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Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the State of
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 t ...
. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census.


History

Northfield was
plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Surveys to show the distance and bea ...
ted in 1856 by John W. North. Local legend says that the town was named for John North and a Mr. Field. North, realizing that the town straddled the proposed northern border of Rice county, went to the state capital to lobby to move the border one mile north. Northfield was founded by settlers from
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
known as "Yankees" as part of New England's colonization of what was then the far west. It was an early agricultural center with many wheat and corn farms. The town also supported lumber and flour mills powered by the Cannon River. As the "wheat frontier" moved west, dairy operations and diversified farms replaced wheat-based agriculture. The region has since moved away from dairy and beef operations. Today it produces substantial crops of corn and soybeans, as well as hogs. The local cereal producer Malt-O-Meal is one of the few remnants of Northfield's historic wheat boom. The city's motto, "Cows, Colleges, and Contentment", reflects the influence of the dairy farms as well as its two liberal arts colleges, Carleton College and
St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...
. Since early in its history, Northfield has been a center of higher education. Carleton College (then Northfield College) was founded in 1866 by the Minnesota Conference of Congregational churches whose Congregation consisted of the "Yankee" settlers who had largely founded the town. These were people descended from the English Puritans who settled New England in the 1600s. Carleton soon established its campus on the northern edge of town.
St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...
was founded in 1874 on the western edge of town by Norwegian
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
immigrant pastors and farmers who were eager to preserve their faith and culture by training teachers and preachers. These two institutions, which today enroll more than 5,000 students, make Northfield a college town. In the 1970s, completion of
Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican borde ...
six miles west of Northfield enabled the expansion of the
Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota) ...
metro area south of the Minnesota River. The downtown grain elevator accepted its last load of corn in 2000 and was torn down in 2002. Residential growth has been rapid since the mid-1990s. Northfield Hospital, which opened in 2003 in the town's northwest corner, is in Dakota County, so chosen because government reimbursement rates are more generous for Dakota County than for Rice County.


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 th ...
, the city has an area of ; is land and is water. The peak elevation is about 912 feet. The town is roughly centered around the Cannon River and rises to the east and west from it. Interstate 35 is west of Northfield. Minnesota State Highways 3, 19, and 246 are three of Northfield's main routes.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
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 inc ...
of 2010, there were 20,007 people, 6,272 households, and 3,946 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was . There were 6,832 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.8%
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 ...
, 1.3%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.2% Native American, 3.5% Asian, 4.0% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 8.4% of the population. There were 6,272 households, of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.04. The median age in the city was 26.4 years. 19.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 29% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.1% were from 25 to 44; 20.1% were from 45 to 64; and 12% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.


2000 census

As of the
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 inc ...
of 2000, there were 17,147 people, 4,909 households, and 3,210 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
was 2,452.2 people per square mile (947.1/km). There were 5,119 housing units at an average density of 732.1 per square mile (282.8/km). The racial makeup of the city was 92.57%
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 ...
, 0.90%
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.34% Native American, 2.36% Asian, 0.05%
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 ...
, 1.78% from other races, and 1.99% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race were 5.73% of the population. There were 4,909 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% 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 3.08. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 32.1% from 18 to 24 (a figure heavily influenced by the student population of
St. Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...
and Carleton College), 21.0% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $49,972, and the median income for a family was $61,055. Males had a median income of $40,008 versus $28,456 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...
for the city was $18,619. About 2.8% of families and 7.2% of the population 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 ...
, including 5.3% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.


Economy

Early in the city's history, local merchants created a small town square between Fourth Street to the north, Division Street to the east, the Cannon River to the west, and the southern storefronts. The old Ames Mill/ Malt-O-Meal plant was also nearby, originally powered by the dam on the river. Bridge Square and the surrounding downtown area remain a strong cultural attraction for the city. The square has several amenities including a large fountain, a memorial statue, and a concession stand known as "the popcorn wagon" run by the senior center. Several scenic walkways follow the river, and numerous shops and boutiques can be found on the neighboring streets. Businesses serving the growing senior citizen community of Northfield have expanded to include the Northfield Senior Center, the Village on the Cannon, Millstream Commons, and new construction at the Northfield Retirement Center complex. The northern edge of the city has also been expanding with several residential and commercial developments. Jesse James' and the James-Younger Gang's 1876 attempt to rob the First National Bank of Northfield serves as a heritage tourism draw for the town. The original bank building was converted to a museum operated by the Northfield Historical Society. The First National Bank of Northfield operates from a main office built half a block away from the historic site. In its front lobby, a glass case showcases a gun used during the robbery. The Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau provides comprehensive tourism information and visit planning services.


