Renville is a city in Renville 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 1,301 at the 2020 census. U.S. Route 212 and County Highway 6 are two of the main routes in the city.

History

The city and county of Renville were named for Joseph Renville, a man of French and Dakota descent who had extensive knowledge of the wilderness and served as a guide for many expeditions. Renville founded Fort Renville and served as a captain during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. He was a courier, interpreter, and founder of the Columbia Fur Company. He earned respect that cut across the racial and ethnic boundaries of that era. The city of Renville was

platted 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 Surveys to show the distance and bear ...

in 1878, when the railroad reached the area. It was incorporated in 1906. It has grown from a population of 250 in 1900 to about 1,200 residents today. It is situated near the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

Valley in a fertile agricultural area known for its high productivity. Renville's economy, past and present, is based largely upon

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

. Renville serves as an agricultural service and distribution center for the surrounding area, and the city boasts the world's largest

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 ...

processing plant.

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.

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 1,287 people, 538 households, and 316 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 606 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 96.8%

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 ...

, 0.1%

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 ...

, 0.2% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 1.9% from other races, and 0.7% 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 18.2% of the population. There were 538 households, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% 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, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.3% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.05. The median age in the city was 41.6 years. 24.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.7% were from 25 to 44; 22.6% were from 45 to 64; and 23.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.0% male and 51.0% female.

Economy

Agriculture is the primary business in Renville and agriculture related businesses tend to thrive there
K&M manufacturing
is a prime example of an ag-related business in Renville . K&M (which stands for Kleinhuizen and Mulder after founders Nicholas Kleinhuizen and "Muff" Mulder) manufactures tractor seats and ag-related items. Multiple US patent holders either have resided in Renville or have grown up in Renville, including employees of K&M, plus residents
Niclas WolterstorffDan Schemel
an
Richard Fredrickson

References

External links

City of Renville, MN -- Official site
{{Coord, 44, 47, 21, N, 95, 12, 42, W, type:city_region:US-MN, display=title Cities in Renville County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota Populated places established in 1878