TheHutchinson Family Singers (John, Asa, and Judson Hutchinson) are credited with founding the town in November 1855.[5] A post office has been in operation in Hutchinson since 1856.[6] The city was incorporated in 1904.[5]
The Dakota under Little Crowattacked the town on September 4, 1862, during theDakota War of that year. Several outlying buildings were burned before the townspeople were able to repel the assault from behind the town's stockade.
Hutchinson was once served by three railroads. The Electric Short Line (commonly known as the Luce Line) provided freight and interurban service between Minneapolis andGluek via Hutchinson. During the mid-20th century, there was extensive restructuring in the railroad industry, as automobiles caused a decline in passenger traffic and trucking cut into freight movement.
The Electric Short Line was purchased by theMinneapolis & St. Louis in 1956, which was in turn purchased by theChicago & North Western in 1960. The tracks west of Hutchinson were abandoned in 1967, and the tracks between Hutchinson and Plymouth were abandoned in 1972. TheMilwaukee Road had a branch line to Hutchinson fromGlencoe, which was abandoned in 1956. TheGreat Northern Railway also had a branch line, which went fromWayzata to Hutchinson. This was taken over byBurlington Northern in 1970. In 1985 Burlington Northern petitioned to abandon its line to Hutchinson, butDakota Rail took over operations that same year. Dakota Rail struggled to turn a profit and sought to abandon the line in 2000. The tracks were officially abandoned in 2001. Hutchinson's Great Northern Depot has been preserved.
Hutchinson is in northwestern McLeod County. State highways7,15, and22 are three of the city's main routes. MN 7 leads east 58 miles (93 km) toMinneapolis and west 69 miles (111 km) toMontevideo, MN 15 leads north 50 miles (80 km) toSt. Cloud and south 42 miles (68 km) toNew Ulm, and MN 22 leads southeast 14 miles (23 km) toGlencoe, the McLeodcounty seat, and northwest 21 miles (34 km) toLitchfield.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, Hutchinson has an area of 8.82 square miles (22.84 km2), of which 8.48 square miles (21.96 km2) are land and 0.34 square miles (0.88 km2), or 3.80%, are water.[1] The South Fork of theCrow River flows around the north and east sides of downtown. Otter Lake is formed by a dam on the river at Main Street and extends west to the city limits, then south. Campbell Lake is an arm of Otter Lake that extends to the north along the city limits.
Started by the Hutchinson brothers, Hutchinson has the nation's second-oldest city park system (onlyNew York City'sCentral Park is older).[8]
As of thecensus[10] of 2010, there were 14,178 people, 5,950 households, and 3,642 families living in the city. Thepopulation density was 1,648.6 inhabitants per square mile (636.5/km2). There were 6,393 housing units at an average density of 743.4 per square mile (287.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 95.4%White, 0.9%African American, 0.3%Native American, 1.1%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 0.9% fromother races, and 1.3% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 3.8% of the population.
There were 5,950 households, of which 31.0% had children under 18 living with them, 47.4% weremarried couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.8% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.99.
The median age in the city was 36.9. 25.6% of residents were under 18; 8.4% were between 18 and 24; 26.1% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.8% male and 51.2% female.
According to the 2000 United States Census,[4] there were 13,080 people, 5,333 households, and 3,418 families living in the city. The population density was 1,763.6 inhabitants per square mile (680.9/km2). There were 5,667 housing units at an average density of 764.1 per square mile (295.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 96.24%White, 0.36%African American, 0.23%Native American, 0.92%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 1.36% fromother races, and 0.86% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 2.13% of the population.
There were 5,333 households, of which 33.3% had children under 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 8.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.6% under 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 91.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,278, and the median income for a family was $53,784. Males had a median income of $36,800 versus $24,862 for females. Theper capita income was $19,970. About 3.1% of families and 5.4% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 5.1% of those under 18 and 8.3% of those 65 or older.
Data from the top 31 employers in Hutchinson[26] show the following distribution of employment:
Manufacturing (3959)
Retail (1178)
Medical (826)
School and local government (450)
Utilities (122)
Printing/publishing (116)
Agricultural service (75)
Food/gardening products (66)
Construction (30)
Wholesalers (21)
Manufacturing jobs are withHutchinson Technology (~390 employees, computer and peripheral equipment),Uponor, and3M (2,900 employees, flags and vinyl, Scotch tapes). The Goebel Fixture Co. employs 125 in a niche market, producing cabinetry fixtures for department stores nationwide.
The town has agricultural roots, notably as the birthplace of the Geier Hitch.[citation needed]
The retail and service economy has grown fromagricultural supply and processing to include a combination of local manufacturing, shopping, and a growing restaurant and food service industry with multiple new options opening recently. It also has a hospital and medical center that offer primary care as well as full access to specialty care.
Hutchinson is home to a campus ofRidgewater College, a comprehensive community and technical college (another campus is inWillmar, Minnesota). The original use of the campus was for an Area Vocational Technical Institute. The Vo-Tech merged with a similar institute in Willmar, and ultimately the Willmar Community College joined the two Vo-Techs to form Ridgewater College, a member of theMnSCU system. Although begun as a technical institute, since the creation of Ridgewater the Hutchinson campus has shown a steady increase in the number of "transfer" (versus "technical") programs, faculty, and students. From 2004 to 2006, significant remodeling included the installation of new facilities for the school's nursing programs, plus new biology, chemistry, and physics laboratories. A notable and unique technical program on the Hutchinson campus isNondestructive Testing.
Not including the two charter schools (New Discoveries Montessori Academy and New Century Academy), there are five public schools. The school names and grades for Independent School District #423 are West Elementary (Pre–1), Tiger Elementary (2–3) Park Elementary (4–5), Hutchinson Middle School (6–8), andHutchinson High School (9–12).[27] Private schools in the city includeMaplewood Academy.