![Biwabik moose](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Biwabik_moose.jpg)
Biwabik () is a city in
Saint Louis County,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States. The population was 961 at the
2020 census.
State Highway 135 (MN 135) and
Vermilion Trail (County 4) are two of the main routes in Biwabik.
Its name is derived from the
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
word for Iron: ''Biwabiko-nabik-wan''. Biwabik is the gateway to the East Range on the Mesabi Iron Range.
Biwabik is a
Bavarian-themed town that greets visitors to Giants Ridge Resort with two award-winning golf courses and acclaimed ski area, plus trails, lakes, lodging and dining. With the Mesabi Trail connecting the community to Giants Ridge and Vermilion Trail Campground on Embarrass Lake, this scenic city is a destination any time of year. Visit during the Fourth of July for the popular Calithumpian Parade, in September for Honktoberfest, an Oktoberfest which honors Honk the Moose and come back the first Saturday in December for Weihnachtsfest, with fireworks, delightful music and food, and lights.
Recreation
Biwabik is the home o
Giants Ridge Golf and Ski Resort Golf Digest ranked Giants Ridge as an “Editors Choice” in 2019 as one of “The Best Golf Resorts in the Midwest.” Golf Digest has also ranked the Quarry the #1 public course in the state and #4 overall. The Legend has ranked as the #4 public course in the state and #14 overall.
The Giants Ridge Bike Park features 10 lift-served gravity (downhill) mountain bike trails Featuring berms, jumps, rollers and rock gardens, our downhill trail system is designed for riders of all ability levels and embraces the scenic but rugged terrain of Giants Ridge. Giants Ridge welcomes XC riders to explore the 9.2 miles of purpose-built cross country mountain bike trail winding through the Superior National Forest.
Biwabik is also plays host to road cycling, mountain biking, golf, skiing, tubing, snowshoeing, boating, fishing, hunting, ATV and snowmobiling. Biwabik is a recreational town. The Mesabi Trail and the East Range Multi Use Trail is in Biwabik, with several connection opportunities.
Events
The Biwabik Area Civic Association hosts several events each year:
*Music in the Park - Thursday nights in the summer
*City Wide Rummage Sale - Spring & Fall
*Honktoberfest - Third weekend of September
*Weihnachtsfest - First weekend of December
Other events include:
*Pepsi Challenge ski race takes place at Giants Ridge in March.
*The Minnesota High School League State Alpine and Nordic Ski Meets at Giants Ridge in February.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the city has a total area of ; is land and is water.
Unique to Biwabik is the Mary Ellen Jasper. The
jasper
Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...
variety was first discovered in Minnesota in the early 1900s. Mary Ellen Jasper contains 1.88-billion-year-old
stromatolite
Stromatolites () or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations ( microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). T ...
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s, It is fossilized algae, so the stromatolite is what makes the Mary Ellen unique.
History
Daniel R. Curtin, Wisconsin State Assemblyman and businessman, at one time owned the town site of Biwabik, Minnesota. For 10 years, Curtin was in the lumber and mining business.
Biwabik is a town full of firsts. Biwabik was the first to incorporate as a village on the Iron Range in September 1892. It was also the first Iron Range town to be served by two railroads, the "Duluth & Iron Range" and the "Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railway". Biwabik had the first large mine on the Mesabi and it was the first on the Iron Range with a steam shovel to mine.
An F3
tornado
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...
destroyed homes in the northern and northwestern parts of Biwabik on October 6, 1900, killing ten people in and near the city and injuring 70; six deaths were in one family.
In 1915, a moose visited the town regularly and in the book, "Honk: The Moose", the residents named him "Honk" after the noise he made. This children's book ''
Honk, the Moose'', was written by famed author,
Phil Stong
Philip Duffield Stong (January 27, 1899 – April 26, 1957) was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for the 1932 novel ''State Fair'', which was adapted as a film three times ( 1933, 1945 and 1962) and as a B ...
and illustrated by
Kurt Weise. Stong was a teacher and coach at the Biwabik school in the 1919 - 1920 school year. He featured people from Biwabik as characters. The book is a
Newbery Honor
Newbery is a surname.
People
* Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver
* David Newbery (born 1943), British economist
*Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot
* Francis Newbery (disambiguation), s ...
and on Cattermole's 100 Best Children's Books of the 20th Century. A statue of Honk resides in the City Park on Main Street.
Peter X. Fugina (1908-1994), educator and Minnesota state legislator was born in Biwabik.
['Former state representative Peter X. Fugina, 84, dies,' David Chasen, Minneapolis Star Tribune (Minnesota), March 31, 1994, pg. 6B]
Demographics
2020 census
At the 2020
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
, there were 961 people and 323 households in the city.
The racial makeup of the city was 887
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 13
Native American, 1
Asian, 0
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, and 55 from two or more races. 19.4%
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, 10.2%
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
, 9.4% Norwegian, 7% English, 6.5% Polish, 6.4% French, 5.5% Italian and .5% Scottish, according to the 2020 Census.
There were 323 households, of which 14.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.9% were
married couples living together, 22.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 31% we male household, no spouse present. 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average family size was 2.5.
14.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 85.6% from 18 and over, with 21.4 who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.5 years.
The
median household income
The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two equal groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways o ...
was $41,719 and the median family income was $74,593. About 15.9% of people were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
See also
* ''
Honk, the Moose'', a children's novel based on a story taking place in Biwabik. Written by
Phil Stong
Philip Duffield Stong (January 27, 1899 – April 26, 1957) was an American author, journalist and Hollywood scenarist. He is best known for the 1932 novel ''State Fair'', which was adapted as a film three times ( 1933, 1945 and 1962) and as a B ...
, illustrated by
Kurt Weise.
References
External links
City of Biwabik official websiteBiwabik Area Civic Association official websiteBiwabik history and information
{{Coord, 47, 31, 59, N, 92, 20, 25, W, type:city_region:US-MN, display=title
Cities in Minnesota
Cities in St. Louis County, Minnesota
Mining communities in Minnesota