Graceville, Minnesota Explained

Official Name:Graceville
Settlement Type:City
Mapsize:250px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Minnesota
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Big Stone
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:1.50
Area Land Km2:1.50
Area Water Km2:0.00
Area Total Sq Mi:0.58
Area Land Sq Mi:0.58
Area Water Sq Mi:0.00
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:529
Population Density Km2:352.65
Population Density Sq Mi:913.64
Timezone:Central (CST)
Utc Offset:-6
Timezone Dst:CDT
Utc Offset Dst:-5
Elevation Ft:1109
Coordinates:45.5686°N -96.4372°W
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:56240
Area Code:320
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:27-24758[2]
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:2394940

Graceville is a city in Big Stone County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 529 at the 2020 census.[3]

History

Graceville was founded in the 1870s by a colony of Catholics and named for Thomas Langdon Grace, the second Roman Catholic Bishop of Saint Paul, Minnesota.[4]

Covenant of our Lady of the Lake was a Native American residential school that operated in Graceville and opened in 1885. The school held Native American girls from Sisseton, South Dakota. In 1896, the US government withdrew its funding of the school and the students were sent back to Sisseton. The building was used as a school for students from the Graceville area for two years until it burned down in 1898.[5] [6]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 0.58sqmi, all land.[7]

U.S. Route 75 and Minnesota State Highway 28 are the two major highways that run through the community. The town's main street is Studdart Avenue. The town is on the northeast corner of Toqua Lake, a recreational lake surrounded by two campgrounds, a golf course, and a shooting club.

Graceville is in a natural area called a wet prairie, which is a mix of prairie land, swamp and numerous small lakes and ponds.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the census[8] of 2010, there were 577 people, 263 households, and 135 families residing in the city. The population density was 994.8PD/sqmi. There were 305 housing units at an average density of 525.9/sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 99.8% White and 0.2% Asian. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population.

There were 263 households, of which 19.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 1.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.7% were non-families. 44.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.80.

The median age in the city was 52.2 years. 17% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 35% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.9% male and 54.1% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 605 people, 257 households and 149 families residing in the city. The population density was 1007.7sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 283 housing units at an average density of 471.4sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the city was 99.50% White, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, and 0.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.

There were 257 households, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.92.

Age distribution was 22.3% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 32.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males.

The median household income was $27,143, and the median family income was $35,385. Males had a median income of $27,031 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,451. About 3.9% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Precinct General Election Results[9]
YearRepublicanDemocraticThird parties
202067.8% 22731.3% 1050.9% 3
201657.5% 19534.5% 1178.0% 27
201245.4% 14852.8% 1721.8% 6
200845.3% 15353.0% 1791.7% 6
200442.1% 14356.8% 1931.1% 4
200042.0% 14249.1% 1668.9% 30
199626.1% 8963.1% 21510.8% 37
199229.8% 10849.6% 18020.6% 75
198829.3% 11970.7% 2870.0% 0
198439.4% 16360.6% 2510.0% 0
198039.2% 19153.6% 2617.2% 35
197626.2% 10270.5% 2753.3% 13
197232.2% 12666.0% 2581.8% 7
196830.2% 11765.6% 2544.2% 16
196422.3% 8877.7% 3060.0% 0
196026.1% 10973.6% 3070.3% 1

Arts and culture

Toquatennial Days

In an effort to promote tourism, the Graceville Civic Group began Toquatennial Days on the first weekend of July in 1988, the 110th anniversary of the town's founding. Events included the crowning of "Miss Toquatennial" (entrants limited to women who would be seniors at the high school), a "Medallion Hunt", softball tournament, Sunday evening ice cream social and drag competition (an apparent parody of past Miss Toquatennials), two street dances (a free "kiddie" dance on Friday night, and the Graceville Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser dance on Saturday night), and the Saturday morning "Graceville Gallop", a six-kilometer walk/run that circles Toqua Lake. The events culminated with a fireworks display at dusk on Sunday evening over Toqua Lake. Events continued to be held annually on the first weekend of July or last weekend of June until the Civic Group disbanded in 1998, but several local businesses and the Volunteer Fire Department have independently kept many of the events going every year, including the addition of a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and fire department "water fights".

Education

Graceville is part of the Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley School District (Independent School District 2888). It is an elementary and high school conglomerate consisting of rural schools in Big Stone County, which united in 1994. The school mascot is the Wolverine and the school newspaper is the "Paw Press." The high school is in Graceville and the elementary school in nearby Clinton.

Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley High School earned the Minnesota State High School League Championship in 9-man football, played at the H.H.H. Metrodome on November 13, 2012.[10] In 2009, C-G-B High School competed in the semifinal game against Stephen-Argyle School District, losing 18–21.[11] C-G-B sports compete in the Pheasant Conference of the Minnesota State High School League.

Notable people

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. July 24, 2022.
  2. Web site: U.S. Census website . . January 31, 2008 .
  3. Web site: 2020 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File . American FactFinder . . May 1, 2022.
  4. Book: Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance. 1920. Minnesota Historical Society. 54.
  5. Web site: Interactive Digital Map of Indian Boarding Schools . 2024-07-16 . The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition . en-US.
  6. Web site: Child . State-Minnesota St Benedict’s Industrial School St Benedict’s Industrial School for Indian GirlsSt John’s Indian Industrial School St Mary’s Mission School Mission of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Indian Industrial School St Paul’s Industrial School Academy of the Holy . List . 2024-07-16 . CTAH . en-US.
  7. Web site: US Gazetteer files 2010 . . November 13, 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120125061959/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt . January 25, 2012 .
  8. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. November 13, 2012.
  9. Web site: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State - Election Results. February 22, 2021. February 22, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210222230838/https://www.sos.state.mn.us/elections-voting/election-results. live.
  10. [List of Minnesota State High School League State Championships (Fall)#Football|MSHSL Championships List- MSHSL State Championships]
  11. http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/70624557.html 9-Man Semi Finals