The Bremer County town of Fredericksburg was founded in 1856, named for its first settler, Frederick Patton. The town, which is home to 931 residents, was formally incorporated in 1894. As the self-proclaimed dairy capital of the state, Fredericksburg holds its annual Dairy Days event each June.
The first seat of Chickasaw County was the unincorporated community of Bradford, with a log courthouse constructed to hold early county records. Three years later, in 1857, the city of New Hampton was platted; its location in the geographic center of the county led to the designation of county seat within a decade. The first small frame courthouse was finished in 1865, but destroyed by fire fifteen years later.
The second courthouse in New Hampton was built with stone and brick and opened in 1881. It served residents until 1929, when the current courthouse opened. The three-story building features a Bedford limestone exterior.
Nearly sixty years after a Catholic congregation formed in the Chickasaw County community of North Washington, the decision was made to construct the present brick church. The prior limestone church was torn down, with some of the crushed limestone used for the new building. With a seating capacity of 600, the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in North Washington was – and is – the largest church in the county. The church is now part of a cluster of four in the Good Shepherd Catholic Cluster with services held every other Saturday.
On January 19, 1905, residents in the Chickasaw County town of Nashua learned that Andrew Carnegie offered a $5,000 grant for construction of a new public library building. The offer was contingent that the city would furnish the site and a tax would be established to support the facility. Work was completed by the end of the year, with a formal dedication ceremony held in January 1906.
In 1986, a 3,000-square-foot lobby was added to the rear of the building, an upgrade entirely paid for by local donations and grants. The library is open Monday through Saturday.