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Byron, Minnesota

Coordinates: 44°1′44.29″N 92°38′43.30″W / 44.0289694°N 92.6453611°W / 44.0289694; -92.6453611
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There are also two Byron Townships in Minnesota.
Byron, Minnesota
City
Location of Byron, Minnesota
Location of Byron, Minnesota
CountryUnited States
StateMinnesota
CountyOlmsted
Incorporated1873[1]
Government
 • MayorAnn Diercks
 • City CouncilBret Baumbach
Alan De Keyrel
Bob Meyer
Jason Snow
Area
 • Total
1.4 sq mi (3.7 km2)
 • Land1.4 sq mi (3.7 km2)
 • Water0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation
1,257 ft (383 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total
3,500
 • Density2,457.6/sq mi (948.9/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
55920
Area code507
FIPS code27-09154Template:GR
GNIS feature ID0640721Template:GR
Websitehttp://www.byronmn.com/

Byron is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 8 miles west of Rochester on U.S. Route 14. It is surrounded by Kalmar Township.[2] The population was 3,500 at the 2000 census.[3]

Local industries are in the form of farm services and printing. A grain elevator is situated next to the rail line that runs through town, which is owned by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. Schmidt Printing is another major company in town and is part of Taylor Corporation, founded by Glen Taylor.

The city received its name at the suggestion of George W. Van Dusen, who desired the name to be derived from his home town of Port Byron, New York.[4][5] Van Dusen grew his fortune with his investments in grain elevators along railroad lines, and later built the large Van Dusen Mansion in Minneapolis. The Byron area had apparently been known as Bear Grove before being renamed, supposedly because there were one or more bears living in the vicinity early on. The school mascot for Byron is a bear, in recognition of that story.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.7 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 3,500 people, 1,179 households, and 979 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,457.6 people per square mile (951.7/km²). There were 1,206 housing units at an average density of 846.8/sq mi (327.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.77% White, 0.23% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.

There were 1,179 households out of which 53.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.6% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.9% were non-families. 13.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.26.

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1880222[6]—
1890291[6][7]31.1%
1900347[7][8]19.2%
1910272[8]−21.6%
1920302[8]11.0%
1930323[8]7.0%
1940341[8]5.6%
1950385[8]12.9%
1960660[8]71.4%
19701,419[8]115.0%
19801,715[8]20.9%
19902,441[3]42.3%
20003,500[3]43.4%
2008 (est.)4,550[3]

In the city the population was spread out with 34.7% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 17.3% from 45 to 64, and 5.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $58,879, and the median income for a family was $63,164. Males had a median income of $38,387 versus $29,939 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,297. About 2.3% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 4.9% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

A commuter bus service to Rochester is operated by Rochester City Lines and has three trips daily through Byron each day. Two of those three go directly to a park-and-ride lot on the eastern edge of town, while the third zig-zags through the city to pick up customers.

The DM&E rail line was originally built by the Winona and St. Peter Railroad, which reached west through town to neighboring Kasson in 1865. The railroad is a major reason why Byron exists at all. The station was located west of what is now Byron Avenue, and was rebuilt in 1883.[9] The Chicago and North Western Railway gained control of the Winona and St. Peter a few years after the line reached Byron. The C&NW operated the line until the 1980s, when it was spun off to create the DM&E.

Education

Public schools are managed by Byron Public schools. There are three schools, Byron High School, Byron Middle School, and Byron Elementary School. The grades for the high school are now 9th through 12th grade. The grades for the middle school are now 5th through 8th grade and the grades for the elementary school are Pre-School through 4th grade. A new high school has recently been built along County Highway 5 on the northern end of the city. It opened for the 2006-2007 school year. The Byron Bears are an HVL (Hiawatha Valley League) school and in the MSHSL (Minnesota State High School League).

Byron operated with just two schools for many years, a kindergarten through 6th grade elementary school on 1st Avenue NW near the town center and a combined 7th through 12th grade junior-senior high school along 4th Street NW on the west end. The old high school was built in 1969 and has now become the middle school. That system ended in the 1990s when a new preschool through 4th grade elementary was built on the east side of town on 10th Avenue NE. The 1st Street school housed 5th through 7th graders, and 8th through 12th were at the 4th Street high school.

The 1st Avenue school is now a community center. A school had been next to it in the early 20th century, and then the current structure was added on in the 1950s, and was again expanded in the 1990s. The old portion was torn down around the year 2000.

Byron athletics

Byron has been consistently strong in volleyball, boy's basketball and football. The football team made a state tournament appearance in 2003 by dominating its way through section playoffs beating Stewartville, Kasson-Mantorville and Caledonia but lost to the eventual Class 3A State Champions Glencoe-Silver Lake in the quarterfinals. The volleyball team made their first ever state appearance in 2009 losing to Delano in the first round. They went on to place sixth in state.

Community and government

Byron has a mayor and a four-member city council. There are also four other government boards including an economic development authority and a park board. Byron City Hall is located near the elementary school on 10th Avenue. It is also a fairly new structure. The old city hall is in the center of town at Byron Avenue and 4th Street and was built in 1938.[10] The city's first water tower was built next to that location a few years earlier in 1935, though it was torn down around 2004.

The once-weekly Byron Review newspaper covers city events. It is owned by Community News Corporation, which also operates papers in Hayfield and Dodge Center.

Parks and Recreation

Parks

One of the major parks in the county, Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo, is 3.5 miles north of town. The zoo has dozens of animals from thirty different native species, including a number of birds, a mountain lion, wolves, otters, and some bison.

Within Byron, there are several city parks as well as a pool which operates in the summer.

Golf

Byron is home to two golf courses. Somerby Golf Club and Community is a private golf club and community, located on the north side of the city. Links of Byron[1] is on the south side of Byron, and is a 9-hole, executive length public golf course.

References

  1. ^ Warren Upham (1920). Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance (Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society, Volume XVII). The Colwell Press, Inc.
  2. ^ "Township Information". Olmsted County. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d "Byron city, Minnesota". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  4. ^ Michael W. Fedo (2002). The Pocket Guide to Minnesota Place Names. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 0-87351-424-6. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  5. ^ M. Russ Lowthian (2007). Road Biking Minnesota: A Guide to the Greatest Bike Rides in Minnesota. Morris Book Publishing. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Census Reports Volume I – Population Part I". Eleventh Census of the United States – 1890. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "Census Reports Volume I – Population Part I – Section 6" (PDF). Twelfth Census of the United States – 1900. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Census Data for Byron (city)". University of Morris Center for Small Towns. Retrieved January 3, 2010.
  9. ^ http://www.west2k.com/mnstations/olmsted.shtml
  10. ^ "History". Byron, Minnesota. Retrieved December 31, 2009.

44°1′44.29″N 92°38′43.30″W / 44.0289694°N 92.6453611°W / 44.0289694; -92.6453611

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