La Crescent, Minnesota | |
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City | |
Nickname(s): "Apple Capital of Minnesota" | |
Location of La Crescent within Houston and Winona Counties in the state of Minnesota |
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Coordinates: 43°49′36″N 91°18′18″W / 43.82667°N 91.30500°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Minnesota |
Counties | Houston, Winona |
Government | |
• Type | Mayor – Council |
• Mayor | Mike Poellinger |
Area | |
• Total | 3.47 sq mi (8.99 km2) |
• Land | 2.94 sq mi (7.61 km2) |
• Water | 0.53 sq mi (1.37 km2) |
Elevation | 679 ft (207 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 4,830 |
• Estimate (2015) | 5,074 |
• Density | 1,642.9/sq mi (634.3/km2) |
Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
• Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP code | 55947 |
Area code(s) | 507 |
FIPS code | 27-33866 |
GNIS feature ID | 0646292 |
La Crescent is a city in Houston and Winona counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 4,830 at the 2010 census.
Most of La Crescent is located within Houston County with only a small portion in Winona County. La Crescent is known as the "Apple Capital of Minnesota" because John S. Harris planted the first apple trees in the midwest here and there are many orchards located near the city.
Sitting on the banks of the Mississippi River, La Crescent, Minnesota is surrounded by beautiful bluffs with spectacular views of the river. Humans have inhabited this area, which is abundant with wildlife, for thousands of years. The most recent inhabitants before the arrival of white settlers were the Dakota Indians, who were a branch of the Sioux, and the Winnebago.
Following the 1803 Louisiana Purchase, Nathan Boone, youngest son of Daniel Boone was among the early surveyors of this area. The various Indian tribes who had lived here were relocated in the 1840s to accommodate white settlement.
La Crescent was founded in 1851 by Peter Cameron and was originally called "Camerons". Peter and his wife, Emma, were two of the town's most colorful characters. Peter tried to dig a canal to change the flow of the Mississippi River so it would flow closer to La Crescent and bypass La Crosse, Wisconsin across the river. He died 10 weeks before its scheduled completion in 1857, and the canal was never finished, although the canal can still be seen in aerial photographs of the city. The Presbyterian missionary Sheldon Jackson lived in La Crescent prior to 1872, when he moved westward to Denver and later Alaska.