Dawson is a city in Lac qui Parle 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 1,466 at the 2020 census.

History

The land Dawson sits on was originally home to the Wahpekute, Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, and Yanktonai people, three bands of the Dakota. Land was ceded to the US government by the

Treaty of Traverse des Sioux The Treaty of Traverse des Sioux () was signed on July 23, 1851, at Traverse des Sioux in Minnesota Territory between the United States government and the Dakota people, Upper Dakota Sioux bands. In this land cession treaty, the Sisseton and Wahpe ...

in 1851. The treaties were signed on July 23 and August 6 in

Traverse des Sioux Traverse des Sioux is a historic site in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Once part of a pre-industrial trade route, it is preserved to commemorate that route, a busy river crossing on it, and a nineteenth-century settlement, trading post, and missi ...

and Mendota respectively. The land was ceded in exchange for $3,750,000, about 12 cents per acre. Little of the payment was actually received by the Dakota. Dawson 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 1884. The city was named for William Dawson, a former mayor of St. Paul, and one of three partners in the Dawson Townsite Company. A post office has been in operation at Dawson since 1884. The city was incorporated in 1885.

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. The West Branch of the Lac qui Parle River flows through the city. U.S. Route 212 serves as a main route in the city. The

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

runs through the city.

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 1,540 people, 682 households, and 412 families living 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 768 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.4%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.6% from other races, and 1.1% 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 2.3% of the population. There were 682 households, of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% 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, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.6% were non-families. 36.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.78. The median age in the city was 47.8 years. 21.8% of residents were under the age of 18; 4.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 19.5% were from 25 to 44; 28% were from 45 to 64; and 25.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.2% male and 52.8% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,539 people, 677 households, and 398 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 756 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.25%

, 0.19%

, 0.32% Native American, 0.32% Asian, and 0.91% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.52% of the population. There were 677 households, out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.5% were

living together, 3.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.2% were non-families. 39.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.6% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 21.4% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 29.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,442, and the median income for a family was $46,484. Males had a median income of $30,493 versus $18,750 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 $19,084. About 3.3% of families and 7.4% 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 5.0% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Notable people

Carrie Tollefson ING New York City Marathon 2011

* Theodore Christianson - 21st

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory ...

from January 6, 1925, until January 6, 1931; publisher of the '' Dawson Sentinel''. * Theodore Christianson - Minnesota Supreme Court justice and eldest son of Governor Christianson * Phyllis Gates - Interior decorator and wife of Hollywood actor

Rock Hudson Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular film stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades, and was a prominent figure in the G ...

(1955–1958) * James Day Hodgson - United States Secretary of Labor (1970–1973) and

United States Ambassador to Japan The is the Ambassadors of the United States, ambassador from the United States of America to Japan. History Beginning in 1854 with the Convention of Kanagawa, use of gunboat diplomacy by Commodore (United States), Commodore Matthew C. Perry, ...

(1974–1977); born in Dawson * Edor Nelson - baseball, football, wrestling, and hockey coach at

Augsburg University Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminari ...

* Jeff Nordgaard - Second-round

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

draft pick in 1996 *

Roger Reinert Roger Jonathon Reinert (born July 22, 1970) is an American politician, 40th mayor of Duluth, Minnesota, and member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL). He served in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Minnesota House from ...

- mayor of

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

; raised in Dawson * Howard Wads Rundquist - businessman, educator, and politician * Rudie M. Saltness - member of the

Minnesota House of Representatives The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the U.S. state of Minnesota's Minnesota Legislature, legislature. It operates in conjunction with the Minnesota Senate, the state's upper chamber, to write and pass legislation, whic ...

* Carrie Tollefson - Olympian at 1500 meters in 2004, NCAA cross country champion in 1997

Notable places

Dawson is home to the Dawson Bank Museum, a Carnegie Library building (now a law office), and an armory building (now a public library and apartments). All three of these buildings 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 ...

In culture

* The movie ''

Sweet Land ''Sweet Land'' is a 2005 American Independent film, independent period drama film written and directed by Ali Selim. It is an adaptation of the 1989 short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat" by Will Weaver. The film stars Elizabeth Reaser, Tim Gu ...

'' (2005) was partly filmed in Dawson. * '' Love Thy Neighbor'', a 2019 memoir by Ayaz Virji and Alan Eisenstock recounts Virji's experience as a Muslim in the town in the wake of the 2016 presidential election.

Town culture

Riverfest

Riverfest is Dawson's annual community festival, named after the Lac qui Parle River, which is held the last full weekend every June. Riverfest features events, like live music, sports tournaments, and canoe races, as well as the town's gnome unveiling ceremony.

Gnomes

Dawson, also known as Gnometown USA, commemorates its notable citizens by making them into 3-foot tall

gnome A gnome () is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and widely adopted by authors, including those of modern fantasy literature. They are typically depict ...

s that are placed either in the Dawson Public Library or Gnome Park. The gnomes are revealed to the community during Riverfest. Each gnome gets its own legend. (foun
here
New gnomes have been added every year since 1989. There are more than 40 gnomes in Gnome Park with more being added every year.

References

External links

City of Dawson, MN -- Official site Dawson-Boyd Schools -- Official siteDawson Area Chamber of Commerce -- Official site
{{authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Lac qui Parle County, Minnesota