What Makes Darwin, MN A Hidden Gem Of History?

Darwin is located in east-central Meeker County and has a population of 348 people as of the 2020 census. There are many popular lakes south of Darwin including Lake Darwin, Lake Stella and Lake Washington. It was platted in 1869 and was named for E. Darwin Litchfield, a major stockholder of the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. Darwin is located along Highway 12.

Early Years

To help tell the story of Darwin, I was joined by Mayor Josh Johnson. He says the first settlers came to the Darwin area in the mid 1850s. The first name of the town was Rice City after Edmond Rice, a Minnesota politician. Johnson says the railroad came through town around 1969 and had a water stop and changed the name to Darwin. He says originally the railroad wanted Darwin to have the turn table and be named the county seat in Meeker County. Meeker County officials insisted that Litchfield would be the county seat and the railroad chose to locate the turn table in Willmar. Johnson speculates that Darwin would have been a much bigger community if the turn table had been located there.

Irish Catholic

The early settlers in the Darwin area were of Irish Catholic heritage. St. John's Catholic Church was established in Darwin the 1800s. Johnson says there was a push by some in the area to create a Catholic University in Darwin but it never happened. He says there was also a fair amount of settlers with German heritage in the area.

Early Businesses

Early businesses in Darwin included a general store, black smith shop, creamery, butcher shop and saloons. Johnson says the first bank in Darwin was established in the early 1900s. The school house in Darwin was located across the street from the park where the Darwin Twine Ball Museum is now. The school house bell is still on the Museum property. The school house was torn down in the 1960s and Darwin became part of the Litchfield School District. Darwin also used to have a ballroom.

Photo courtesy of Darwin Twine Ball Museum

Town Ball

Darwin was a baseball town. Johnson says town ball was a community event for many years in Darwin. Darwin made 1 state tournament appearance in 1936 where they finished as runner-up. Johnson says the team disbanded in the 1960s when they didn't have enough players for a team. The baseball field in Darwin was located just north of Highway 12. Johnson says there was a "dog house home run" in a game that took place between Litchfield and Spring Lake in Darwin. It was a playoff game. Get the story below in the podcast.

The Ball of Twine

Johnson says the town of Darwin and the ball of twine are wound together thanks to Francis A. Johnson. Josh says Francis wound the ball for 4 hours a day, every day and the city of Darwin is lucky to be the steward of the ball of twine. Josh says Francis started rolling the ball in 1950 and encountered some fame in 1960 when the ball of twine made an appearance on the TV show "I have a Secret". Francis was the first to roll a ball of twine and he inspired a few others to do the same. The Darwin twine ball is the largest wound by one man, Francis A. Johnson.

Twine Ball Moved to Main Street

The ball of twine was moved onto main street in Darwin in 1992 when Josh's grandfather was the Mayor of Darwin. The twine ball is currently in a gazebo with a Museum on the same property. Johnson says they have people from all over the country and from other countries visit the ball of twine. The Lord Mayor of Darwin, Australia visited Darwin 10 years ago. Weird Al Yankovic wrote a song in the early 1990s called "The Biggest Ball of Twine in Minnesota".

Darwin Today

Darwin currently has two churches, All Saints Lutheran and St. John's Catholic Church, the Rod & Gun Club, Darwin Lions Club, Perennial Bank, V's Grill and Pub, Trouble's #2, Veterans Memorial Park, and Schoolhouse Park. Johnson says Darwin is a special place because of the people and their charitable nature.

If you'd like to listen to my 2-part conversation with Darwin Mayor Josh Johnson, click below.