thumb|View of St. Croix Valley above Afton
Afton ( ) is a city in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,955 at the 2020 United States census. It lies on a small bay where Valley Creek empties into the St. Croix River, several miles north of its confluence with the Mississippi River.
Afton is well known for Afton Alps, the largest ski and snowboard area in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. It is home to Afton State Park on the St. Croix River. Due to these two destinations and its quaint small-town appearance in a major metropolitan area, Afton receives a fair amount of local tourism in the form of day trips. The 2018 US Winter Olympic Gold Medalist cross-country skier Jessie Diggins is from Afton.
History
The first settlers in the area arrived in 1837. The settlement of Afton was platted in 1855, with the name chosen from a poem (Sweet Afton) by Robert Burns. A post office has been in operation at Afton since 1857. The city contains three properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the 1856 Erastus Bolles House, the 1864 Newington Gilbert House, and the 1867 Cushing Hotel.
Geography
The city has a total area of ; is land and is water. Main routes include Hudson Road, County Roads 18, 21, and 71; and Minnesota Highway 95. Afton borders Lake St. Croix Beach, Lakeland, and St. Mary's Point to the east. It also borders West Lakeland Township to the north, Denmark Township to the south, and Woodbury to the west.
Demographics
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Precinct General Election Results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
! Republican
! Democratic
! Third parties
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2020
| style="text-align:center;" |43.0% 946
| style="text-align:center;" |55.4% 1,218
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.6% 35
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2016
| style="text-align:center;" |43.9% 878
| style="text-align:center;" |49.2% 984
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;|6.9% 137
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2012
| style="text-align:center;" |49.7% 1,021
| style="text-align:center;" |48.6% 998
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.7% 35
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2008
| style="text-align:center;" |46.3% 950
| style="text-align:center;" |52.2% 1,071
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.5% 30
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2004
| style="text-align:center;" |46.6% 938
| style="text-align:center;" |52.0% 1,047
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.4% 27
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2000
| style="text-align:center;" |46.9% 844
| style="text-align:center;" |45.2% 813
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|7.9% 142
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1996
| style="text-align:center;" |38.7% 653
| style="text-align:center;" |46.7 789
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|14.6% 246
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1992
| style="text-align:center;" |28.8% 520
| style="text-align:center;" |41.0% 742
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|30.2% 545
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1988
| style="text-align:center;" |52.3% 788
| style="text-align:center;" |44.9% 676
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.8% 42
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1984
| style="text-align:center;" |55.6% 785
| style="text-align:center;" |42.6% 602
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.8% 25
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1980
| style="text-align:center;" |48.4% 672
| style="text-align:center;" |37.3% 517
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|14.3% 198
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1976
| style="text-align:center;" |50.7% 650
| style="text-align:center;" |45.3% 580
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.0% 51
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1968
| style="text-align:center;" |55.6% 431
| style="text-align:center;" |39.5% 306
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|4.9% 38
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1964
| style="text-align:center;" |46.9% 305
| style="text-align:center;" |51.0% 332
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.1% 14
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1960
| style="text-align:center;" |61.6% 352
| style="text-align:center;" |35.9% 205
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.5% 14
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Afton had a population of 2,955. The median age was 50.2 years. 20.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 24.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 99.2 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,091 households in Afton, of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 71.8% were married-couple households, 11.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 11.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 14.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
- Jessie Diggins, Olympian cross-country skier
References
External links
- City of Afton – Official Website