Sauk Rapids, Minnesota
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sauk Rapids is a city in Benton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 10,213 at the 2000 census.
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[edit] History
Sauk Rapids was originally little more than a forest of oak, maple and basswood trees along the Mississippi River until the first home was constructed there in 1851. The house that started it all was a large mansion named Lynden Terrace erected by W.H. Wood. Soon other settlers followed and the town was named Sauk Rapids after the rapids just below the Sauk River's mouth on the Mississippi. Soon a general store was built, then a hotel, and a large jail.
In 1856 the county seat moved to Watab, then returned to Sauk Rapids in 1859. A new courthouse was built, but then finally in 1897 the seat moved to Foley where it currently resides. In 1917 the courthouse burned. The first settlers organized a Congregational church that was soon followed by a Methodist, an Episcopalian and a Lutheran church. The first paper outside of St. Paul was the "Sauk Rapids Frontiersman". It started in 1854. In 1876 the first bridge was built, but then destroyed later in 1876. It was rebuilt in 1879. A flour mill was erected in 1875, then destroyed in 1886. In 1874 Sauk Rapids was the end of the line for the local railroad. All the settlers from as far away as the upper Red River Valley brought their produce there to ship it. A six-horse stage coach made bi-weekly trips between St. Cloud and Crow Wing. The first school was built in 1886.
Until 1886 Sauk Rapids was one of the most important cities in Minnesota. It stood a good chance of becoming even more so, but on April 14th at approximately 4:00 p.m. a tornado struck the town. The twister swept through the heart of the city, destroying all of the stores. In Sauk Rapids alone, 44 people were killed and several hundred were wounded. The event was a great setback for the city, and though it has rebuilt since then it never regained its former prominence in state-wide affairs.
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.5 km² (4.8 mi²). 11.8 km² (4.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (4.99%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 10,213 people, 3,921 households, and 2,599 families residing in the city. The population density was 862.9/km² (2,234.1/mi²). There were 4,017 housing units at an average density of 339.4/km² (878.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.11% White, 0.57% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.23% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.08% of the population.
There were 3,921 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 28.1% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 91.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,857, and the median income for a family was $53,938. Males had a median income of $36,074 versus $24,657 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,510. About 2.8% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.5% of those under age 18 and 10.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
