Virginia is a city in St. Louis 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. With an economy heavily reliant on large-scale iron ore mining, Virginia is considered the

Mesabi Iron Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district and mountain range in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Ir ...

's commercial center. The population was 8,423 at the 2020 census. Virginia is a part of the Duluth metropolitan area, and U.S. Highway 53 runs through town.

History

Virginia was founded by Orrin Day Kinney, the original owner of the town site, which was laid out in 1892 and named after

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, the home state of many of the lumbermen in the area at the time. A post office has been in operation at Virginia since 1893. Virginia was incorporated in 1895. It was a logging community first, then developed as a mining community. The Virginia area mines were prosperous and setting new records consistently by the late 1890s. The main population boom began after mining camps were built for entrepreneurs and financiers including

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

Leonidas Merritt Leonidas Merritt (February 20, 1844 – August 9, 1926) was an American politician and businessman and one of the Seven Iron Brothers, iron ore pioneers. Merriitt was born in Chautauqua County, New York. He moved to Minnesota in 1856 and se ...

Jay Cooke Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowle ...

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

, William J. Olcott, and

James J. Hill James Jerome Hill (September 16, 1838 – May 29, 1916) was a Canadian-American railway director. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest ...

. With the use of diamond drills, mules, and a massive labor force, the mines moved millions of tons per year and shipped them out of the Twin Ports of Duluth and

Superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

, as well as Two Harbors. The City of Franklin was consolidated into the City of Virginia.

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 ; is land and is water. Lakes in Virginia include Silver Lake and Bailey Lake. An Ojibwe tribe originally named the area ''Qeechaquepagem'', which roughly means "lake of the north birds". Virginia is part of the

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

, along with

Eveleth Eveleth is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Decker Eveleth, American researcher *Rose Eveleth, American podcast host, producer, designer, and animator See also *Eveleth, Minnesota Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Mi ...

, Gilbert, and Mountain Iron.

Climate

The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is "

Dfb DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...

" (Warm Summer Continental Climate). Summers are warm, sometimes hot, and winters are severely cold.

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 8,712 people, 4,242 households, and 2,019 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 4,738 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.7%

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 ...

, 1.0% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 2.9% 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 1.5% of the population. There were 4,242 households, of which 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.7% 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, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 52.4% were non-families. 46.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.95 and the average family size was 2.74. The median age in the city was 44.9 years. 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.8% were from 25 to 44; 27.9% were from 45 to 64; and 22% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 9,157 people, 4,333 households, and 2,270 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 4,692 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.17%

, 0.46%

, 2.24% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.17% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.80% of the population. 21.4% were of Finnish, 13.3%

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 ...

, 9.9% Norwegian, 8.8%

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

, and 7.8% Swedish ancestry. There were 4,333 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were

living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.6% were non-families. 42.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.73. In the city, the population was spread out, with 19.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 23.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $28,873, and the median income for a family was $43,419. Males had a median income of $38,834 versus $22,473 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 $17,776. About 10.6% of families and 15.9% 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 16.6% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Economy

Virginia is on the

Mesabi Range The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district and mountain range in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iro ...

, one of the sub-regions of Minnesota's

Iron Range The Iron Range is collectively or individually a number of elongated iron-ore mining districts around Lake Superior in the United States and Canada. Much of the ore-bearing region lies alongside the range of granite hills formed by the Giants ...

. It is considered the Mesabi Range's commerce center. Virginia is a shopping, industrial, educational, and medical hub for surrounding communities.

Arts and culture

Virginia is the home of the Land of the Loon festival, an annual event in June.

Points of interest

* B'nai Abraham Synagogue *

Laurentian Divide The Laurentian Divide also called the Northern Divide and locally the '' height of land'', is a continental divide in central North America that separates the Hudson Bay watershed to the north from the Gulf of Mexico watershed to the south and ...

