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Austin, MN
Austin is a city in and the county seat of Mower County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,174 at the 2020 census. The town was originally settled along the Cedar River and has two artificial lakes, East Side Lake and Mill Pond. It was named for Austin R. Nichols, the area's first European settler. It is part of the Rochester, Minnesota metropolitan area. In 1891 George A. Hormel opened a small family-owned butcher shop in Austin, which eventually grew into today's Fortune 500 company, Hormel Foods. In 1897 Charles Boostrom opened Austin's first college, the Southern Minnesota Normal College and Austin School of Commerce.
Austin, also known as SPAMTOWN USA, is home to an abundance of unique and fun attractions – the SPAM® Museum (now located downtown), the Hormel Historic Home, Mower County Historical Society, The Hormel Institute, Austin Artworks Center, the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center, the Historic Paramount Theatre, 2 golf courses, over 13 miles of bike trails, 28 city parks, sporting events throughout the year, incredible theatrical and musical productions, and more. Austin is home to several long-standing performing arts organizations, including the Austin Symphony Orchestra, which was established in 1957. The Frank W. Bridges Theatre is home to an active theatre program at Riverland Community College, while Matchbox Children's Theatre, established in 1975, provides shows year-round for both adults and children. Summerset Theatre, a community theater company organized in 1968, also presents several shows per year.
The Austin ArtWorks Center, established in 2014, hosts gallery exhibits, educational classes, performance space, and a retail gallery. Austin has several historically and architecturally significant buildings, including Austin High School, St. Augustine's Church, Roosevelt Bridge, the Historic Paramount Theatre, the Hormel Historic Home, the Arthur W. Wright House, and several blocks of buildings on Main Street.
