Breckenridge is a city and
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 ...
of
Wilkin 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 List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...
, United States.
The population was 3,430 at the
2020 census.
Breckenridge's
twin city is
Wahpeton,
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...
. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND—MN
Micropolitan Statistical Area. The
Bois de Sioux River
The Bois de Sioux River () drains Lake Traverse, the southernmost body of water in the Hudson Bay watershed of North America. It is a tributary of the Red River of the North and defines part of the western border of the U.S. state of Minnesota, ...
and the
Otter Tail River
The Otter Tail River (Ojibwe: ''Nigigwaanowe-ziibi'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 8, 2011 river in the west-central portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. I ...
join at Breckenridge and Wahpeton to form the
Red River of the North
The Red River (french: rivière Rouge or ) is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confluence of the Bois de Sioux and Otter Tail rivers between the U.S. states of Minnesota and North Dakota, it f ...
.
History
Breckenridge 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 1857, and named for
John Cabell Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
, a U.S. senator from Kentucky and the 14th Vice President of the United States. Breckenridge was also staunchly pro-slavery and was a Major General in the Confederate Army.
A post office has been in operation at Breckenridge since 1857. Breckenridge was incorporated in 1908.
The city contains one property listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
, the 1928
Wilkin County Courthouse
The Wilkin County Courthouse is the primary government building of Wilkin County, Minnesota, United States, located in the city of Breckenridge. Built from 1928 to 1929, the courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 19 ...
.
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
An economy is an area of th ...
, the city has a total area of , all land.
U.S. Route 75
U.S. Route 75 is a major north–south U.S. Highway that extends in the central United States. The highway's northern terminus is in Noyes, Minnesota, at the Canadian border, where it once continued as Manitoba Highway 75 on the other side o ...
and Minnesota State Highways
9 and
210
Year 210 ( CCX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Faustinus and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 963 ''Ab urbe condita ...
are three of the main routes in the city. Additionally, the city was situated on the Twin Cities to Seattle main line of the
Great Northern Railway. As a result, the
Breckenridge station
The Breckenridge station of Breckenridge, Minnesota was built in 1901, serving the Great Northern Railway and successor Burlington Northern until 1971. Thereafter, passenger service continued under Amtrak, but with only a single route through Br ...
was served by numerous passenger trains through the years until 1979. The city continues to see freight rail traffic on the now
BNSF
BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes tha ...
line.
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 in ...
of 2010, there were 3,386 people, 1,445 households, and 861 families living in the city, and it is currently 108 years old. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...
was . There were 1,635 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.3%
White
White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.2%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 1.4%
Native American, 0.4%
Asian, 0.3% 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 1.4% 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 2.5% of the population.
There were 1,445 households, of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% 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, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.4% were non-families. 36.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.91.
The median age in the city was 43.3 years. 23.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.2% were from 25 to 44; 26.8% were from 45 to 64; and 21.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% 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 in ...
of 2000, there were 3,559 people, 1,438 households, and 911 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,582 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.61%
White
White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...
, 0.14%
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
, 0.56%
Native American, 0.17%
Asian, 0.03%
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 Ocea ...
, 0.39% 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 1.10% 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 1.71% of the population.
There were 1,438 households, out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% 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, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,054, and the median income for a family was $47,500. Males had a median income of $31,869 versus $21,328 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 $17,059. About 7.3% of families and 9.0% 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 9.5% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Dick Enderle, professional football player
*
Heidi Heitkamp
Mary Kathryn "Heidi" Heitkamp ( ; born October 30, 1955) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from North Dakota from 2013 to 2019. A member of the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party, she was the first wom ...
, former US Senator from North Dakota
*
Chuck Klosterman
Charles John Klosterman (; born 1972) is an American author and essayist whose work focuses on American popular culture. He has been a columnist for ''Esquire'' and ESPN.com and wrote "The Ethicist" column for ''The New York Times Magazine''. ...
, writer and novelist
*
Errol Mann
Errol Denis Mann (June 27, 1941 – April 11, 2013) was an American football placekicker. He played in the National Football League from 1968 to 1978, and was a member of the Oakland Raiders' Super Bowl XI winning team. When attempting kicks, ...
, professional football player, member of the Oakland Raiders
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion 1976 Oakland Raiders season, Oakland Raiders and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion 1976 Minnesota Vikings season, Minnesota Vikings ...
team
*
Reuben N. Nelson
Reuben N. Nelson (December 12, 1904 – March 2, 1966) was an American politician and lawyer.
Nelson was born in Roberts County, South Dakota and went to Wheaton High School. He graduated from Hamline University and William Mitchell College ...
, lawyer and politician
*
George Putnam, radio newsman
*
Fritz Scholder
Fritz William Scholder V (October 6, 1937 – February 10, 2005) was a Native American artist. Scholder was an enrolled member of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians, a federally recognized tribe of Luiseños, a California Mission tribe. Schol ...
, Native American artist
*
Gerry Sikorski
Gerald Edward Sikorski (born April 26, 1948) is an American politician and lawyer from Minnesota. He was the U.S. representative for Minnesota's 6th congressional district as a DFL member from January 3, 1983, to January 3, 1993, in the 98th ...
, politician
*
Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Rae Tiegs (born September 25, 1947) is an American model and fashion designer. Frequently described as the first American supermodel, Tiegs is best known for her multiple appearances on the covers of the ''Sports Illustrated'' Swimsui ...
, professional model
*
Adrian P. Winkel, High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
References
External links
City of Breckenridge
{{Authority control
Cities in Minnesota
Cities in Wilkin County, Minnesota
County seats in Minnesota
Wahpeton micropolitan area