Lyric Center for the Arts The Lyric Center for the Arts (aka Lyric Theater) is a historic theater in Virginia, Minnesota, United States. History The theater was originally built as a vaudeville/movie theater and opera house in 1912. Architects Franklin Ellerbe, Olin Rou ...

(Historic Lyric Opera House) *

Mesabi Trail The Mesabi Trail is a 132 mile paved bicycle trail running from Grand Rapids, Minnesota to Ely, Minnesota. As of 2022, two sections remain to be completed: McKinley to Biwabik, and the seven miles south of Tower. Trail construction is expected t ...

* Olcott Park Greenhouse

Urban area

Virginia's urban area is relatively large, with a 30-mile radius. The major cities are Virginia,

Hibbing Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,214 at the 2020 census. The city was built on mining the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range and still relies on that industry today. At the edge of ...

, Mountain Iron,

, Gilbert,

Fayal Faial Island (), also known as Fayal Island, is a Portugal, Portuguese island of the Central Group or ''Grupo Central'' of the Azores, in the Atlantic Ocean. The Capelinhos volcano is the westernmost point of the island and is considered the we ...

, and Chisholm. Virginia is the area's commercial hub, while Hibbing has a large residential population.

Duluth 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 ...

, a significantly larger city, is 45 miles south. Virginia is also part of the Duluth MN-WI Metropolitan Area. The Duluth Metro is Minnesota's second-largest metro.

Parks and recreation

Olcott Park is a city park in Virginia. It has a fountain, built in 1937, and a bandstand, used mainly for city band performances. To the south it borders Parkview Learning Center, to the east 9th Avenue West, to the north 9th Street North, and to the west Greenwood Cemetery. Olcott Park is also home to the Olcott Park Greenhouse. It is named after William J. Olcott, who headed the

Oliver Iron Mining Company The Oliver Iron Mining Company was a mining company operating in Minnesota, United States. It was one of the most prominent companies in the early decades of mining on the Mesabi Range. As a division of U.S. Steel, Oliver dwarfed its competitors� ...

, for decades the Iron Range's largest mining company.

Education

The public high school is Rock Ridge Public Schools, and the public elementary schools are Parkview Learning Center (early childhood programs through second grade) and Roosevelt Elementary (grades three through six). The higher education institution in the city is Mesabi Range Community and Technical College. The Virginia Public Library is also an educational place for people of all ages. Marquette Catholic School is a private elementary school operated by the Duluth Diocese. Northland Learning Center, a cooperative alternative school for students with disciplinary problems or other special circumstances, operates in the former James Madison Elementary School, which is owned by ISD No. 706.

Sports

Virginia High School is the home of the Blue Devils. In the 2022–23 school year, Virginia and Eveleth-Gilbert High Schools combined into a new high school, Rock Ridge High School, with new mascot the Wolverines (a blend of the Virginia Blue Devils and the Eveleth-Gilbert Bears). Virginia's main high school sport is

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

. The main hockey arena is the Miners Memorial Building. A new complex, the Miners Event and Convention Center (MECC), with two planned ice arenas, is under construction. The MECC will incorporate many elements from the Miners Building, such as its ice arena seats.

Media

News media

* The ''

Mesabi Tribune The ''Mesabi Tribune'' is a daily newspaper published in Virginia, Minnesota. It is one of the oldest surviving businesses in the city. History The newspaper was founded in 1893 as the ''Virginia Enterprise'' and switched names to ''Mesabi Dai ...

'', newspaper published in Virginia and Hibbing

Television

Stations serving Virginia are received from the

television market: * 3

KDLH KDLH (channel 3) is a television station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States, affiliated with The CW Plus. It is owned by Gray Media alongside Superior, Wisconsin–licensed dual NBC/CBS affiliate KBJR-TV, channel 6 (and its Chisholm, Minneso ...

– CBS * 6 / 11 KBJR – NBC * 8 / 31

WDSE WDSE may refer to: * WDSE (TV), a PBS member station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States * WDSE-FM, an adult album alternative radio station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States {{call sign disambiguation ...

