Fairmont, Minnesota

Fairmont, Minnesota
—  City  —
Street in downtown Fairmont
Nickname(s): City of Lakes
Location of Fairmont, Minnesota
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Minnesota
County Martin
Government
 • Mayor Randy J. Quiring
Area
 • Total 16.5 sq mi (42.8 km2)
 • Land 14.6 sq mi (37.7 km2)
 • Water 2.0 sq mi (5.1 km2)
Elevation 1,184 ft (361 m)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 10,666
 • Density 730.5/sq mi (282.9/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 56031
Area code(s) 507
FIPS code 27-20330[2]
GNIS feature ID 0643501[3]

Fairmont is a city in Martin County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 10,666 at the 2010 census.[1] It is the county seat of Martin County[4].

Contents

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.5 square miles (43 km2), of which, 14.6 square miles (38 km2) of it is land and 2.0 square miles (5.2 km2) of it (11.86%) is water. The city of Fairmont itself has been built around a chain of five lakes: Lake George, Sisseton Lake, Budd Lake, Hall Lake, and Amber Lake. All except Amber Lake are connected by channels and are used extensively for recreational boating and fishing. Interstate 90 and Minnesota State Highway 15 are two of the main routes in the city.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1880 541
1890 1,205 122.7%
1900 3,040 152.3%
1910 2,958 −2.7%
1920 4,630 56.5%
1930 5,521 19.2%
1940 6,988 26.6%
1950 8,193 17.2%
1960 9,745 18.9%
1970 10,751 10.3%
1980 11,506 7.0%
1990 11,265 −2.1%
2000 10,889 −3.3%
2010 10,666 −2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 10,889 people and 2,962 families residing in the city. The population density was 747.5 people per square mile (288.6/km²). There were 5,036 housing units at an average density of 345.7 per square mile (133.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.1% White, 0.4% African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.9% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races.

There were 4,702 households out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.0% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 24.8% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,709, and the median income for a family was $46,637. Males had a median income of $31,365 versus $22,447 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,658. About 8.0% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Fairmont has been home to Fairmont Railway Motors, Inc, now part of Harsco Corporation, for a century. The company pioneered motorized railway section cars, later road-rail technologies as well as track maintenance machinery that revolutionized and mechanized rail track engineering. Its 100th anniversary celebration was held in the summer of 2009.

Fairmont products are exported around the world, although the dominant product, railroad speeders, is now mainly in the hands of railway enthusiasts who operate them for fun, such as the North American Railcar Operators Association and the Australian Society of Section Car Operators, Inc.

Fairmont is home to the U.S. headquarters of Avery Weigh-Tronix, one of the world's largest suppliers of weighing solutions.[5]

The Fairmont Sentinel, cited as the most conservative newspaper in Minnesota in issue 1065 of Rolling Stone Magazine, is published here.

The largest employer in Fairmont is Fairmont Medical Center, part of the Mayo Health System.

Prior to 1992, Fairmont had been home to a major regional frozen food canning operation. Longtime owned by the Stokely-Van Camp company, the plant fell under the United Foods International umbrella after United Foods' 1982 $50 million dollar buy-out of Van Camp's frozen vegetable division. Before closing in December 1992, the Fairmont plant was one three frozen vegetable processing plants producing product for the United Foods family of canned vegetables for sale throughout the United States.

Notable residents

Education

Local Area Schools [6]

References

  1. ^ a b "2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_PL_GCTPL2.ST13&prodType=table. Retrieved 27 April 2011. 
  2. ^ a b "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  3. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
  4. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. Retrieved 2011-06-07. 
  5. ^ http://www.wtxweb.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=59
  6. ^ http://fairmont.k12.mn.us/ Fairmont Area Schools website

External links