ABOVE: The city of Trimont is celebrating 125 years since the incorporation of the two towns that it’s made up of— Triumph and Monterey.

TRIMONT– This year marks a big one for the city of Trimont as the northwestern town in Martin County is celebrating 125 years. However, at the time of its establishment in 1899, the city was actually divided into two communities–Triumph and Monterey– and did not merge into one until 1959. The quasquincentennial is being celebrated this year nonetheless.

“When we had the Trimont Centennial in 1999, it was actually the Triumph and Monterey Centennial. We put a box in the park to be opened in 2059 because that’s actually Trimont’s Centennial,” explained Glenda Bloomquist, who has been involved with gathering the history of the city.

For the centennial, a committee of more than 20 people worked together to put out a book sharing the history or the town. Of course that timeline stands true today and the city has gone through significant changes in the 25 years since.

“People have always said the east side was established a year earlier but if you look it up in the actual legislation, it was the same year,” said Bloomquist.

She provided information which showed that it was actually the presence of a local railroad system that helped create the community because as tracks were being laid to Cedarville, the city of Fairmont lobbied and got them to turn southeast. Then the Chicago and NW system put down the east depot where Triumph was plated and Mpls. and St. Louis built the west depot where Monterey was plated.

Upon its inception, Minnesota State Highway 4 marked the boundary between the two towns and it’s important to note that for many years, they were distinctly known as two separate towns. In fact they were known as the “twin cities of Southern Minnesota.”

“It seems kinda of funny to say that 125 years later but there’s still people living who had lived in one of the towns,” Bloomquist pointed out.

Floraine Delaney, a long-time resident who was involved in putting together the centennial book, said, “I remember boys would have snowball fights and throw them at each other across the city line.”

From 1899 on until the merge, there were at least two of everything– one in each town. This included churches, blacksmiths, grocery stores and governmental bodies.

“Back then, everyone used to have a lot of gas station and grocery stories but we seemed to have more than other towns. We had five grocery stores right until the 70s,” Bloomquist said.

Of course this is because two towns in close proximity were established and existing for several decades. At one point there were even six churches for a population of about 900. The Catholic and Baptist churches have since closed but there remains four churches for the roughly 700 residents.

Each town also had a newspaper. Early on there was the “Progress” in Triumph and the “Memorandum” in Monterey. Like many of the townspeople, the newspapers had a friendly rivalry between each other.

There were some things they shared though, including a school, which graduated its first class in 1924. It was located in the middle between the two towns, a block from Highway 4 on the Triumph side and was called Tri-Mont. The school went by that name until the late 80s when it consolidated with other communities and formed Martin County West.

“Tri-dash-mont was how it was officially said but as time went on younger kids didn’t really know why,” Bloomquist said.

She said she believes that examples of that, which may seem silly to others, are what make the community unique.

Despite each town being established, they did try to join early on.

“In 1903 they petitioned the legislature to let them merge into one town and the legislature didn’t address it until 1959,” Bloomquist said.

Upon the merge, the Trimont Post Office opened in 1960, making it officials for all intents and purposes.

Looking at which industries have been big, Bloomquist said agriculture has always been a big one and remains so today with local farmers and businesses like Nu-Way K&H Cooperative and Crystal Valley Co-op.

“I think we were the only really small town in the area that had a very vibrant hospital until 1991. It was a city hospital,” Bloomquist said.

There was also a city-owned nursing home which was later privately sold and still exists today as Seasons Healthcare. From time to time other new businesses start up in the small town including Sinn Family Celebration of Life Center which just opened last year.

The Town Center is another new addition to the community and one that it’s proud of. It opened in 2016 and houses a liquor store, gas station, grocery store and hardware store and hosts various community events.

Bloomquist noted that many people who have moved away come back and retire in Trimont and she said a lot of younger people, in their 20s and 30s, have also come back or chosen to stay and work in the community.

“It’s nice to know that there’s a lot of people who have been successful in what they’ve gotten from here,” Bloomquist said.

The community is proud of other offerings like the Trimont Centennial Band and Sundaes in the Park, both of which were established in 1999 and still continue today.

On recognizing the anniversary, Bloomquist said, “I don’t know if it’s so much the history but getting the younger people to think about, a lot of people have lived in this town and built it and have caused it to have a personality. There’s so much behind every generation.”

This weekend Trimont Fun Fest is being celebrated and there’s a full day of events planned. The museum, housed in the former Catholic Church, will also be open for those wanting to look up more on the history of the community.