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Welcome to Watkins ...

The city of Watkins is located in Meeker County<1>.


The location of Watkins has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (the GNIS).<2>


While we don't have a date for the founding of Watkins, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1887.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Watkins has a population of 951 people<3> (see below for details).

Watkins is 1,160 feet [354 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Watkins lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Watkins is located in the (320) area code.

The ZIP code for Watkins: 55389<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Watkins had an population of 951 people. This is a decrease of 1.14% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 8.07% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Watkins had a population of 962 people. This makes Watkins the county's 4th most populous community.

The population of Watkins represents 0.02% of the total population of Minnesota (which has 5,303,925 people), making it the state's 371st most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 962 people, the population of Watkins increased 9.32% from the 2000 Census (with a count of 880 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Watkins.

Communities Also Named Watkins ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 26 communities that are also named Watkins - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas (2), Colorado (2), Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri (2), Montana (2), North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee (2), Texas (3), Virginia and West Virginia.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Watkins.

Communities near Watkins ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Watkins.

  • Waite Park
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Saint Joseph
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the north)
  • Litchfield
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Cold Spring
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
    • Cold Spring is located in Stearns County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,350 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cold Spring <6>
  • Saint Augusta
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saint Augusta have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saint Augusta
    • Saint Augusta is located in Stearns County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,900 people
  • Annandale
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Annandale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Annandale
    • Annandale is located in Wright County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,546 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Annandale <6>
  • Cokato
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
  • Rockville
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
    • Rockville is located in Stearns County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,599 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockville <6>
  • Paynesville
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paynesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paynesville
    • Paynesville is located in Stearns County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,531 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Paynesville <6>
  • Clearwater
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
    • Clearwater is located in Wright County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,841 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearwater <6>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Watkins. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Watkins.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Watkins. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Watkins.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Watkins. See our Newspapers Page for Watkins.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Watkins ...

Looking for more information about Watkins? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Watkins, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Watkins.

Adding Watkins to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Watkins in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Watkins was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Watkins post office opened in 1887.

We also found Watkins in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Watkins.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Watkins. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Meeker County: www.co.meeker.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Minnesota's counties, including Meeker, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Watkins.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Watkins - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Watkins). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Watkins or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 28 Nov 2024