Crookston is a city in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. It is the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

of Polk County. The population was 7,482 at the 2020 census. It is part of the " Grand Forks, ND- MN Metropolitan Statistical Area" or "

Greater Grand Forks The Greater Grand Forks (officially the Grand Forks, ND-MN Metropolitan statistical area), as defined by the Census Bureau as comprising all of Grand Forks County in North Dakota and Polk County in Minnesota, anchored by the twin cities of G ...

". Crookston is the

episcopal seat A cathedral is a church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations with an episcop ...

of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Crookston. Crookston is partially a commuter town to the larger city of

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

History

Early history

The Crookston area was virtually unoccupied until European contact and remained little more than a hunting ground associated with the Pembina settlements until the 1860s. The land in Crookston's immediate vicinity is not connected with any verifiable Native American or European historic events or circumstances until transfer in the Treaties of Old Crossing in 1863–64. Before that, the territory now included in Crookston was part of

Rupert's Land Rupert's Land (), or Prince Rupert's Land (), was a territory in British North America which comprised the Hudson Bay drainage basin. The right to "sole trade and commerce" over Rupert's Land was granted to Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), based a ...

and

Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distric ...

before becoming part of the United States as a result of the boundary settlement in the

Treaty of 1818 The Convention respecting fisheries, boundary and the restoration of slaves, also known as the London Convention, Anglo-American Convention of 1818, Convention of 1818, or simply the Treaty of 1818, is an international treaty signed in 1818 betw ...

. The Crookston area was traversed by trappers and traders, including

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

and

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

Métis The Métis ( , , , ) are a mixed-race Indigenous people whose historical homelands include Canada's three Prairie Provinces extending into parts of Ontario, British Columbia, the Northwest Territories and the northwest United States. They ha ...

, and European settlers, between 1790 and 1870. A branch of the

Red River Trails The Red River Trails were a network of Red River ox cart, ox cart routes connecting the Red River Colony (the "Selkirk Settlement") and Fort Garry in Canada under British Imperial control (1764-1867), British North America with the head of naviga ...

passed nearby; it was used by

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

rs between the 1840s and 1870s.

Settlement

The present-day site of Crookston first saw settlement by non-Indian people around 1872. It was the site of a federal land office by 1876 and sited on a portion of the Great Northern Railway that began operation by 1880. The town was incorporated on April 1, 1879 as "Queen City". By the end of that year, the town had a jail, graded streets, and a few plank sidewalks. Soon, it was decided that the town needed a new name. Two factions emerged supporting two different names. One wished to honor the town's first mayor, Captain Ellerey C. Davis, with the name Davis. Another group picked the name Crookston to honor Colonel William Crooks, a soldier and railroad builder. The name was reportedly chosen by coin toss. Soon, Scandinavian, French-Canadian, and German immigrants began populating Crookston. At one point, eight different railroad lines reached the town, and it became a center of commerce and manufacturing.

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. Crookston sits in the fertile

Red River Valley The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North; it is part of both Canada and the United States. Forming the border between Minnesota and North Dakota when these territories were admitted ...

, once a part of

glacial A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires ...

Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz ( ) was a large proglacial lake that existed in central North America during the late Pleistocene, fed by meltwater from the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet at the end of the last glacial period. At its peak, the lake's area wa ...

. As Lake Agassiz receded, it left behind rich mineral deposits. This made the area around Crookston prime for

agricultural Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created f ...

uses. Grains such as

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

and other crops, including

sugar beet A sugar beet is a plant whose root contains a high concentration of sucrose and that is grown commercially for sugar production. In plant breeding, it is known as the Altissima cultivar group of the common beet (''Beta vulgaris''). Together with ...

s and

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es, grow well in the area around Crookston. Crookston has a relatively flat landscape. The Red Lake River flows through the city and makes several twists and turns (

oxbow __NOTOC__ An oxbow is a U-shaped metal pole (or larger wooden frame) that fits the underside and the sides of the neck of an ox or wikt:bullock, bullock. A bow pin holds it in place. The term "oxbow" is widely used to refer to a U-shaped meand ...

s). The riverbank has eroded somewhat. U.S. Highways 2 and 75 and Minnesota State Highways 9 and 102 are four of the main routes in the community. Crookston is the northern terminus of the Agassiz Recreational Trail, a 53-mile multi-use trail built on an abandoned railroad grade that has its southern terminus at Ulen.

Climate

Demographics

Crookston has not seen major population growth since the 1970s. The economy has suffered due to a lack of well-paying jobs and available housing. As of the 2022

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there are 3,321 estimated households in Crookston with an average of 2.04 persons per household. The city has a median household income of $52,557. Approximately 15.3% of the city's population lives at or below the poverty line. Crookston has an estimated 60.8% employment rate, with 29.4% of the population holding a bachelor's degree or higher and 94.2% holding a high school diploma. The top five reported ancestries (people were allowed to report up to two ancestries, thus the figures will generally add to more than 100%) were English (92.5%), Spanish (5.0%), Indo-European (0.3%), Asian and Pacific Islander (1.6%), and Other (0.6%). The median age in the city was 39.4 years.

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 7,482 people and 3,087 households, and 1,647 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 3,445 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 80.93%

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 ...

, 3.26%

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 ...

