History
Any history of the Winthrop community must begin with the early settlement around what was known as Eagle City. The Eagle City post office was established in 1858, the same year Minnesota became a state.

Records of those early years are few, however, there are records to substantiate the location approximately one-half mile south of the present location of Winthrop.

The year 1881 marked the end of Eagle City and the beginning of the settlement of what was now renamed Winthrop. The first settlers to Winthrop were Erick and Brita Olson. The Olsons arrived in 1869 and what is now the town site was farmland until 1881. It was then Erick platted it as a town site, and with the arrival of the railroad also in 1881 the growth of the town was assured.

Winthrop was named by E.A. Campbell for Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Campbell played a prominent roll in the building of the new town. He was postmaster at the Eagle City post office and when he moved to the town site in 1881 the post office came with him. Campbell at one time owned all of the buildings on the east side of Carver Street, north from Second to Third.

At that time Winthrop was the principal business town in Sibley County. It was the largest wheat market on the Pacific division of the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railways. Within a month after the site was located a half-dozen or more establishments began business.

Now days Winthrop is a thriving community with a population of 1,331 people. There are many specialized businesses in our community. For a listing and links to our local community please visit our links page.