, April 24th, a thunderstorm moved across eastern Minnesota. Lightning struck one home in Otsego around 5 AM LST and caught fire. Then the fire and high winds spread the fire to two additional homes in the neighborhood. One home was completely destroyed while the others had extensive fire, water and smoke damage. No one was injured.
June 2015HailOtsego$5,000Numerous reports of large hail occurred for several minutes around the city of Otsego. The largest hail stone was golf ball size. The local emergency manager indicated some crop damage around Otsego.
September 2019Thunderstorm WindOtsego-A measured wind report from a private weather station.
September 2006Thunderstorm WindOtsego-Twelve by sixteen foot farm outbuilding blown into ditch. 23 homes suffered minor damage. Scattered trees were felled.
September 2005Thunderstorm WindOtsego-Pole barn roof torn off.
July 2023HailOtsego-no account filed
July 2019HailOtsego-no account filed
July 2019HailOtsego-no account filed
May 2011HailOtsego-no account filed
May 2008HailOtsego-no account filed
May 2008HailOtsego-no account filed
May 2008HailOtsego-no account filed
July 2007HailOtsego-no account filed
September 2007HailOtsego-no account filed
August 2006HailOtsego-no account filed
September 2005HailOtsego-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wright 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
Albertville4.2 miles15
Saint Michael5.9 miles15
Hanover9.1 miles15
Monticello11.0 miles16
Rockford14.9 miles15
Rockford Riverview Estates15.4 miles15
Buffalo Manor East15.7 miles12
Bufflao Manor15.8 miles12

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 OtsegoAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q990850The 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 649039. 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.