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Wastedo, Minnesota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1989. It stands in Leon Township. It lies in ZIP code area 55009. The Survey maps it on the White Rock quadrangle.

Wastedo within Goodhue County

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

8,812 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 Leon Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

During 1857 E. A. Sargent built the first store erected in the township, and stocked it, but after a few years discontinued it. In 1868, M. T. Opsal built a small store and filled it with goods. Trade soon compelled him to enlarge the building, and he is now carrying on a thriving business.

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.

EDSTROM, M.9 farmer, sec. 21, P. 0. Wastedo. Owns 140 acres, worth $6,000. Was born in Sweden in 1812. Came to America in 1854, settling in Henry county, 111., where he remained until the spring of 1855, when he moved to this township, where he has since resided. Married Mary Eles in Sweden. Their children are - John A., Charles, Christine, August, Mary, Axel and Ferdinand. The eldest son, John A., resides on sec. 28, P. 0. Wastedo. Owns 135 acres, worth $6,500. He was born in Sweden, July 12, 1848. Came to America and to this township with parents. Was elected township clerk in 1873, and has been elected at

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.

C. Magnuson, Aug, 3, 1872, in Vasa township. She was born in Sweden. They have had but one child, Albert M., born Jan. 18, 1877, but died when two months old. The second son, Charles, residing on sec. 16, P. 0. Wastedo, was born in Sweden, Feb. 14, 1850. Came to America and to this township with parents. Owns 130 acres, worth $6,000. Married Christine Johnson in 1876. She was born in this township. Their children are - Martha E. and Emma M. Has held the office of township supervisor, is Republican, and member of the Swedish Lutheran Church.

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 Leon Township - it names this place 9 more 9 times.

Fires near this place

7 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 7 fires within 5 miles of Wastedo between 1994 and 2015, burning about 68 acres 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/undetermined2
Debris and open burning2
Smoking1
Recreation and ceremony1
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
30 April 2013Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
23 April 1994Debris and open burning1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 April 1994Smoking1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 April 1994Debris and open burning50 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 November 2012Recreation and ceremony10 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 October 2015Equipment and vehicle use5.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 October 2003Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresMinnesota 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

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Wastedo: 4 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
County QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Hader Quarry & MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Roscoe QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Spring Garden QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Goodhue County

Storms near this place

13 since 2006

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Wastedo in 13 storm reports between 2006 and 2026: 7 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 1 flash flood. 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
April 2022Thunderstorm WindWastedo$5,000A large tree was blown down. The tree landed on a parked vehicle and damaged it.
April 2026HailWastedo-Several very large hail stones roughly 2.5 inches in diameter fell near Urland Church on Goodhue County 9.
April 2022Thunderstorm WindWastedo-There was sporadic tree damage southeast of Cannon Falls, but nothing too concentrated or significant.
June 2021HailWastedo-The hail was measured and was the second wave of large hail within an hour.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindWastedo-A 75 mph wind gust was measured south of Cannon Falls. Sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph were also measured for 10 minutes.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindWastedo-A MNDOT sensor measured a wind gust south of Cannon Falls along Highway 52.
June 2012Flash FloodWastedo-Excessive rainfall in a short period of time caused Highway 52 to close due to flood waters over the roadway.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindWastedo-The Minnesota Department of Transportation Wind Sensor measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindWastedo-An automated Minnesota Department of Transportation Weather Station measured a wind gust of 59 mph.
April 2026HailWastedo-no account filed
April 2026HailWastedo-no account filed
May 2017Thunderstorm WindWastedo-no account filed
June 2006HailWastedo-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
Hader3.8 miles11
Sogn4.1 miles11
Belle Creek4.9 miles11
Nansen5.7 miles11
White Rock5.7 miles11
Wangs6.8 miles11
Ryan7.3 miles10
Cannon Falls7.6 miles11

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 654996. 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.