which exists only by tradition and does not have elected officials at the town level. “Town” could also refer to a defined geographic area of 36 square miles or the largest geographic subdivision of a county — also known as a “township.” Many of the old maps or plat books refer to townships such as “McPherson” or “Danville,” (both in Blue Earth County) as “Towns.” In many cases, townships are given the same name as a town or community within their borders, which only adds to the confusion of which entity is being referred to. An example is Mankato (the city) and Mankato Township, which surrounds it. Judson and Cambria are similar examples. Townships play an important role in voting and other forms of political representation. The word “city” derives from a French word meaning “citizenry.” A city is a large or important town, containing more than 1,000 people. In the U.S., cities are incorporated municipalities with local governments. This is what
Mankato became on March 6, 1868, and remains so to the present day. The year of Mankato’s incorporation as a city is emblazoned on Mankato’s current city flag, adopted in 1991. The first
mayor of Mankato was James A. Wiswell, who served from 18681870. It should be pointed out that when Mankato was incorporated as a single city in 1868, it encompassed three distinct
communities that merged together to create a single municipality: “Mankato proper” — from Madison Avenue to approximately, modern Stoltzman Road; “West Mankato” — from Stoltzman Road to the Blue Earth River; and “Mankato City” — from Madison Av e n u e to approximately Lime Valley Road. The “hilltop area” was never included in the original 1868 boundaries of the city. As Mankato expanded, it annexed the hilltop area as well as the majority of Mankato Township into it. Currently, Mankato is the 22nd largest city in Minnesota. According to 2015 U.S. census estimates, it is the 5th largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area.
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