Welch Township is a township in Goodhue County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. It lies about halfway between the cities of

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

and Red Wing and 36 miles southeast of

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. The population was 697 at the 2000 census. It is centered on the small community of Welch on the Cannon River. Like many river towns in the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau, is a topographic and cultural region in the Midwestern United States that comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme ...

, it is situated at the base of the steep bluffs of the river valley.

History

We do not know when Welch was really organized and it was named Eagle Mills first. Welch Township was organized in 1864, and named for Abraham Edwards Welch, a local man who was killed in the Civil War.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of 42.7 square miles (110.7 km), of which 39.3 square miles (101.8 km) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.9 km) (8.03%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 697 people, 249 households, and 192 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was 17.7 people per square mile (6.8/km). There were 261 housing units at an average density of 6.6/sq mi (2.6/km). The racial makeup of the township was 97.99%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.14%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.29% Native American, 0.14% Asian, and 0.43% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population. There were 249 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.5% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.13. In the township the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 115.6 males. The median income for a household in the township was $60,536, and the median income for a family was $61,406. Males had a median income of $38,409 versus $25,156 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $23,023. About 4.6% of families and 5.6% 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 6.6% of those under age 18 and 9.2% of those age 65 or over.

Film

The film '' Here on Earth'' was mostly shot in Welch. It starred Minnesotan

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He began his career on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's drama series ''Cracker (American TV series), Cracker'' (1997–1998), after which he became known as a teen idol thro ...

, along with Leelee Sobieski and Chris Klein. It is a romantic drama. Most of the set was built for the film but parts of it can still be seen around the town.

References

{{authority control Townships in Goodhue County, Minnesota Townships in Minnesota