History

• The City of Morgan was founded in the year 1878 by the railroad.
• The City of Franklin was founded in the year 1869 by Ronald Degner.
• Morgan is in Redwood County on Highways 68 and 67.
• Franklin is in Renville County on Highway 19. It is located on the banks of the Minnesota River.
• The Township of Morgan was platted in 1878. It was originally called Brookville, but was later changed to Morgan. It was called Holland for a period of 5 years as well.
• The 1st Post Master of Morgan was T-G Holland, a section boss for the railroad. The post office opened on October 21st, 1878, but due to lack of business it closed on January 23rd, 1880. A year later, Holland was still struggling for business until the village suddenly doubled in business population with the opening of the General Store by George Knudson, of Sleepy Eye. The post office returned on February 10th, 1881, under the name of Holland, with Knudson as Post Master. The name was changed back to Morgan on February 10th, 1886.
• In 1882 Morgan was home to a grain elevator, general store, hotel, and blacksmith.
• Morgan was incorporated on February 21st, 1889. It had a population of 230 people at the time.
• The newspaper for the Morgan and Franklin area, The Morgan Messenger, was founded in 1889.
• Morgan is the hometown of several well-known people. They include: State Senator Dennis Fredrickson; State Representative Marty Seifert; the Head Clerk for the Minnesota House of Representatives, Albin Mathiowetz; Guy Forbrook, who runs the Outlaw Circuit; Kent Meyers, and author of many notable works; and Steven Hoffbeck, also a writer as well as a History Professor at M-S-U.

Businesses

• Morgan and Franklin consolidated their school districts in July 1995 to form Cedar Mountain. They are the Cougars.
• Morgan is home to a highly respected nursing home, Gil-Mor Manor.
• Morgan’s 2 major businesses highlight the agricultural nature of the area. Harvestland Co-Op and Morgan Green Co-Op serve the needs of their patrons efficiently.
• The small town of Franklin has it’s own clinic: The Franklin Health Care Center.
• Franklin has it’s own telephone company: the Minnesota Valley Telephone Company.
• Gil-Mor Manor Nursing Home in the City of Morgan announced plans in 2009 to add as assisted living facility to the complex.
• Fieldstone Vineyards in rural Morgan came away with 4 awards in the 2009 Indy International Wine Competition. Fieldstone was awarded one silver and three bronze medals. Out of over 3,000 wines from 10 countries, Fieldstone Vineyards received a silver for its Frontenac Gris, a semi-sweet white; a bronze for Frontenac Rose, a semi-sweet rose; LaCresent, a semi-sweet white; and Debauchery, which is a dessert port.

Festivals & Events

• Morgan’s big celebration of the year is City and Country Days. It is always held on the weekend of Father’s Day in June, and features food, dancing, sports tournaments and much more.
• Every year on September 11th the Morgan fire Department and Ambulance Association holds an Appreciation Day to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks in 2001.
• Franklin’s big summer celebration is Catfish Days, which is held the 4th weekend of July. Catfish Days features all sorts of fun, including live music, lots of food, and fishing. There is even a “Catfish Kissing Contest.” Pucker up!

People

• The City of Morgan has a population of around 900 people and the Mayor is Robert Fischer, who is also the former Chief of Police for the City of Morgan.
• The City of Franklin has the population of about 500 people and the Mayor is Ronald Degner.
• The City of Morgan’s new Chief of Police began his duties in 2010. Lamberton native Bostyn Thompson is a Red Rock central graduate who earned his law enforcement degree at Minnesota West in Worthington.
• In 2010 a Cedar Mountain 6th grader traveled to France and England as a People-To-People Student Ambassador. Nicholas Malecek, the son of Jason and Dawn Malecek, joined 40 other students from across the country on the 14-day trip. While in Europe he met with government officials, visited several schools, and met with students his own age. The People-To-People Student Ambassador program was founded by President Eisenhower in 1956 as a way to bring together people from different cultures in peace and friendship.
• In 2010, the Gil-Mor Manor nursing home in Morgan underwent a 9,000 square foot expansion project. Work includes the construction of a new 10-unit housing-with-services addition. The project also includes new office space for the expanded facility.
• The City of Franklin pursued a grant in 2010 that would allow the city to convert the heating of city buildings to a biomass burner. The grant would pay for the cost of the conversion to biomass fuel and the need for a pellet plant to produce the fuel. The Franklin City Council agreed to pay half of the $2,000 grant-writing fee, with the other half paid by the Renville County EDA.
• The City of Morgan received a donation for $7,500 to be used towards refurbishing the city’s swimming pool. The donation came from Leslie and Irene Wagner Endowment Fund. The city was accepting donations from any and all contributors to complete the project before the 2011 swimming season.
• KNUJ’s Hometown Hero for the month of December 2011 was Ron Degner of Franklin. Along with serving as the Mayor of Franklin for the past 20 years and the President of the Franklin Lions Club, Degner has also volunteered his masonry talents to build permanent structures and signs around the community. Two of the block shelters that Degner helped construct have made Franklin’s Catfish Days festival possible for over 30 years, as well as family reunions and other celebrations. He was also instrumental in securing a multi-million dollar grant for community infrastructure. The Hometown Hero recognition is sponsored by KNUJ AM and FM and select Thrivent Financial For Lutherans agents.
• The State Director of USDA Rural Development visited the City of Franklin in 2011. Colleen Landkamer was in Franklin to highlight how $4.5 million dollars in USDA funds are helping the town make improvements to it’s water and wastewater treatment system.
• The City of Franklin celebrated Catfish Derby Days in July 2011. The winner of the always popular “Kiss The Catfish” Contest was Rick Hempel, who raised a total of more than $175. Nearly 130 anglers took part in the Catfish Fishing Contest, with 1st place going to David Bawden of Redwood Falls and his 44-pounder. Frank Johnson of Golden Valley won $350 in the 20th annual Catfish Days Chess Tournament. Over 140 kids took part in the annual pedal pull as well.
• Miss Franklin 2011 was Briana Weinzetl, the daughter of Mark and Shelly Weinzetl.

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