Kerkhoven, MN

Kerkhoven sits on U.S. 12 in western Swift County, where the prairie town’s layout still follows the Great Northern railroad line. It was platted in 1870, incorporated as Pillsbury in 1881, and renamed Kerkhoven two years later for Johannes and Theodores Kerkhoven, brothers connected with the rail line from St. Paul to Willmar. A post office began in 1871, and the former rail stop grew into a local trading point. Monson Lake State Park occupies the city’s southeast corner, adding a wooded and water-based counterpoint to the open farmland.

Today Kerkhoven’s calendar runs through the Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg district, whose junior-senior high school stands on the west side of town and brings students together from three communities. Town and Country Days, the Pillsbury Push races, school sports, and community education give the city recurring reasons to fill its streets and gym. City offices meet twice monthly, while U.S. 12 points east toward the Twin Cities region and west across the prairie. Kerkhoven is a small rail-founded town that has kept its name, school ties, and local events in motion.