Browns Valley, Minnesota
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Browns Valley is a city in Traverse 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, adjacent to the
South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...
border. The population was 558 at the 2020 census. Browns Valley lies along the Little Minnesota River between the northern end of
Big Stone Lake Big Stone Lake () is a long, narrow freshwater lake and reservoir on the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota in the United States. Description The lake covers , stretching from end to end and averaging around wide. ...
and the southern end of
Lake Traverse Lake Traverse is an lake along the border between the U.S. states of Minnesota and South Dakota, and is the southernmost body of water in the Hudson Bay watershed of North America. Lake Traverse is drained at its north end by the northward-flow ...
, which is separated from the Little Minnesota River by a low and narrow
continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
that skirts the northern edge of town. The city, both lakes, and the river lie in the Traverse Gap, the bed of ancient, south-flowing Glacial River Warren, the outlet to Glacial Lake Agassiz which, when drained, became the valley of the north-flowing
Red River of the North The Red River (), also called the Red River of the North () to differentiate it from the Red River of the South, Red River in the south of the continent, is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confl ...
.


History

Browns Valley was first settled in 1867 by Joseph R. Brown, and named for him. The settlement 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 Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...
ted in 1878. A post office was established in the community in 1867 under the name Lake Traverse. The post office was renamed Browns Valley in 1872. Two properties in the city are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
: the 1864 Fort Wadsworth Agency and Scout Headquarters Building within Sam Brown Memorial State Wayside, and the 1916 Browns Valley Carnegie Library.


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 city has a total area of , all land. Browns Valley is rested in an old glacier path. Browns Valley Lies in the center of Traverse Gap, a valley and ancient riverbed. This valley is also home to a continental divide. The divide is the southernmost point of the Northern Divide between the watersheds of the
Arctic The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
and
Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
oceans. The area is also home to Browns Valley Man, the oldest human remains found in Minnesota. The remains were found in Traverse Gap and carbon dated to about 9,000 years ago. Minnesota Highways 27 and 28 are two of the main routes in the community.


Climate

The Browns Valley weather station records some of Minnesota's highest summer temperatures; on July 31, 2007, a high of 107 °F (42 °C) was registered.


Demographics


2010 census

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 2010, there were 589 people, 247 households, and 141 families residing in the city. 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 . There were 288 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 75.2%
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 ...
, 21.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.5% from other races, and 2.4% 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 2.7% of the population. There were 247 households, of which 23.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.5% 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, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 42.9% were non-families. 40.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 24.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 48.3 years. 22.2% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 18.7% were from 25 to 44; 23.7% were from 45 to 64; and 30.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.0% male and 54.0% female.


2000 census

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 690 people, 285 households, and 171 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 317 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.61%
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 ...
, 15.80% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.14%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.14% from other races, and 0.87% 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 1.74% of the population. There were 285 households, out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% 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, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 3.02. In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 17.8% from 25 to 44, 19.3% from 45 to 64, and 31.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $26,563, and the median income for a family was $30,208. Males had a median income of $25,500 versus $20,139 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 city was $15,062. About 10.3% of families and 14.4% 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 16.5% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.


Politics


Notable people

* Charles Burnett, officer in
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
and
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
during World War I and World War II * Osborne Cowles, basketball coach * Charles M. Dale, 66th governor of
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
* Kathy Skroch, member of the
North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as ...
* Arthur C. Townley, politician


Flooding

In March 2007, Browns Valley was flooded from the north and west by the Little Minnesota River. One hundred people had to be evacuated from their homes, a significant percentage of the town's population. The damage was significant enough to warrant a visit from
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Tim Pawlenty Timothy James Pawlenty ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served from 2003 to 2011 as the 39th governor of Minnesota. A member of the Republican Party, Pawlenty served in the Minnesota House ...
and
Congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
Collin Peterson Collin Clark Peterson (born June 29, 1944) is an American accountant, politician, and lobbyist who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1991 to 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer– ...
.


References


External links


Official site of the City of Browns Valley, MN 56219
* Aerial photographs of March 2007 flooding of Traverse Gap, showing flooding of Browns Valley. {{authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Traverse County, Minnesota