Frontenac, Minnesota

{{stack|{{Infobox settlement

|name = Frontenac

| official_name =

| settlement_type = Census-designated place (CDP) and Unincorporated community

| image_skyline = Frontenac 2.jpg

| image_caption = Winona Cottage, a c. 1854 house from Frontenac's days as a 19th-century resort town{{cite web| url = {{NRHP url|id=73000978}}| title = National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: Old Frontenac Historic District| access-date = April 20, 2015|format = PDF|author=Thomas Lutz|date=March 21, 1973 |publisher=National Park Service}} {{NRHP url|id=73000978|title=Photos|photos=y}}

| image_flag =

| nickname =

| motto =

| image_map =

| map_caption =

| pushpin_map = Minnesota

| pushpin_label_position = left

| pushpin_map_caption = Location of the community of Frontenac
within Florence Township, Goodhue County

| coordinates = {{coord|44|31|26|N|92|19|52|W|region:US-MN|display=inline}}

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_name = United States

| subdivision_type1 = State

| subdivision_name1 = Minnesota

| subdivision_type2 = County

| subdivision_name2 = Goodhue County

| subdivision_type3 = Township

| subdivision_name3 = Florence Township

| established_title =

| established_date = March 5, 1853

| government_type =

| leader_title =

| leader_name =

| area_footnotes = {{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_27.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 24, 2022}}

| area_total_sq_mi = 1.85

| area_land_sq_mi = 1.84

| area_water_sq_mi = 0.00

| elevation_footnotes =

| elevation_m = 220

| elevation_ft =

| population_total = 249

| population_as_of = 2020

| population_density_sq_mi = 135.03

| population_note =

| timezone = CST

| utc_offset = -6

| timezone_DST = CDT

| utc_offset_DST = -5

| postal_code_type = ZIP code

| postal_code = 55026

| area_code = 651

| blank_name = FIPS code

| blank_info = 27-22904

| blank1_name = GNIS feature ID

| blank1_info = 643972{{cite gnis|643972|Frontenac, Minnesota}}

| website =

| footnotes =

|pop_est_as_of =

|pop_est_footnotes =

|population_est =

|population_footnotes =

|unit_pref = Imperial

|area_total_km2 = 4.78

|area_land_km2 = 4.78

|area_water_km2 = 0.01

|population_density_km2 = 52.14

}}

{{Infobox NRHP

| name = Old Frontenac Historic District

| nrhp_type = hd

| nocat = yes

| image = Frontenac NRHP.jpg

| caption = Sign denoting Frontenac's historic district

| location =

| area = {{convert|120|acre}}

| added = June 4, 1973

| mpsub = Rural Goodhue County MRA (AD)

| refnum = 73000978{{NRISref|version=2010a}}

}}}}

Frontenac ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|r|ɒ|t|ɛ|n|æ|k|}} {{respell|FRON|teh|nak}}){{cite web |url=http://www.ap.org/minnesota/prono.html |title=Minnesota Pronunciation Guide |website=Associated Press |access-date=July 4, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722194213/http://www.ap.org/minnesota/prono.html |archive-date=July 22, 2011}} is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Florence Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States, on the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, its population was 249.{{cite web |title=Frontenac CPD, Minnesota - Census Bureau Profile |url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Frontenac_CDP,_Minnesota?g=160XX00US2722904 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 31, 2024}}

History

James Wells established a trading post in the location that would become Frontenac before 1850. He dealt mostly with Native Americans until the railroad was built in the early 1870s.Minnesota Historical Society, Minnesota Place Names database, June 2009. In 1854, brothers Israel and Lewis Garrard came upon the area during a hunting trip and bought large tracts of land. By 1857, the community was permanently established with the name of Westervelt in 1855 to honor the then postmaster, Evert V. Westervelt.{{cite book |last1=Speck |first1=Gary B |title=Ghost Towns: America's Abandoned Sites and Settlements |date=2024 |publisher=Publishers International |location=Morton Grove, IL |isbn=978-1-63938-623-9 |pages=116–117 |chapter=The Midwestern States}} The name was changed to Frontenac in 1860 by the Garrard brothers after Louis de Buade de Frontenac, the French colonial governor of Canada in 1672–82 and 1689–98. There is no record of him actually traveling to the Mississippi River.

