Steele is a city in
Kidder County
Kidder County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,394. Its county seat is Steele.
History
The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on January 4, 1873, with areas partit ...
,
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
, United States. It is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Kidder County.
The population was 665 at the
2020 census.
Although they bear the same name, the city of Steele is not in
Steele County.
History
Steele 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 bear ...
ted in 1878 by Wilbur F. Steele, and named for him. The community got its start soon after the railroad was extended to that point. A post office has been in operation at Steele since 1880. The
Kidder County Courthouse was built in 1883.
The high temperature was 121 degrees Fahrenheit in Steele, N.D. in July 1936.
Geography
Steele is located at (46.856066, -99.916606).
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 the ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
Climate
On July 6, 1936, the temperature in Steele soared to , the highest temperature ever recorded in the state of North Dakota. This event, during the
1936 North American heat wave
The 1936 North American heat wave was one of the most severe heat waves in the modern history of North America. It took place in the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and caused catastrophic human suffering and an enormous ...
, is even more remarkable in light of the fact that since 1948, the temperature has not exceeded . It was the highest temperature recorded so far north on the North American continent until
June 29, 2021, when it was exceeded in
Lytton, British Columbia
Lytton is a village of about 250 residents in southern British Columbia, Canada, on the east side of the Fraser River and primarily the south side of the Thompson River, where it flows southwesterly into the Fraser. The community includes th ...
by only 0.3 °F. A prolonged period of extreme drought across the entire Great Plains contributed to the extreme heat. Record high temperatures for 15 states fell that summer. In the United States, higher temperatures have been recorded in only four states: California, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. (Kansas set its own 121 °F record on July 24.)
According to the averages, Steele has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(''Dfb'') with warm to hot summers and very cold winters, typical of the Great Plains. Though summer's highs average there are still 17–18 days on average of above .
January nights average , and subzero temperatures happen on multiple occasions every winter.
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 incl ...
of 2010, there were 715 people, 316 households, and 194 families residing 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 RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 362 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.9%
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 on ...
, 0.7%
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 ...
, 0.3%
Native American, 2.1%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.7% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 0.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 1.5% of the population.
There were 316 households, of which 27.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 38.6% were non-families. 35.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.89.
The median age in the city was 41.9 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.6% were from 25 to 44; 25.5% were from 45 to 64; and 21.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.8% male and 52.2% 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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 761 people, 336 households, and 191 families residing 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 RosenberPopul ...
was 1,338.5 people per square mile (515.5/km). There were 367 housing units at an average density of 645.5 per square mile (248.6/km). The racial makeup of the city was 99.61%
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 on ...
, 0.13%
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 ...
and 0.26%
Native American.
There were 336 households, out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 6.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 22.9% from 25 to 44, 17.9% from 45 to 64, and 31.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $27,841, and the median income for a family was $37,778. Males had a median income of $35,250 versus $20,673 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 $16,767. About 8.7% of families and 14.1% 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 t ...
, including 14.1% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.
See also
*
First Presbyterian Church of Steele
First Presbyterian Church of Steele is a historic church at Mitchell Ave. N and First Street in Steele, North Dakota. It was built in 1922 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
The congregation's first church had been de ...
References
External links
City of Steele official website
{{Authority control
Cities in Kidder County, North Dakota
Cities in North Dakota
County seats in North Dakota
Populated places established in 1881
1881 establishments in Dakota Territory