Katie Heintz walked Belgrade Avenue in lower North Mankato, enjoying the closed-off 200 block on Saturday afternoon. Much of her organizational work for the Bells on Belgrade celebration was finished.
“I set it all up and then I watch,” said Heintz, whose real job is as director of the North Mankato Taylor Library. “Well, at least until the parade starts.”
Heintz joined others in celebrating the fourth official quarterly celebration in recognition of the 125th anniversary of North Mankato’ incorporation. Saturday’s “old fashioned Christmas” and its events ran from 3 to 5:30 p.m., then wrapped up with a Christmas tree lighting and 6 p.m. parade.
“It’s a holiday and kind of a historical celebration this year,” Heintz added. “We’ve never done that before.”
North Mankato city clerk April Van Gendersen tended to some of the city’s historical placards, giving festival goers a brief glimpse at the community’s 125 years.
“It’s kind of a way to also celebrate our history,” she said.
North Mankato officially incorporated as a village on Dec. 19, 1898. Wendell Hodapp was elected the first village president two weeks later. An earlier proposed merger with neighboring Mankato was considered but never formalized. Instead, city founders moved quickly, establishing the path toward its own entity.
Van Gendersen noted that much of North Mankato’s historical documents are spread out a bit, with the city holding some and the Blue Earth County Historical Society others, but the majority reside with the Nicollet County Historical Society at the Treaty Site Museum in St. Peter.
North Mankato moved quickly to become a true city. Hodapp joined village council members and local residents outside the O.E. Bennett house at 322 Wheeler Ave., which is called the birthplace of North Mankato. The 1990 U.S. Census listed its population at 939.
Today, North Mankato’s population stands at 14,275 from the disputed 2020 U.S. Census, totaling just over six square miles. But the city’s recent history ties more closely with its partner across the Minnesota River, the city of Mankato. Together, the Greater Mankato area’s principal cities have a combined population of 58,763 as part of the Mankato-North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Van Gendersen said the Bells on Belgrade is about a decade old. As the final official event of North Mankato’s yearlong recognition of the 125th anniversary, it was a peaceful end to the city’s year. Other events throughout the year included a February 16 trivia contest, the May 13-17 weeklong celebration, including a scavenger hunt and ice cream social, and the September 19 “Music in the Park” and history tours.
While history was one of Saturday’s themes on Belgrade Avenue, the longest line throughout the afternoon was for Santa, as parents, grandparents and friends lined a sidewalk into the Frandsen Bank & Trust building for pictures and memories. Other popular attractions were the horse drawn trolley rides and the hot chocolate and Christmas cookies sponsored by the American Legion.
And hundreds lined the 6 p.m. parade route’s sidewalks on Belgrade, a stretch of lower north Mankato expected to see plenty of road construction next year. But this Saturday, North Mankato celebrated its young and the old.