Granite Falls, Minnesota

Granite Falls, Minnesota
—  City  —
Prentice Street in downtown Granite Falls in 2007
Location of Granite Falls, Minnesota
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Minnesota
Counties Chippewa, Renville, Yellow Medicine[1]
Area
 • Total 3.7 sq mi (9.6 km2)
 • Land 3.4 sq mi (8.9 km2)
 • Water 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2)
Elevation 919 ft (280 m)
Population (2010)[2]
 • Total 2,897
 • Density 890.5/sq mi (343.8/km2)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 56241
Area code(s) 320
FIPS code 27-25280[3]
GNIS feature ID 0644347[4]
Website www.granitefalls.com

Granite Falls is a city in Chippewa, Renville, and Yellow Medicine counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 2,897 at the 2010 census.[2] It is the county seat of Yellow Medicine County[5]. The Andrew John Volstead House, a National Historic Landmark, is located in Granite Falls.

Contents

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²), of which, 3.5 square miles (8.9 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (6.50%) is water.

U.S. Route 212 and Minnesota State Highways 23 and 67 are three of the main routes in the city.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1880 578
1890 800 38.4%
1900 1,214 51.8%
1910 1,454 19.8%
1920 1,611 10.8%
1930 1,791 11.2%
1940 2,388 33.3%
1950 2,511 5.2%
1960 2,728 8.6%
1970 3,225 18.2%
1980 3,451 7.0%
1990 3,083 −10.7%
2000 3,070 −0.4%
2010 2,897 −5.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 3,070 people, 1,344 households, and 806 families residing in the city. The population density was 890.5 people per square mile (343.6/km²). There were 1,472 housing units at an average density of 427.0 per square mile (164.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 92.35% White, 0.07% African American, 5.70% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.15% of the population.

There were 1,344 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,031, and the median income for a family was $45,536. Males had a median income of $32,905 versus $22,957 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,356. About 6.6% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

Granite Falls 2000 tornado

On July 25, 2000, the city of Granite Falls and Yellow Medicine County were hit by a powerful tornado. The tornado first touched down in rural parts of the county west-northwest of Granite Falls, hitting the city at 6:10 pm. After tearing through the residential sections of town, the tornado lifted at approximately 6:25PM after being on the ground for over nine miles. One person was killed, more than a dozen were injured, and the town and surrounding area suffered millions of dollars in property damage.

While the damage in Granite Falls was generally limited to that of F-2 and F-3 storms, the extent of the damage at the corner of 9th Avenue and 14th Street caused the National Weather Service to classify it as an F-4 storm. The tornado was among the most powerful recorded in the history of Minnesota.

Cultural references

References

External links