Austin

Austin, city, seat (1856) of Mower county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S. It lies about 100 miles (160 km) south of St. Paul. Austin is situated along the Cedar River, just north of the Iowa state line, in a farming area specializing in corn (maize), soybeans, peas, and livestock. It was settled in 1853, laid out in 1856, and named for its first settler, Austin R. Nichols, who was originally from New York state. Mills were built on the river, and economic development increased with the arrival of the railroad in the late 1860s. A community college campus is located there, as is the Mower County Historical Society. Hormel Foods Corporation (originally founded as Geo. A. Hormel & Company), a meatpacking and food-processing corporation begun in Austin in 1891, is the economic mainstay, supplemented by other food-processing concerns and the manufacture of cardboard cartons. The Hormel Institute (1942), affiliated with the University of Minnesota, conducts research on the connection of fats and oils with heart disease and cancer. A museum and an annual festival (July) are devoted to Spam®, one of Hormel’s most popular products. Austin also has a symphony orchestra. Inc. village, 1868; city, 1873. Pop. (2000) 23,314; (2010) 24,718.