Holdingford

History

Historian of U.S. religious architecture Marilyn J. Chiat wrote of early settlement in 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 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 Vincent Yzermans, 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. Holdingford was originally called the "Scotch Settlement." Its Scottish-Canadian pioneers include descendants of Clan Stewart, Clan MacArthur, Clan Campbell, Clan Kennedy, and Clan MacPherson. In an interview with Reverend Alex D. MacDonald for 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 was often "a source of scandal" to their German…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , all land. Holdingford is nine miles north of Avon at Interstate 94. Albany is also nearby.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,036
• Red-winged Blackbird

  Agelaius phoeniceus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,689
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  1,672
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,658
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  1,376
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,303
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  1,236
• Killdeer

  Charadrius vociferus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,169

Largest nearby schools

• HOLDINGFORD ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · HOLDINGFORD · 594 students · 13.8:1 ratio
• Albany Area High School
  High · ALBANY · 536 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• ALBANY ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · ALBANY · 498 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• HOLDINGFORD SECONDARY
  High · HOLDINGFORD · 488 students · 27.1:1 ratio
• Albany Area Middle School
  Middle · ALBANY · 454 students · 28.4:1 ratio
• AVON ELEMENTARY
  Elementary · AVON · 300 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• ALC - Holdingford
  High · HOLDINGFORD

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2011-04-29
  Minnesota