Dundas, Minnesota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dundas is a city in Rice County, Minnesota, USA. The population was 547 at the 2000 census.
The community was named for Dundas, Ontario, Canada. The town originally had a flour mill on the Cannon River, ruins of which can still be seen.
Today, the town is chiefly a bedroom community for nearby Northfield, Minnesota and the more distant Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The juxtaposition of Dundas and Northfield and their disparate zoning policies and attitudes toward development have led to some unusual growth patterns. Dundas is home to a number of businesses, such as the off-sale liquor store and two bars that would be unable to get licenses to operate in the Northfield regulatory environment. Another attraction is the recently opened bistro, Fermentations. Fermentations is featured in Minnesota Monthly Magazine's Dining. Fermentations features "Contemporary Gourmet" and is "Elegant yet casual" according to Minnesota Monthly [1].
Dundas has the only public feed mill within about 40 miles. It is operated by Interstate Mills on the site of the original grain elevator. In 1999, the threat of a Target store being sited in Dundas rather than Northfield, was instrumental in forcing changes to Northfield's zoning to allow such uses.
A Union Pacific freight railroad line passes through Dundas.
[edit] Recent Developments
In recent years, Dundas continues to grow. Several new developments including the College City Beverage building as well as the Stone Ridge Hills and Bridgewater Heights housing communities. This new development has led to the construction of a new water tower near the College City Beverage site on the southwest side of town.
In the more distant past, the opening of a Menards home improvement store and the Mill Stone housing development sprurred growth in the town. The growth of both Dundas and nearby Northfield has changed the political environment of the area and Bridgewater Township has recently decided to take on planning and zoning in an effort to slow the metrosprawl from the north that the cities seem powerless to control.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.0 km² (1.5 mi²), all land. The Cannon River passes through the center of town. The latitude of Dundas is 44.429N. The longitude is -93.204W. Elevation is 932 feet.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 547 people, 213 households, and 146 families residing in the city. The population density was 138.0/km² (356.4/mi²). There were 229 housing units at an average density of 57.8/km² (149.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.26% White, 1.28% African American, 1.10% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.38% of the population.
There were 213 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.3% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.0% were non-families. 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 12.4% from 18 to 24, 33.6% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $51,429, and the median income for a family was $55,250. Males had a median income of $32,167 versus $29,306 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,316. About 4.8% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.
