Clarkfield, MN

Clarkfield is a Yellow Medicine County city surrounded by Friendship Township, with U.S. 59 and Minnesota 67 meeting its small grid. The city was platted in 1884 and named for a railroad agent called Mr. Clark; a post office opened that year, and Clarkfield incorporated in 1887. The 2020 census counted 852 residents. Its location puts the town in the middle of the county's prairie and farm landscape, with highway routes carrying traffic toward nearby communities.

City Hall on 10th Avenue is the working center for council meetings, records, administration, and city services. Clarkfield also maintains utilities information, public works contacts, and a calendar of civic meetings and events. The old railroad name remains on the map even though the city's daily pattern is now built around roads, farms, school connections, and municipal services. Clarkfield has the scale of a small prairie city, where a short commercial grid and a handful of civic departments serve as the meeting point for the surrounding township.