Arts and culture


Defeat of Jesse James Days Celebration

On September 7, 1876, Northfield experienced one of its most important historical events, when The James-Younger Gang attempted a robbery on the First National Bank of Northfield. Local citizens, recognizing what was happening, armed themselves and resisted the robbers and successfully thwarted the theft. The gang killed the bank's cashier, Joseph Lee Heywood and a Swedish immigrant, Nicholas Gustafson. A couple of members of the gang were killed in the street, while Cole, Bob and Jim Younger were cornered near
Madelia, Minnesota Madelia is a city in Watonwan County, Minnesota, United States, along the Watonwan River. The population was 2,308 at the 2010 census. History Madelia was founded in 1857, and named for the daughter of a first settler. A post office has been i ...
. Jesse and Frank James escaped west into the Dakota Territory, while the remaining gang members were killed or taken into custody. Considering the James gang as related to postwar
insurgency An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irr ...
, the raid has sometimes been called the last major event of the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
. Two of Northfield's slogans are "Jesse James Slipped Here", based on the raid's failure, along with “Get your guns boys, they’re robbing the bank!” The events have become the basis of an annual outdoor heritage festival called ''The Defeat of Jesse James Days''. It is held the weekend after Labor Day and is among the largest outdoor celebrations in Minnesota. Thousands of visitors witness reenactments of the robbery, which is staged on Division street, outside of the First National Bank of Northfield. Other activities during the festival include: a championship rodeo, carnival, car show, and parade, as well as arts and crafts expositions, and musical performances. Many food stations are set up in Bridge Square, and during the evenings live music is played in a "beer tent" on Water Street. A horseshoe hunt takes place the week prior to the celebration; an antique horseshoe is hidden somewhere within the city on public grounds and the finder claims that year's cash purse.


In popular media

* Films based on the failed raid include ''
The True Story of Jesse James ''The True Story of Jesse James'' is a 1957 American Western drama film adapted from Henry King's 1939 film ''Jesse James'', which was only loosely based on James' life. It was directed by Nicholas Ray, with Robert Wagner portraying Jesse James ...
'' (1957), ''
The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid ''The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid'' is a 1972 American Western film about the James-Younger Gang distributed by Universal Pictures. It was written and directed by Philip Kaufman in a cinéma vérité style and starring Cliff Robertson. The ...
'' (1972), and '' The Long Riders'' (1980). * Northfield was also the setting of the TV-movie '' Love Always, Santa'' (2016).


Parks and recreation

The city owns 35 parks consisting of over of land. Three of these parks have picnic shelters. The Carleton College Cowling Arboretum is a sizable, well-established arboretum and nature preserve adjacent to and owned by Carleton College. It offers extensive trails for walking in the summer and cross-country skiing in the winter. St. Olaf College also owns many hundreds of acres called the St. Olaf Natural Lands. These include of natural habitat and acres of agricultural land. Of that, is restored prairie with 10 species of native grasses, and 25-40 species of wildflowers, of big woods habitat, and up to of surface wetlands. The St. Olaf Natural Lands are open to the public all year long. The Mill Towns State Trail was built in 1998 as a joint effort of the cities of Northfield and
Dundas Dundas may refer to: Places Australia * Dundas, New South Wales * Dundas, Queensland, a locality in the Somerset Region * Dundas, Tasmania * Dundas, Western Australia * Fort Dundas, a settlement in the Northern Territory 1824–1828 * Shire ...
.


Government and politics

The City of Northfield has a mayor-council government. The City Administrator is responsible for managing daily operations. The current mayor is Rhonda Pownell. The city council consists of six members, four of whom represent city districts and two of whom are at-large members serving four year terms. Northfield is served by Minnesota State Senator
Rich Draheim Rich Draheim (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and member of the Minnesota Senate. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, he represents Minnesota Senate, District 20, District 20 in south-central Minnesota. Early life, educ ...
( R) in District 20 and State Representative
Todd Lippert Todd Lippert (born January 26, 1977) is an American politician and former pastor who served as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2019 to 2022. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), he represent ...
( DFL) in District 20B. In the United States Congress, Northfield is part of Minnesota's 2nd congressional district, represented by
Angie Craig Angela Dawn Craig (born February 14, 1972) is an American politician, retired journalist, and former businesswoman. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she has served as the U.S. representative from since 2019. The distric ...
( DFL) since 2019, and in the Senate by Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, both members of Minnesota's Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, an affiliate of the Democratic Party.


Education

Northfield is home to
St. Olaf Olaf II Haraldsson ( – 29 July 1030), later known as Saint Olaf (and traditionally as St. Olave), was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the title ''Rex Perpet ...
and Carleton colleges. Their student and staff populations account for a large portion of the town's year-round population. The Northfield Public School district operates three elementary schools, a middle school, a high school, and an alternative learning center. In addition, Northfield has public charter schools: Arcadia (grades 6–12) and Prairie Creek Community School (grades K–5) in nearby Castle Rock. They receive state funding from the State of Minnesota.


Transportation

Northfield is at the intersection of Minnesota State Highway 3 and Minnesota State Highway 19. The nearest interstate highway is I-35, west of the city. Northfield is also the site of one of the first roundabouts with grade-separated paths for bikes and pedestrians in the United States at the intersection of TH 246 and Jefferson Parkway.Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (2022, June 17). Northfield roundabout transformation. Retrieved July 24, 2022, from https://www.sehinc.com/portfolio/northfield-roundabout-transformation Historically, Northfield was served by four railroads: the Chicago Great Western Railway, Milwaukee Road, the Rock Island, and the Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway. Today, the freight-only Albert Lea Subdivision of the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
runs north-south through Northfield. Progressive Rail, a short-line railroad, operates several branch lines radiating from Northfield. Resumption of passenger service over the Dan Patch Corridor has been studied.


