02/11/2025
Some interesting facts about Randolph - did you know?
John Richmond, who was the first settler came to the Randolph area in May of 1854. He resided at the current location of Lakeside Cemetery. In 1858, Randolph was named Richmond for a few months until it was discovered that there was already another town in Minnesota named Richmond. Wheatland, which was the runner-up also already existed in Rice County. And so, the town was named Randolph after an admired Virginia Statesmen and early settler named John Randolph. The population of Randolph in 1880 was 144 residents. Today there are approximately 450 residents.
Near the City of Randolph was a small town called Cascade. The town had a bridge over the Cannon River, a dam, a flour mill and a blacksmith shop. In October of 1889, a fire destroyed the town and it was never rebuilt. The Cascades is now Dakota County park land and some of the ruins can still be seen today.
Randolph’s first school, a log cabin was constructed in 1858. The first modern school, a two-story building was not built until 1905. This later became the old Saint Mark’s Lutheran church. In 1918, the school relocated to the current site and had only one level. Then in 1924, the second level was added and remained until 2002 when it was demolished to make way for a new school addition. In 1970, the high school was constructed and remains today.
In the early days, church services were held at houses or in hotels. In 1889, the Methodist church was constructed. This church once served as the Randolph Area Historical Society. In 1925, the Baptist church was moved from outside the city limits into Randolph. This building was demolished in 1987 to make way for a new Baptist church. From 1945 to 1994, Saint Mark’s Lutheran church was located in the old school building and was later demolished. Both Saint Mark’s and the Methodist church relocated outside the city limits of Randolph.
Most people do not realize that south of the current football field to the Cannon River was a large gravel pit operated by Butler Brothers in the early 1900’s. Part of a concrete foundation remains hidden in the woods of the now Dakota County Park Land and you can still find some of the gravel piles and pits that are in the woods.
On June 13th 1930, Randolph was almost completely destroyed by a tornado. One railroad worker was killed when a boxcar landed on top of him. The year before another tornado touched down north of Randolph that left severe damage to farmlands and houses. In 1920, a tornado nearly leveled Castle Rock.
In 1917, Randolph received its first fire truck. The original fire station still stands today. It’s located near the current city park. A 1959 John Bean and a 1974 International fire truck have been preserved from Randolph’s Fire Department history. For a short time, in the 1970’s Randolph had it’s own Police Department but it was too costly to maintain. The small jail that was built in 1904 was moved to the Dakota County Fairgrounds in 1991.
