Reading is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

in Nobles County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States.

Geography

Reading is northwest of Worthington. According to A.P Rose's History of Nobles County, Reading is nearer to the geographic center of the county than any other community.A.P. Rose's History of Nobles County
/ref> Reading has a post office with ZIP code 56165.ZIP Code Lookup
/ref> Main highways include: * Minnesota State Highway 266 Discontinued in 2003 – renamed Nobles County Road 25 * Nobles County Road 25

History

Founding of Reading

Much of the land that the community of Reading now occupies was claimed by H.H. Read in 1876. He farmed the land for 23 years until the

Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway 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 ...

arrived in 1899. Thomas H. Brown, Burlington's right-of-way man, purchased 27 acres of land from Read for the purpose of establishing a townsite. He also purchased 20 more acres from Worthington banker and real estate dealer George Dayton. Dayton later went on to found the

Dayton's Dayton's was an American department store chain founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1902 by George Draper Dayton. It operated several local high-end department stores throughout Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for almost 100 years. Although i ...

Department Store chain. In the fall of 1899, A. J. Keller arrived on the first train and took up his duties as station agent. Early in 1900, H. H. Douglas and the Rothchild Grain Company both built grain elevators in Reading after flipping a coin to determine location. Coal and lumber yards were quickly established by James S Ramage. By the time the town was surveyed and platted in the summer of 1900, a general store, a hardware store, a blacksmith shop, and a restaurant had been added to Reading's list of businesses. The Summit Lake Presbyterian Church was moved into town from the country, and a small school house was also moved into town to educate the youth of Reading. The Reading State Bank was established in 1902. The Farmer's Mutual Telephone Company was established in 1905 with lines connecting to Rushmore, Wilmont, and

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

Later history

The Burlington Railroad was later taken over by the

Rock Island Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

, and operated until the 1970s. In the 1980s, the line was abandoned and the tracks were torn up. Minnesota State Highway 266 was constructed in 1949, connecting Worthington, Reading, and Wilmont. The State of Minnesota maintained the highway for 50 years, but responsibility for upkeep was transferred to Nobles County in 2003. It has been renamed Nobles County Road 25.

Politics

Reading is located in

Minnesota's 1st congressional district Minnesota's 1st congressional district spans southern Minnesota from the border with South Dakota to the border with Wisconsin. It is a primarily rural district built on a strong history of agriculture, though this is changing rapidly due to pop ...

, represented by Blue Earth native

Jim Hagedorn James Lee Hagedorn ( ; August 4, 1962 – February 17, 2022) was an American politician from Minnesota. A Republican, he was the U.S. representative for from 2019 until his death. The district stretches across southern Minnesota along the borde ...

, a Republican. At the state level, Reading is located in

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

District 22, represented by Republican

Bill Weber William Weber (May 8, 1957 – December 13, 2024) was an American television sports commentator best known for his work on TNT and NBC NASCAR broadcasts. Weber was also the lead announcer for Champ Car World Series events and other auto ra ...

, and in

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

District 22A, represented by Republican

Joe Schomacker Joseph "Joe" Roy Schomacker (born March 25, 1986) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2011. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Schomacker represents District 21A in the southwestern corne ...

Local politics

Reading is located in Summit Lake Township and is represented by Nobles County Commissioner
Justin Ahlers

References

External links

GNIS Map of Reading, MinnesotaHomeTownLocator Map of Reading, MinnesotaRead A.P. Rose' History of Nobles County online
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Nobles County, Minnesota Unincorporated communities in Minnesota Populated places established in 1900