Notable people

*
Peter Agre Peter Agre (born January 30, 1949) is an American physician, Nobel Laureate, and molecular biologist, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and director ...
(born January 30, 1949), Nobel laureate in chemistry * Adelbert Ames (October 31, 1835 – April 13, 1933),
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
general during the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
and Mississippi politician during
Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...
; father Jesse Ames purchased the Ames Mill, producers of Malt-O-Meal, in 1865 * Cyril Archibald (1837 – April 13, 1914), member of Canadian Parliament *
Ian Barbour Ian Graeme Barbour (1923–2013) was an American scholar on the relationship between science and religion. According to the Public Broadcasting Service his mid-1960s ''Issues in Science and Religion'' "has been credited with literally creating t ...
(October 5, 1923 – December 24, 2013), winner of 1999
Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...
*
Steven Brust Steven Karl Zoltán Brust (born November 23, 1955) is an American fantasy and science fiction author of Hungarian descent. He is best known for his series of novels about the assassin Vlad Taltos, one of a disdained minority group of humans liv ...
(born November 23, 1955), author and musician *
Lincoln Child Lincoln Child (13 October 1957) is an American author of techno-thriller and horror novels. Though he is most well known for his collaborations with Douglas Preston (including the Agent Pendergast series and the Gideon Crew series, among other ...
(born 1957), author * F. Melius Christiansen (April 1, 1871 – June 1, 1955), pioneer of '' a cappella'' choral music * Raymond Cox (1951-2017), Minnesota state legislator and businessman * Michael Dorris (January 30, 1945 – April 10, 1997), author * Joan N. Ericksen (born 1954), United States District Court judge * Steve Grove (born 1978), American businessman, former Google News Lab Director and Commissioner of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development * Ralph B. Goodhue (January 27, 1878 - January 18, 1960), Minnesota state senator and farmer * Laurence McKinley Gould (August 22, 1896 – June 21, 1995), geologist, educator, polar explorer * Joel Heatwole (August 22, 1856 – April 4, 1910), U.S. Representative * Lucius Roy Holbrook (April 30, 1875 – October 19, 1952), U.S. Army
major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
* Alexandra Holden (born April 30, 1977), actress * Siri Hustvedt (born February 19, 1955), author, poet, and essayist * Justin Kloos, NHL player for the Anaheim Ducks * Thomas M. Neuville (January 31, 1950 – January 26, 2022), Minnesota state senator and judge * Grace Fallow Norton (October 29, 1876 – 1962), poet * Karl Rolvaag (July 18, 1913 – December 20, 1990), governor of Minnesota *
Ole Edvart Rølvaag Ole Edvart Rølvaag (; Rølvåg in modern Norwegian, Rolvaag in English orthography) (April 22, 1876 – November 5, 1931) was a Norwegian-American novelist and professor who became well known for his writings regarding the Norwegian American imm ...
(April 22, 1876 – November 5, 1931), author *
Gilmore Schjeldahl Gilmore Tilmen Schjeldahl (June 1, 1912March 10, 2002) was an American businessman and inventor in plastics, adhesives and circuitry. He was awarded 16 US patents and may be best known for inventing the plastic-lined airsickness bag. Biography ...
(June 1, 1912 – March 10, 2002), inventor and entrepreneur * Peter Schjeldahl (born March 20, 1942), art critic and writer *
Marilyn Sellars Marilyn Sellars (born December 31, 1938) is an American country music and gospel singer who had several hits during the mid-1970s on Mega Records, most notably the original version of " One Day at a Time" in 1974. Early career Sellars was bo ...
(born 1944), country music singer * Chad Setterstrom (born June 13, 1980), professional football player * Mark Setterstrom (born March 3, 1984), professional football player * Edward Sovik (June 9, 1918 – May 4, 2014), architect, liturgist * Steve Strachan (born January 26, 1965), former member of the Minnesota House of Representatives, former sheriff of
King County, Washington King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the ...
* Edward John Thye (April 26, 1896 – August 28, 1969), governor of Minnesota and U.S. Senator * Thorstein Veblen (July 30, 1857 – August 3, 1929), economist and sociologist * Paul Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002), U.S. Senator * Jon Wee (born 1965?), professional juggler * Johnny Western (born October 28, 1934), singer-songwriter, actor, radio host * Charles Augustus Wheaton (July 1, 1809, - March 14, 1882), major figure in the abolitionist movement and Underground Railroad * Ida Belle Clary Wilcox (August 6, 1850 – January 26, 1928), missionary honored by South Africa in 2009 * Jerome J. Workman Jr. (born on August 6, 1952), American spectroscopist, editor, author


Media


Radio


References


External links


City of Northfield, MN – Official site

Northfield.org

Northfield Convention and Visitors Bureau – Visitor Information
{{Authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Dakota County, Minnesota Cities in Rice County, Minnesota James–Younger Gang