Wilno, Minnesota
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{short description|Unincorporated community in Minnesota, United States}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name = Wilno, Minnesota
|settlement_type = Unincorporated community
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|pushpin_map = Minnesota#USA
|pushpin_label = Wilno
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|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = United States
|subdivision_type1 = State
|subdivision_name1 = Minnesota
|subdivision_type2 = County
|subdivision_name2 = Lincoln
|subdivision_type3 = Township
|subdivision_name3 = Royal
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|timezone = Central (CST)
|utc_offset = -6
|timezone_DST = CDT
|utc_offset_DST = -5
|elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 511
|elevation_ft = 1677
|coordinates = {{coord|44|29|59|N|96|13|53|W|region:US-MN|display=inline}}
|postal_code_type = ZIP code
|postal_code = 56142
|area_code = 507
|blank_name = FIPS code
|blank_info =
|blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
|blank1_info = {{GNIS4|654217}}
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|footnotes = {{cite gnis |id=654217 |name=Wilno, Minnesota |entrydate=11 January 1980}}
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File:Aerial view of Wilno, Minnesota.jpg.]]
Wilno is an unincorporated community located in Royal Township, Lincoln County, Minnesota, United States.
History
Wilno was laid out in 1883 on land provided by the Chicago and Northwestern railroad to create a Polish settlement. The community was formed as part of a planned effort between the railroad and leaders of Polish National Alliance (PNA) with the cooperation of the Catholic Church. The organizers named the town after Vilnius by taking its Polish name Wilno. St. John Cantius Church was established in the town in the same year.John Radzilowski, "Hidden Cosmos: The Life Worlds of Polish Immigrants in Two Minnesota Communities, 1875-1925," Ph.D. diss., Arizona State University, 1999.{{cite web |title=Historic Resources of Lincoln County (Partial Inventory - Historic Properties) |work=Multiple Resource Area Nomination |url={{NRHP url|id=64000362}} |date=4 August 1980 |accessdate=20 April 2015}} Rev. R. Byzewski of Winona born in Kashubia and Bishop John Ireland of St. Paul also worked to establish the church.{{Cite web|url=http://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/6/resources/4599|title=St. John Cantius Roman Catholic Church records, Immigration History Research Center Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=|access-date=}}
By 1891, the town was centered on the Polish Catholic parish and school. It also had a post office, carpenter, blacksmithy, general store, saloon, and wagonmaker. The town postmaster also operated a small reading room.Radzilowski, "Hidden Cosmos."
A common myth is that when the railroad attempted to buy land for right-of-way, two Wilno farmers refused the amount offered. So the railroad was built through what became the town of Ivanhoe instead. In fact the railroads frequently bypassed small "inland" towns like Wilno.Radzilowski, Out On the Wind: Poles and Danes in Lincoln County, Minnesota, 1880-1905 (Marshall, MN: Crossings Press, 1992), 56-61. The town remained a tiny Catholic settlement.
The centennial for the church was celebrated in 1983. At that time Wilno consisted of the church, two stores, and 10 households.{{cite web |title=St. John Cantius Parish - Hills MN: A parish history from the 1983 Jubilee Book |url=http://www.ipgs.us/parishhistories/stjohncanthills.html |publisher=internet Polish Genealogical Source |date=20 October 2011 |accessdate=20 April 2015}}
See also
John Cantius - church's namesake.
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- Radzilowski, John. [http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/58/v58i01p016-028.pdf "Out on the Wind: Life in Minnesota's Polish Farming Communities."] Minnesota History Spring 2002: 17–28.
External links
- [http://z.umn.edu/wilno Images of Wilno and St. John Cantius Catholic Church], [http://archives.lib.umn.edu/repositories/6/resources/4599 St. John Cantius Catholic Church records], University of Minnesota Libraries.
{{Lincoln County, Minnesota}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Unincorporated communities in Lincoln County, Minnesota
Category:Unincorporated communities in Minnesota