In 1862, a massacre occurred at Lake Shetek that became known as Slaughter Slough. One of the survivors, Henry W. Smith, escaped and made his way to Walnut Grove to warn the village. A John Renniker was killed Northeast of Walnut Grove and is included with those that died at the slough.
Walnut Grove was platted in 1874. It was named for a grove of black walnut trees near the original town site. It was incorporated in 1879.
Walnut Grove gained more than 250 Hmong residents between 2001 and 2006. This increased the population to nearly 900. In 2004, Hmong people were 25% of the town.
Passages that mention Walnut Grove, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The history of Redwood County, Minnesota1916 · page 191Read the page →
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county commissioners' districts. 1 — All the land in the townships of Springdale, North Hero, Gales, Johnsonville, Westline, Underwood, Vesta, the unorganized town 111, range 38, and the village of Walnut Grove. 2 — All the land in the township of Lamberton, Charlestown, Waterbury, Willow Lake, Vail, New Avon, and the village of Lamberton. 3 — All the land in the townships of Sundown, Brookville, Three Lakes, Morgan, Paxton, and Sherman. 4 — All the land in the village of Redwood Palls. 5 —
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The history of Redwood County, Minnesota1916 · page 551Read the page →
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Early in 1873 Gustave Sunwall and J. H. Anderson came to Walnut Grove or North Hero township and built a store building, stocking it with a general line of goods. Progress was slow during the grasshopper years, but in the late seventies things took on a new aspect, and the village grew rapidly. The Gazetteer of 1880 describes Walnut Grove as a flourishing place, with a Congregational Union church, a steam flour mill, a good school, and several business enterprises. Wheat,
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Walnut Grove, 1873 to 1936
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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