Geography
Org is located approximately four miles southwest of Worthington on Minnesota State Highway 60 and U.S. Route 59. It lies directly adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad's Minneapolis-to-Omaha Line.
Main highways include:
Org | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates: 43°34′53″N95°39′06″W / 43.58139°N 95.65167°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Minnesota |
| County | Nobles |
| Elevation | 1,660 ft (510 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 56187 |
| Area code | 507 |
| GNIS feature ID | 649856 [1] |
Org is an unincorporated community in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. [2]
Org is located approximately four miles southwest of Worthington on Minnesota State Highway 60 and U.S. Route 59. It lies directly adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad's Minneapolis-to-Omaha Line.
Main highways include:
Org was originally called Islen, after Adrian C. Iselin, one of the directors of the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad Company. The year was 1872, and no town existed. Iselin consisted of a section house and a water-stop. Steam locomotives consumed enormous quantities of water, and water-stops were established every 8 to 12 miles along any rail route. Iselin was one of these. When the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad Company built a spur line from Iselin to Sioux Falls in 1876, the name of the site was changed to Sioux Falls Junction. In 1890 the name was changed to Org by W.A. Scott, a general manager of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, the company that absorbed the St. Paul and Sioux City Railroad Company. He considered the railroad junction an ideal location for a town. The significance of the name "Org" remains obscure; it may be derived from "dog". [3] The town was platted in 1899, and a railroad station was built on the Chicago & Northwestern Railway's main St Paul to Sioux City line. [4] Even though Org never became incorporated, a post office was established between 1895-1917. [5]
Two American presidents briefly visited Org. Theodore Roosevelt traveled through Org when he was running for president in 1912 as the Bull Moose Party candidate. Woodrow Wilson passed through in 1919 on his nationwide tour to sell the Treaty of Versailles to the nation. Roosevelt actually stopped in Org and spoke from the back of his train. Wilson's train merely slowed enough to switch from the main Chicago & Northwestern track to the Sioux Falls spur line.
For many years, the town had but one street—the old wagon road that connected Worthington, Minnesota with Sibley, Iowa. When a paved highway was built in 1931 (U.S. Route 59 / Minnesota State Highway 60), it paralleled the wagon road about 50 yards to the southeast. A one-block long road was constructed connecting the two existing roads, and this third roadway became Org's main business district, at one time boasting several businesses. In its heyday, the town had a post office, a railroad station, a grain elevator, a general store, a lumber company, a coal company, and a filling station. [6]
The Sioux Falls spur line of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway was never widely used, and by the 1950s, the line was all but abandoned. Org's decline soon followed. The grain elevator and railroad station closed. The general store and the filling station followed. By the 1970s, the town consisted of just a few family homes, an abandoned grain elevator, and several dilapidated buildings.
The last person who claimed to be Mayor of Org, Mark Marcotte, left the town circa 1980, though there is no evidence that Mr. Marcott was actually elected to that post. In 2000, Org's original roadway was downgraded to a "minimum maintenance roadway", and by 2010, many of the remaining homes were bought up by the State of Minnesota to make way for the upgrading of Minnesota State Highway 60 from two lanes to four lanes. The former Chicago & Northwestern Railroad line is now operated by Union Pacific, and is busier than ever. But as for Org, nearly every trace of the town is gone.
Org is located in Bigelow Township which is located in Minnesota's 1st congressional district, represented by Mankato educator Tim Walz, a Democrat. At the state level, Org is located in Senate District 22, represented by Republican Doug Magnus, and in House District 22B, represented by Republican Rod Hamilton.
Org is in Bigelow Township and is represented by Nobles County Commissioner Matt Widboom.
Nobles County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,290. Its county seat is Worthington. Nobles County comprises the Worthington, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Shelby Township is a township in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 294 as of the 2000 census.
Adrian is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,209 at the 2010 census.
Bigelow is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 235 at the 2010 census.
Brewster is a city in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 473 at the 2010 census.
Rushmore is a town in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 342 at the 2010 census.
Worthington is a city in and the county seat of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,947 at the time of the 2020 census.
The Minnesota Commercial Railway is a short line railroad in the United States.
The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway or Omaha Road was a railroad in the U.S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota. It was incorporated in 1880 as a consolidation of the Chicago, St. Paul and Minneapolis Railway and the North Wisconsin Railway. The Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW) gained control in 1882. The C&NW leased the Omaha Road in 1957 and merged the company into itself in 1972. Portions of the C. St. P. M. and O. are part of the Union Pacific Railroad network. This includes main lines from Wyeville, Wisconsin, to St. Paul, Minnesota, and St. Paul to Sioux City, Iowa.
The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (M&StL) was an American Class I railroad that built and operated lines radiating south and west from Minneapolis, Minnesota for 90 years from 1870 to 1960. The railway never reached St. Louis but its North Star Limited passenger train ran to that city via the Wabash Railroad.
Transportation in the U.S. State of Minnesota consists of a complex network of roadways, railways, waterways and airports. The transportation system is generally overseen by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, a cabinet-level agency of the state government. Additionally, regional governments such as the Metropolitan Council have authority over regional planning for the transportation system and local governments such as cities and counties oversee the local transportation network.
South Dakota Highway 11 (SD 11) is a 77.724-mile (125.085 km) state highway in eastern South Dakota, United States. It connects the northern part of the Sioux City metropolitan area with the Sioux Falls metropolitan area.
The Minnesota Southern Railway was a shortline railroad in the states of Minnesota and South Dakota in the United States.
Reading is an unincorporated community in Nobles County, Minnesota, United States.
The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in turn, the result of merging several predecessor lines, the construction of which began in 1869. The corporate headquarters were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it had operations in Iowa and in Minnesota. It was succeeded by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.
The Tracy Subdivision or Tracy Sub is a railway line in southern Minnesota owned and operated by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad (DM&E) subsidiary of Canadian Pacific. It begins at the end of the Waseca Subdivision in Waseca, Minnesota in the east and runs approximately 124 miles (200 km) west to Tracy, Minnesota. At Tracy, the rails continue as the Huron Subdivision of the Rapid City, Pierre and Eastern Railroad (RCPE). U.S. Highway 14 closely follows the train route.
The Winona and St. Peter Railroad was a railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was founded in 1861 in Winona, Minnesota. The first 11 miles (18 km) from Winona to Stockton, Minnesota, were completed by the end of 1862, making the it the second operational railroad in Minnesota, after the St. Paul and Pacific Line from Saint Paul to St. Anthony Falls.
The Ellis and Eastern Company is a railroad owned and operated by Sweetman Construction Company.
The Worthington Subdivision or Worthington Sub is a railway line operated by Union Pacific Railroad. It runs generally southwest-northeast and begins at a siding in St. James Township, Minnesota, where the Mankato Subdivision ends, and it continues to Sioux City, Iowa. The line has yard facilities in Worthington and Sioux City, as well as a small yard north of Worthington in Hersey and Lorain townships called Elk Creek. The line passes through many small towns and villages with grain elevators along its route, and it is the origin of numerous grain unit trains.
The Beaver, Meade and Englewood Railroad (BM&E) extended from Beaver, Oklahoma to Keyes, Oklahoma in the Oklahoma Panhandle, about 105 miles. It was chartered in 1912, and abandoned in 1972.
Municipalities and communities of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States | ||
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