thumb|Yellow Medicine County Courthouse
Granite Falls is a city located mostly in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat with a small portion in Chippewa County, Minnesota. The population was 2,737 at the 2020 census. The Andrew John Volstead House, a National Historic Landmark (NHL), is located in Granite Falls. Another NHL located in Granite Falls is the Julian A. Weaver House.
History
In 1870 a post office began operating at Granite Falls. The town was platted in 1872 and named for deposits of granite rock in the area. In 1874 the county seat was moved to Granite Falls and a small one courtroom courthouse was erected. In 1876 the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was formed and a church was built. Granite Falls was incorporated as a city in 1879 with East Granite Falls joining in 1889.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water.
U.S. Highway 212 and Minnesota State Highways 23 and 67 are three of the main routes in the city.
Climate
Granite Falls, along with the rest of Minnesota, has a humid continental climate with significant differences between seasons. With a July mean temperature of Granite Falls just falls into the hot-summer zone of the Köppen classification of the humid continental climate regime. Winters are cold and dry influenced by arctic air masses affecting it through its continental position, while summers are influenced by humid subtropical air masses bringing hot temperatures and significant rainfall. Transitional periods are very short, since only April and October are between and in daily mean temperatures, with May–September being clearly above and November–March averaging below freezing.
|source 2 = National Weather Service
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Granite Falls had a population of 2,737. The median age was 44.4 years. 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 92.9 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.0 males age 18 and over.
0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 1,262 households in Granite Falls, of which 21.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 38.7% were married-couple households, 21.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Of the 1,282 households 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.7% were non-families. 37.2% of households were one person and 17.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82.
The median age was 43 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.3% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 20.7% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,070 people in 1,344 households, including 806 families, in the city. The population density was . There were 1,472 housing units at an average density of . The racial makup 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 1,344 households 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 households were one person and 18.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.91.
The age distribution was 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% 65 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 household income was $32,031 and the median family income 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.
Government
{| 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;" |52.8% 524
| style="text-align:center;" |45.2% 420
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.0% 30
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2016
| style="text-align:center;" |50.0% 706
| style="text-align:center;" |41.7% 589
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|8.3% 117
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2012
| style="text-align:center;" |40.6% 605
| style="text-align:center;" |57.4% 856
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.0% 30
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2008
| style="text-align:center;" |38.1% 590
| style="text-align:center;" |59.7% 926
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.2% 34
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2004
| style="text-align:center;" |38.4% 606
| style="text-align:center;" |60.4% 953
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.2% 20
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |2000
| style="text-align:center;" |37.1% 556
| style="text-align:center;" |55.9% 838
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|7.0% 104
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1996
| style="text-align:center;" |25.5% 360
| style="text-align:center;" |62.3% 880
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|12.2% 173
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1992
| style="text-align:center;" |24.9% 392
| style="text-align:center;" |51.7% 815
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|23.4% 370
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1988
| style="text-align:center;" |45.9% 693
| style="text-align:center;" |54.1% 817
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.0% 0
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1984
| style="text-align:center;" |52.6% 870
| style="text-align:center;" |47.4% 783
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.0% 0
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1980
| style="text-align:center;" |48.9% 878
| style="text-align:center;" |41.8% 750
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|9.3% 166
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1976
| style="text-align:center;" |40.6% 732
| style="text-align:center;" |57.4% 1,036
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|2.0% 36
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1972
| style="text-align:center;" |54.6% 934
| style="text-align:center;" |43.5% 744
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|1.9% 33
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1968
| style="text-align:center;" |41.5% 647
| style="text-align:center;" |52.8% 923
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|5.7% 89
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1964
| style="text-align:center;" |42.7% 713
| style="text-align:center;" |57.2% 955
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.1% 3
|-
| style="text-align:center;" |1960
| style="text-align:center;" |56.6% 776
| style="text-align:center;" |43.0% 590
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;"|0.4% 6
|}
Media
KWCM is a PBS television station located in Granite Falls.
Infrastructure
Transportation
- 20px United States Highway 212
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 23
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 67
References
External links
- City Website