New Brighton ( ) is a city in Ramsey 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 a suburb of the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

. The population was 23,454 at the 2020 census.

History

In the mid 18th century,

Mdewakanton The Mdewakanton or Mdewakantonwan (also spelled ''Mdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'' and currently pronounced ''Bdewákhaŋthuŋwaŋ'') are one of the sub-tribes of the Isanti (Santee) Dakota people, Dakota (Sioux). Their historic home is Mille Lacs Lake (Da ...

Dakota tribes lived in the vicinity of New Brighton's

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

s, harvesting

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, mnomen, psíŋ, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically and is sti ...

. The Dakota eventually settled a village near Long Lake at Rice Creek and a smaller encampment just east of Silver Lake Road on 3rd Street NW. Immigrants from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

settled a small village in 1858 that included a general store, a school, and a mission church. As railroads were established in the area, millers in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

formed the Minneapolis Stockyards and Packing Company in 1888. The company supplied home, agriculture, and business needs. The venture included Minneapolis figures such as streetcar magnate Thomas Lowry, flour millers

John Sargent Pillsbury John Sargent Pillsbury (July 29, 1827 – October 18, 1901) was an American politician, businessman, and philanthropist. A Republican Party of Minnesota, Republican, he served as the List of Governors of Minnesota, eighth Governor of Minnesota f ...

, Senator William D. Washburn, ex-Minneapolis Mayor W.H. Eustis, and industrialist W.H. Dunwoody. As the village grew in prominence, it was incorporated on January 20, 1891. The city was given the name New Brighton after Brighton, Massachusetts. Each August, a city festival, Stockyard Days, celebrates this heritage at Long Lake Park. As the streetcar system expanded in the early 20th century, immigrant and first-generation groups from

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

began moving outward from

Northeast Minneapolis Northeast is a Neighborhoods of Minneapolis, defined community in the U.S. city of Minneapolis that is composed of 13 smaller neighborhoods whose street addresses end in "NE". Unofficially it also includes the neighborhoods of the University, ...

. New Brighton and St. Anthony residents also continue to celebrate this ethnic heritage with an annual ''Polka Dance Party'' which began in 1892. In the 1920s, a local farmer said he heard a rumor that bootleggers had buried gold bars along Long Lake's eastern shore. The rumor spread and launched a mini "gold rush" along Long Lake to find the treasure.

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 an area of , of which is land and is water. Rice Creek flows through the northern part of the city.''King's Twin Cities Metro Street Atlas '04.'' Minneapolis: The Lawrence Group. 2004. . New Brighton is at the intersection of Interstate Highways 35W and 694. It is geographically incongruent. From north to south it is not even, and east to west it is even in only a few places. A piece of the city sits on the east side of Interstate 35W isolated from the rest of the city. Nearby places include Arden Hills,

Shoreview Shoreview is a city in Ramsey County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 26,921 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the ...

, Roseville, Saint Anthony Village, Columbia Heights, Fridley, Mounds View, and

. New Brighton is part of east–central Minnesota's glacial plain sandpile, which was flattened by glaciers during the most recent glacial advance. During the last glacial period, massive ice sheets at least thick ravaged the landscape of the town and sculpted its current terrain, which can be easily seen in Long Lake Regional Park. The

Wisconsin glaciation The Wisconsin glaciation, also called the Wisconsin glacial episode, was the most recent glacial period of the North American ice sheet complex, peaking more than 20,000 years ago. This advance included the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, which nucleated ...

left 12,000 years ago. These glaciers covered all of Minnesota except the far southeast, an area characterized by steep hills and streams that cut into the

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material ( regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bed ...

. Since New Brighton's landscape is still recovering from the weight of the glaciers and going through

post-glacial rebound Post-glacial rebound (also called isostatic rebound or crustal rebound) is the rise of land masses after the removal of the huge weight of ice sheets during the last glacial period, which had caused isostatic depression. Post-glacial rebound an ...

and the turmoil this created, the landscape is poorly drained, which has created the numerous lakes and rivers in the city. Long Lake itself is the remnants of the glaciers, as it was a chunk of ice that was left behind, melted, and created the lake in the hole it occupied.

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 21,456 people, 8,915 households, and 5,731 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 9,479 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.2%

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 ...

, 4.1%

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 ...

, 1.4% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 2.2% from other races, and 2.1% 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 4.2% of the population. There were 8,915 households, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% 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, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 35.7% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89. The median age in the city was 40.7 years. 21.1% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.5% were from 25 to 44; 27.2% were from 45 to 64; and 17.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.3% male and 51.7% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 22,206 people, 9,013 households, and 5,903 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 9,121 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.19%

, 3.02%

, 2.62% Native American, 3.38% Asian, 0.06%

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 ...

, 0.84% from other races, and 2.20% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.77% of the population. There were 9,013 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were

living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.5% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.91. In the city the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $52,856, and the median income for a family was $68,724. Males had a median income of $45,291 versus $32,021 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 $27,574. About 3.3% of families and 4.7% 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 5.5% of those under age 18 and 3.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

New Brighton has a council/manager form of government. The City Council meets the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month at New Brighton City Hall. Meetings are open to the public and are televised live on New Brighton's

Government-access television In the United States, government-access television (GATV) is a type of specialty television channel created by government entities (generally local governments) and broadcast over cable TV systems or, in some cases, over-the-air broadcast t ...

(GATV)

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

channel 16.

Education

Four public schools are in New Brighton: Bel Air Elementary School, Sunnyside Elementary, Highview Middle School, and

Irondale High School Irondale High School is a public high school in New Brighton, Minnesota, United States. Part of the Mounds View Public Schools district, the school is in a suburban area ten miles north of downtown Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Irondale made head ...

; additionally, until 2005, when it was converted into a community education center, there was a fifth public school in New Brighton: Pike Lake Kindergarten Center, now known as Pike Lake Education Center. All these schools are part of the Mounds View Public Schools (District 621). Nearby private high schools attended by residents include Totino-Grace in Fridley,

Minnehaha Academy Minnehaha Academy (often abbreviated MA) is a Christian private school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, for students in preschool through 12th grade, and established in 1913. There are two campuses, the South Campus for preschool t ...

, and Breck School in Golden Valley. High school students in a portion of eastern New Brighton attend nearby Mounds View High School. A small fraction of New Brighton students attend Wilshire Park Elementary and Saint Anthony Village Middle and

High Schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in nearby Saint Anthony Village, as part of New Brighton is served by ISD 282.

References

External links

City of New Brighton -- Official Website
{{authority control Cities in Ramsey County, Minnesota Populated places established in 1891 1891 establishments in Minnesota Cities in Minnesota