, 1.90% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 4.30% from some other races and 8.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 14.54% of the population. 20.1% of residents were under the age of 18, 6.4% were under 5 years of age, and 20.8% were 65 and older.

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 7,891 people, 3,109 households, and 1,743 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.24%

, 1.42%

, 1.66% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.00%

, 2.79% from some other races and 2.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 11.04% of the population. There were 3,109 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them. 40.3% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.9% were non-families. 36.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.97. The median age in the city was 35.1 years. 22.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 16.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 20.5% were from 25 to 44; 25% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.4% male and 50.6% female.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 8,192 people, 3,078 households, and 1,819 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,382 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 90.5%

, 0.50%

, 1.54% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.02%

, 4.64% from some other races and 1.56% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 8.81% of the population. There were 3,078 households, of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.5% were married couples living together, 9.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.9% were non-families. 34.5% 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 2.37 and the average family size was 3.10. The city's age distribution shows 24.2% under the age of 18, 14.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $34,609, and the median income for a family was $44,157. Males had a median income of $30,564 versus $21,021 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 $17,219. About 7.5% of families and 12.5% 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 14.4% of those under age 18 and 14.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

K–12

Crookston is in Crookston School District 593, and is home to Crookston High School, home of the Pirates. Students from the neighboring towns of

Euclid Euclid (; ; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of geometry that largely domina ...

, Gentilly, and

Mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

attend Crookston High. The school district enrolled 1,135 students in K-12 in the school year 2022–23. Before the new high school was built in 1997, students attended Central High School in downtown Crookston. Central High School had been in operation since 1913, but Crookston High School was established in 1914. Private elementary schools include Cathedral Elementary (Catholic, formerly Mount Saint Benedict High School), Our Savior's Lutheran, and Bible Baptist.

Higher education

Crookston has the

University of Minnesota Crookston The University of Minnesota Crookston (UMN–Crookston) is a public college in Crookston, Minnesota, United States. One of five campuses in the University of Minnesota system, UMN Crookston had a fall 2022 enrollment of 1,489 undergraduate stu ...

(a campus of the University of Minnesota system). It began as an agricultural high school before becoming a two-year college and then a four-year university. On January 30, 2010, the new Crookston Sports Center was dedicated. The university enrolled about 1,729 students in the fall 2024 term.

Media

The local newspaper is the '' Crookston Daily Times''.

Television

Crookston is part of the Fargo/ Grand Forks television market.

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

member station KCGE (channel 16) is licensed to Crookston, serving Grand Forks.

Local radio stations

KROX 1260 AM (also broadcast locally on

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

K289CE 105.7 FM) specifically covers the community. Radio stations from Grand Forks, Thief River Falls, and KRJB 106.5 FM broadcasting from Ada can also be easily received. Radio stations KQHT 96.1 FM and KYCK 97.1 FM are also licensed to Crookston, but broadcast from Grand Forks and serve the region in general.

Culture

Crookston is home to the Grand Theater, the oldest continuously operating

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

in the United States. Built in 1910, it served as an opera house until 1917, when it began to primarily show movies. It played host to entertainers including early film actress

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

Notable people

* Dan Anderson, professional basketball player, was born in Crookston in 1943. * Joseph H. Ball, U.S. senator from Minnesota from 1940 to 1949, was born in Crookston in 1905. * John Christgau (1934–2018), an American author of fiction and non-fiction. * Ronald N. Davies, judge of the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota, 1955–1985, was born in Crookston in 1904. * Jules Ellingboe (1892–1948), racing driver. * Philip Hamre, medical technician and Minnesota state legislator. *

Miner A. Helgeson Miner A. Helgeson (February 2, 1884 – October 20, 1950) was an American farmer and politician. Helgeson was born on February 2, 1884, on a farm in Fisher, Minnesota, and went to the Polk County Public Schools. He lived in Crookston, Minneso ...

, farmer and Minnesota state legislator. * Leroy E. Matson, Minnesota Supreme Court justice. * John Noah, ice hockey player, was born in Crookston in 1927. * Julius Spokely, sheriff and Minnesota state legislator. *

Milton Orville Thompson Milton Orville Thompson (May 4, 1926 – August 6, 1993), ( Lt Cmdr, USNR), better known as Milt Thompson, was an American naval officer, aviator, engineer, and NASA research pilot. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-1 ...

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut and research scientist, was born in Crookston in 1926. * Theodore W. Thorson, Minnesota state legislator and educator, was born in Crookston in 1922. * Wes Westrum, played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. *

Ed Widseth Edwin Clarence Widseth (January 5, 1910 – December 3, 1998) was an American professional American football, football player who was a tackle (American football), tackle for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) for four sea ...

, played for the

. * Harvey A. Wilder (1907–1968), farmer and Minnesota state legislator.

References

External links

City of Crookston – official websiteCrookston Convention & Visitor's BureauCrookston Daily Times
*For text of the initial Treaty of Old Crossing (1863), see

WikiSource Wikisource is an online wiki-based digital library of free-content source text, textual sources operated by the Wikimedia Foundation. Wikisource is the name of the project as a whole; it is also the name for each instance of that project, one f ...

and th
University of Texas
*For text of the 1864 supplement to the 1863 treaty, known as the Treaty of Old Crossing (1864), see

and th
University of Texas
{{Authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Polk County, Minnesota Greater Grand Forks County seats in Minnesota