The picturesque scenery soon began attracting wealthy residents. It became a community of summer homes with lakeside views. Several hotels were established, including the Lakeside Hotel in 1867. These hotels contributed to Frontenac's reputation as a resort town during the later 19th century.

During the 1870s, a Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad line to Frontenac was established; however, as the founders would not sell land to the railway company, the line was established some distance away from town. The railway ran from north to south and connected the remote area to larger cities, but it was far enough away from the bluffs not to detract from the vacation destination. A new community sprang up around the railway station, and later the highway, called Frontenac Station; the original townsite was then dubbed Old Frontenac. Both are in Florence Township and are listed as one location in the U.S. Census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, Frontenac has an area of {{convert|1.846|mi|km}}; {{convert|1.844|mi|km}} of this is land, and {{convert|0.002|mi|km}} is water.{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 23, 2011|date=February 12, 2011|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}

Demographics

{{US Census population

|1880= 104

|2010= 282

|2020= 249

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 30, 2019}}

}}

At the 2010 United States census, there were 282 people in 114 households in Frontenac.{{efn|The 2010 United States census only included Frontenac Station.{{cite web |title=TIGERweb |url=https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/tigerweb/ |website=TIGERweb |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=June 30, 2019}}}}{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=May 14, 2011 |title=U.S. Census website }}

Religion

St John Lutheran Church is a Christian church of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Frontenac.{{cite web |title=St John Lutheran Church |url=https://yearbook.wels.net/unitpage/24383 |access-date=4 August 2020}} Christ Episcopal Church is also located in Old Frontenac, and features an outdoor amphitheater.{{Cite web |date=April 26, 2022 |title=Welcome to a Faith Home: Christ Church Old Frontenac |url=https://www.christchurcholdfrontenac.org/ |access-date=October 6, 2022 |language=en}}

Attractions

File:Mississippi River w Lake Pepin in background at Frontenac State Park.jpg]]

=Mount Frontenac Ski and Golf=

The Mount Frontenac Ski Resort[https://www.republican-eagle.com/news/1107343-ski-slope-closing-loss-communities Ski slope closing a loss to communities]. Republican-Eagle.com. Retrieved on 2019-7-14. was located on the north-western edge of Frontenac Station. It had 17 named runs, 6 lifts, and {{convert|80|acre|m2}} of skiable area. Its longest run was {{convert|4000|ft|m}} in length.[https://web.archive.org/web/20071123055233/http://www.skiengine.com/resorts/usa/minnesota/313/mount-frontenac.html Mount Frontenac Ski and Snowboard Area]. SkiEngine.com. Retrieved on 2009-6-16. The ski runs have been closed and are now part of an 18-hole golf course.[http://www.mountfrontenac.com/ Mount Frontenac Golf Course-official site]. Retrieved on 2009-6-16.

=Frontenac State Park=

The land between Frontenac Station and Old Frontenac, as well as much of the land to the north and some to the south, was set aside as a State Park in 1957. Frontenac State Park includes the floodplain along the Mississippi River, bluffs which are a flyway for many migratory bird species, prairies and hardwood forests.

It is within the Mississippi Flyway and is also part of the Driftless Area of the north central United States.

Transportation

File:Frontenac, Minnesota.jpg/63 and the Canadian Pacific Railway run through the town.]]

Frontenac is located along U.S. Highway 61, which also carries U.S. Highway 63 at that point.

Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which operates between Seattle/Portland and Chicago, passes through the town on BNSF tracks, but makes no stop. The nearest station is located in Red Wing, {{convert|10|mi}} to the northwest.

The Frontenac Airport is located {{convert|1|mi|km|abbr=on}} south of Frontenac Station, and is administered by a private agency.{{gnis|660172|Frontenac Airport (Minnesota)}}

Notable person

John F. Hager, Wisconsin State Assemblyman and businessman, was born in Frontenac.'John F. Hager, 82, Former Assemblyman, Dies in Whitehall,' Eau Claire Leader, November 4, 1955, pg. 3.