Location
Minneota is in Lyon County MINNEOTA, a city in Eidsvold Township, sections 25, 26, 35, and 36, which was incorporated on January 21, 1881. It was first known locally as Pumpa, so designated by early Norwegian settlers because of the railroad water pump, and then called Upper Yellow Medicine Crossing for its location. It was platted as Nordland village by the Winona and St. Peter Railroad in August 1876; when the post office was established in 1878, it was given the name Nordland, with railroad section boss Harvey D. Frink, postmaster, at his homestead store on railroad land, located on the left side of the tracks west of Yellow Medicine Creek; when the railroad built its depot on the right side of the tracks and other buildings went up nearby, the post office moved to new postmaster Nils Winther Luth Jaeger's store, and the name changed to Minneota, as suggested by Thomas D. Seals, another storekeeper. Jaeger was born in Norway in 1841, came to Minnesota in 1868 and to Lyon County in 1874, and was prominent in business for many years. The name Minneota is a Dakota name, meaning "much water." Prof. A. W. Williamson wrote of its origin, that it is "said to be so named by an early settler on account of an abundance of water flowing into his well." Hear it pronounced in Dakota. From: Upham, Warren. Minnesota Place Names: A Geographical Encyclopedia. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press, First edition 1920. Third Edition 2001. Print.
