About Our Town

From its early beginnings, Hastings was shaped by its surrounding geography & water resources. 

Located at the junction of the St. Croix & Mississippi Rivers, with the nearby Vermillion River Falls to provide water power, Hastings was a shipping and milling center for many years. With a deep water harbor, steamboats could unload goods & passengers easily. 

Crossing over the rivers were several bridges: the Covered Bridge south of town, the swing RR bridge (one of the first iron RR bridges in Minnesota) & the absolutely unique Spiral Bridge over the Mississippi River.

Our many lakes and springs provided clean water for beer brewing, dear to the heart of Minnesota’s largest ethnic group, the Germans.  

The surrounding farmland provided incentive for generations of immigrants, and many of our farms continue today as Century Farms.

Serving as Dakota County Seat, Hastings offered its citizens many amenities from opera houses, an early library system, several health care facilities, an extensive parks system, numerous churches and public and private educational choices, include post-secondary opportunities.

With nearby highway linkages, Hastings has evolved into a suburb of the Twin Cities but retains its small town, rivertown characteristics.

Cities Matter!

Cities Matter is a project of the League of Minnesota Cities - Minnesota's primary organization serving the city community. The Cities Matter effort is focused on helping Minnesotans learn more about the city services your taxes pay for, how to help kids understand what cities do, and ways you can get involved to make your community a better place. Public opinion surveys show that Minnesota’s 854 city governments consistently rank higher than state or federal governments in the value citizens believe they get for their tax dollars. But these surveys also show that Minnesotans don’t have a strong understanding of the services cities provide. Check it out on citiesmatter.org