Birch Cooley Township is a township in Renville 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. The population was 257 at the 2000 census. Birch Cooley Township was organized in 1867, and named after Birch Coulee Creek.

History

Birch Cooley Township was the site of some of the heaviest fighting of the 1862 Dakota War due to its location directly across the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

from the Lower Sioux Agency. The Battle of Redwood Ferry and Battle of Birch Coulee both took place within the township. The

Birch Coulee Battlefield Birch Coulee Battlefield in Renville County, Minnesota, United States, was the site of the Battle of Birch Coulee, the costliest military engagement for U.S. forces during the Dakota War of 1862. It is now a historic site with self-guided trails a ...

historic site is located in the township.

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 , of which is land and 0.02% 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 257 people, 95 households, and 68 families residing in the township. The population density was . There were 98 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the township was 95.33%

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 ...

, 1.56% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 2.33% from other races, and 0.39% 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 2.33% of the population. There were 95 households, out of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% 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, 3.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.29. In the township the population was spread out, with 31.9% under the age of 18, 4.7% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.5 males. The median income for a household in the township was $46,111, and the median income for a family was $45,893. Males had a median income of $27,292 versus $21,364 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 $15,827. About 11.3% of families and 10.9% 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 10.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 21.4% of those 65 or over.

References

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