Byron, Minnesota

There are also two Byron Townships in Minnesota.

Byron, Minnesota
City
Motto: "Where Neighbors Become Family"
Location of Byron, Minnesota Location of Byron, Minnesota
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Olmsted
Incorporated	1873
Government
• Mayor	Ann Diercks
• City Council	Bret Baumbach Bob Meyer Jason Snow Matthew Brekke
Area
• Total	2.91 sq mi (7.54 km2)
• Land	2.91 sq mi (7.54 km2)
• Water	0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation	1,257 ft (383 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	4,914
• Estimate (2013)	5,063
• Density	1,688.7/sq mi (652.0/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	55920
Area code(s)	507
FIPS code	27-09154
GNIS feature ID	0640721
Website	[1]

Byron is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, approximately 5 miles west of Rochester on U.S. Route 14. It is surrounded by Kalmar Township. The population was 4,914 at the 2010 census.

Local industries are in the form of farm services and printing. A grain elevator is situated next to the rail line that runs through town, which is owned by the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad. Schmidt Printing (a subsidiary of Taylor Corporation) is another major company in town. Byron is also a bedroom community for nearby Rochester.

History

Byron was platted in 1864. The city was named after Port Byron, New York by a settler from that place. A post office called Byron has been in operation since 1868. Byron was incorporated in 1873.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.91 square miles (7.54 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	222		—
1890	291		31.1%
1900	347		19.2%
1910	272		−21.6%
1920	302		11.0%
1930	323		7.0%
1940	341		5.6%
1950	385		12.9%
1960	660		71.4%
1970	1,419		115.0%
1980	1,715		20.9%
1990	2,441		42.3%
2000	3,500		43.4%
2010	4,914		40.4%
Est. 2014	5,191		5.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 4,914 people, 1,796 households, and 1,366 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,688.7 inhabitants per square mile (652.0/km²). There were 1,891 housing units at an average density of 649.8 per square mile (250.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.2% White, 0.7% African American, 0.1% Native American, 1.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.5% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population.

There were 1,796 households of which 44.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.7% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 23.9% were non-families. 18.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.15.

The median age in the city was 33.1 years. 31.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.8% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 7.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

Transportation

A commuter bus service to Rochester is operated by Rochester City Lines and has three trips daily through Byron each day. Two of those three go directly to a park-and-ride lot on the eastern edge of town, while the third zig-zags through the city to pick up customers.

The DM&E rail line was originally built by the Winona and St. Peter Railroad, which reached west through town to neighboring Kasson in 1865. The railroad is a major reason why Byron exists at all. The station was located west of what is now Byron Avenue, and was rebuilt in 1883. The Chicago and North Western Railway gained control of the Winona and St. Peter a few years after the line reached Byron. The C&NW operated the line until the 1980s, when it was spun off to create the DM&E.

Community and government

Byron has a mayor and a four-member city council. There are also four other government boards including an economic development authority and a park board. Byron City Hall is located near the elementary school on 10th Avenue. It is also a fairly new structure. The old city hall is in the center of town at Byron Avenue and 4th Street and was built in 1938. The city's first water tower was built next to that location a few years earlier in 1935, though it was torn down around 2004. The Byron city flag consists of three strips of blue, white, and green. It has 3 stars and a bear in the center of the white stripe. The flag's design was chosen through a city-wide contest and the winning design was made by Jeff and Allison Ihrke.

The once-weekly Byron Review newspaper covers city events. It is owned by Community News Corporation, which also operates papers in Hayfield and Dodge Center.

Parks and recreation

Parks

One of the major parks in the county, Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo, is 3.5 miles north of town. The zoo has dozens of animals from thirty different native species, including a number of birds, a mountain lion, wolves, otters, and some bison.

Within Byron, there are several city parks as well as a pool which operates in the summer.

Golf

Byron is home to two golf courses. Somerby Golf Club and Community is a private golf club and community, located on the north side of the city. Links of Byron [2] is on the south side of Byron, and is a 9-hole, executive length public golf course.

External links

• City of Byron
• Byron Chamber of Commerce
• Byron Public Schools
• City-Data for Byron, MN