Richmond is a city of 1,420 people, but the city wasn’t always known as Richmond. This is the story of Richmond in central Minnesota, located southwest of St. Cloud along Highway 23. To help tell Richmond’s story, I was joined by James Hemmesch, a lifelong Richmond area resident. and current Mayor, and James Hemmesch, longtime resident and current Park & Rec Director and Ice Arena Manager Kevin Mooney.
photo – Jay Caldwell
Richmond was built by Rueben Richardson in 1856. He was a Sauk Rapids farmer who later served in the Minnesota legislature. It is unclear where Richmond’s name came from, but it could have come from an early settler in the area. The city was incorporated in 1890 and was named Torah because there was another city in southeast Minnesota already named Richmond. The town’s post office and train station were called Torah until 1909, when the name was changed to Richmond because people in the town identified themselves by that name. The Great Northern Railway ran through Richmond beginning in 1890.
photo – Jay Caldwell
Richmond offers many recreational options including boating/fishing on the Horseshoe Chain of Lakes, the Sauk River, the Glacial Lakes Trail, the new ROCORI Trail, El Rancho Manana Campground, Rich Spring Golf Course, and the River Lakes Civic Arena, just to name a few. Kevin Mooney says that about 20 years ago, Richmond started a trail program and that’s when the city helped the state and DNR add the Glacial Lakes Trail on the old BNSF rail line. He says that the start of the construction of the ROCORI trail also began around this time. Mooney says that’s when they started seeing more people walking and biking in the community. He indicated that the local hardware store was having difficulty keeping the bikes in stock. Mooney says the community is active year-round, and the hockey field helps with that during the winter months. Richmond also offers an outdoor music series on Tuesdays during the summer.
photo – Jay Caldwell
Richmond’s industry is spread throughout the city with a thriving center that includes a hardware store, butcher, bank, grocery store, bars/restaurants, church and schools. The industrial park along Highway 23 offers a convenience store, liquor store, Jill’s Cafe, Channel Marine, C&D Granite, and A&W. Mooney remembers the River Roost that existed along Highway 23, but was removed when Highway 23 became 4-lane.
photo – Jay Caldwell
Mayor Hemmesch indicates that Richmond has been growing and will continue to grow, but they are limited to the south of Highway 23, but the city has experienced commercial and industrial growth both to the east and west of the city. He says they are trying to work to increase housing options. Hemmesch said that before COVID they were averaging 10 new housing permits a year.
Richmond is the host of many events. Hemmesch says that next June 3 they will have their summer kickoff which will take place on Main Street, the third weekend of July is River Lake Days, which includes live music, beer gardens, etc… and the first Friday in December, which is called “Tremendous Night” is when the city kicks off winter. Hemmesch explains that the winter launch includes the giveaway of approximately 800 hot dogs. He says that for the past two years at Chain of Lakes, the Fire Department has had a cat fishing contest that has grown from its first year to this year.
If you’d like to listen to my conversations with James Hemmesch and Kevin Mooney, they’re available below.
james hemmesch
kevin moon
