Howard Lake is a city in Wright 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. It is the host of the annual Wright county fair. The population was 2,071 at the 2020 census.

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 ; is land and is water. The town of Howard Lake sits on the south shore of Howard Lake. Other area lakes include Mallard Pass Lake, Lake Ann, Dutch Lake, and Smith Lake.

Infrastructure

Transportation

U.S. Highway 12 serves as a main route in Howard Lake. Running parallel with Route 12 is a freight rail line.

History

The area was first settled by the Dakota, then, in 1855, by Morgan V. Cochran, who later sold his land to Charles Goodsell in 1863. Howard Lake developed as a railroad station. Howard Lake 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 1869, and named after nearby Howard Lake. A post office was established under the name Howard in 1870; the post office was renamed Howard Lake in 1892 and remains in operation. One property in Howard Lake, the 1904 Howard Lake City Hall, is 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 ...

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 1,962 people, 786 households, and 518 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 865 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.5%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 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 ...

, 1.5% from other races, and 0.8% 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 4.7% of the population. There were 786 households, of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% 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, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.1% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 2.98. The median age in the city was 36.5 years. 27.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.5% were from 25 to 44; 22.2% were from 45 to 64; and 14.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.0% male and 52.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 1,853 people, 735 households, and 490 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 759 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.27%

, 0.27%

, 0.16% Native American, 0.38% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.03% of the population. 52.1% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 8.9% Norwegian, 7.3%

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and 5.8%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 735 households, out of which 34.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were

living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% were non-families. 27.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.10. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,015, and the median income for a family was $49,327. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $25,040 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 $17,900. About 5.8% of families and 9.4% 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 13.0% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Economy

The Dura Supreme Cabinetry headquarters is in Howard Lake.

Principal employers

The principal employers in the city are: Dura Supreme has been known to make other things like plastic shelves

Notable people

* Harold J. Dahl (1930-1989), Minnesota state legislator, judge, and lawyer, lived in Howard Lake. * Paul L. Eddy, Minnesota state legislator *

Tim Foecke Timothy Foecke (born 1963) is an American metallurgist, former research professor at the University of Maryland - College Park, and founder and former director of the NIST Center for Automotive Lightweighting at the National Institute of Standards ...

, American

metallurgist Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the ...

, endured attending and graduated from Howard Lake - Waverly High School in 1982.

References

External links

City of Howard Lake, MN – Official Website

Howard Lake Community Guide

''Herald Journal'' newspaper site

ePodunk: Profile for Howard Lake, Minnesota
{{coord, 45, 4, N, 94, 4, W, type:city_region:US-MN, display=title Cities in Minnesota Cities in Wright County, Minnesota