OWATONNA

city, seat of Steele county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S. Settled in the early 1850s as a trading post on a river known to the Indians as Owatonna (meaning straight), it was the site of the state's first known health spa, now in Mineral Springs Park. Owatonna was also the site of Minnesota's only state orphanage (18861945). The innovative American architect Louis Sullivan designed the National Farmers' Bank Building (1908) in the city. Owatonna developed as a trade, industrial, and transportation centre for a mixed-farming area with many cooperative creameries and a high butter production. Jewelry, tools, and farm equipment are among its manufactures. Village of Yesteryear (pioneer buildings) is in the county fairgrounds. Inc. town, 1854; city, 1957. Pop. (1990) 19,386; (1994 est.) 20,132.