Blooming Prairie is located in the SE corner of Steele County, nudging up against Dodge, Mower, and Freeborn counties. It began as a railroad town for men working on the railroad for the MN Central Railroad. It was named after a railroad official's wife called it Blooming Prairie. The first settlers to what is now Blooming Prairie area found a vast prairie covered with tall grass, which was perfect for growing wheat. Wheat was the big crop for decades, so a flour mill was soon erected for settlers who came in to farm the land.
In the 1860's after the first rail station was erected, merchants began coming to the village to set up shop. Stores were erected and sold all types of goods to the people of the village. These goods inlcuded blacksmithing, general store food products, a hotel, and even a post office. In 1892 the first cooperative creamery was built w/ the backing of the business people. It prospered for many years, until it closed due to financial problems in 1967. The creamy building is still being used today as part of the ARKEMA plant.
During the legislation session of 1873-74, Blooming Prairie was officially incorporated as an independent village, and the first city council was elected. Improvements to the village began quickly with streets being graded, sidewalks brought to even level, hitching posts for horses built along Main St., and trees being planted in vacant lots. Even a city hall was built, which included council chambers, a jail, and fire station.
BP is known for it's 4th of July celebrations! In the early 1900's there were a lot of activities to enjoy from horse races, to baseball games, to tug of war competitions and the day would start as early as 4 a.m. with 100 guns being fired. Today, the 4th of July is still the communities biggest celebration of the year with a lot of activities for families. It brings in more than 35,000 people year after year!