He was one of the most important people in the history of Minnesota politics.

Hubert Humphrey is a legend across our state, especially in his hometown of Waverly.

Born in South Dakota, Humprey was a Minnesota senator and vice president under Lyndon Johnson. Humprey and his wife Murial moved their family to Waverly in the 1950s, naming the home Triple H.

“He was really adopted by the people,” Marisa Campanaro with the Wright County Historical Society said. “Some of the photos I’ve seen of him just speaking in front of their town hall and just the amount of people that come to see him talk really just shows how much he believed in people and wanting to bring both sides together and in such a small town like Waverly that was such a big deal to them.”

Humprey loved Waverly and would often be seen out and about in town. Humphrey referred to Waverly as “the peace of my world.”

“After he was diagnosed with cancer, he went back there to receive treatment and was even asked if he was going back to his real home in D.C., but he chose to go to Waverly instead,” Campanaro said.

In January 1978, Hubert Humprey died in his Waverly home at the age of 66. A few years after his death, the Humprey home was turned into a treatment center. A monument of Humphrey was dedicated in a Waverly park.