Plato, Minnesota
city in Minnesota, United States
Plato is a city in southeastern McLeod County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 329 at the 2020 census.
History
A post office called Plato has been in operation since 1858. The city was named for Plato, a Greek philosopher.
1955 Plato auto-train collision
At approximately 10:13 P.M. on Thursday, November 10, 1955, a Studebaker sedan carrying six teenagers was struck by a westbound Milwaukee Road passenger train at one of the town's two railroad crossings, leaving no survivors. The county's worst vehicular and railroad accident in its history sent shockwaves across Minnesota and across the country.
The group were out celebrating a farewell party for one of its members: 18-year-old Robert A. Luedtke, who had recently enlisted in the United States Navy and was ordered to leave his home for basic training four days later.
In an investigation made and concluded by the McLeod County Police Department, the primary cause of the accident was the driver's failure of judgement via speeding.
Geography
Plato lies one half mile north of U.S. Highway 212 on a county road between Glencoe, the McLeod county seat, 5 miles (8 km) to the west, and Norwood Young America 6 miles (10 km) to the east. Downtown Minneapolis is 48 miles (77 km) to the east.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Plato, Minnesota” as city in Minnesota, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as city in Minnesota, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1924441. Authority coordinates are 44.774, -94.040. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1858 and 1955.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Plato, Minnesota”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Plato, Minnesota primary sources, Plato, Minnesota archive and Plato research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Plato, Minnesota”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Plato, Minnesota” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.