– PBS * 10 / 13

WDIO WDIO-DT (channel 10) and WIRT-DT (channel 13) are television stations licensed respectively to Duluth and Hibbing, Minnesota, United States, serving as the ABC affiliates for northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. The stations are owned b ...

– ABC * 21 KQDS – Fox

Infrastructure

Transportation

Virginia is a regional transportation hub within the Mesabi Range. Major roadways include U.S. routes 53 and

169 Year 169 (Roman numerals, CLXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Apollinaris (or, less frequently, year 922 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denominat ...

(northern terminus) and State Highway 135 ( MN 135). Other main routes include 2nd Avenue West, 9th Avenue West, 12th Avenue West, 13th Street South, 8th Street South, and 9th Street North. Downtown Virginia is centered along Chestnut Street. Arrowhead Transportation also allows for city bussing through the Virginia Metro area. In 2017, the U.S. 53 Bridge was built. It is Minnesota's tallest bridge and the main bridge from the freeway from southern Minnesota to the north. In 2021, it was renamed the

Thomas Rukavina Memorial Bridge The Thomas Rukavina Memorial Bridge carries U.S. 53 over the Rouchleau Mine pit connecting Virginia, Minnesota with other cities to the south. U.S. 53 continues through Virginia to International Falls, Minnesota, International Falls and Canada; ...

Notable people

* W. T. Bailey, lumber industrialist *

Daniel Berrigan Daniel Joseph Berrigan (May 9, 1921 – April 30, 2016) was an American Jesuit priest, anti-war activist, Christian pacifist, playwright, poet, and author. Berrigan's protests against the Vietnam War earned him both scorn and admiratio ...

, peace activist * Luke F. Burns, lawyer and Minnesota state legislator * Jack Carlson, professional hockey player * Jeff Carlson, professional hockey player *

Steve Carlson Steven Edward Carlson (born August 26, 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey forward and a former minor league hockey coach. He played in the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1979 and the National Hockey League during the 197 ...

, professional hockey player * Mark Cullen, professional hockey player *

Matt Cullen Matthew David Cullen (born November 2, 1976) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Cullen won the Stanley Cup three times during his career, with the Carolina Hurricanes i ...

, professional hockey player * Peter X. Fugina, educator and Minnesota state legislator * John Gruden, professional hockey player * Frank Haege, professional and collegiate football coach * John Harrington, hockey player, member of the 1980

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's ice hockey t ...

team that won the Olympic gold medal * Edwin H. Hoff, Minnesota state legislator * Kurt Johnson, auto racer *

Warren Johnson Warren Johnson (born July 7, 1943 in Virginia, Minnesota) is an American former NHRA drag racing driver. He is the driver with the second most wins in pro stock with 97 career wins, six world championships and earned himself the nickname "the P ...

, auto racer, member of

Motorsports Hall of Fame of America The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) is a hall of fame that honors motorsports competitors and contributors from the United States from all disciplines, with categories for Open Wheel, Stock Cars, Powerboats, Drag Racing, Motorcycles ...

* Vic Kulbitski, football player * Pete LoPresti, professional hockey player * Robert W. Mattson, Sr., Minnesota attorney general *

Robert Mondavi Robert Gerald Mondavi (June 18, 1913 – May 16, 2008) was an American winemaker. His technical and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. From an early period, Mondavi promoted label ...

, winemaker *

Matt Niskanen Matthew Norman Niskanen (born December 6, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. He played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Dallas Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Philadelphia ...

, professional hockey player * Johnny Norlander, professional basketball player * Tim Paulson, California Labor Leader *

Chris Pratt Christopher Michael Pratt (born June 21, 1979) is an American actor. His films as a leading actor have grossed over $14.1billion worldwide, making him the fifth-highest-grossing film star of all time. Pratt was named by ''Time'' as one of t ...

, actor *

Alex Rozier Alex Rozier is an American journalist, who works as a reporter for NBC 4 in Los Angeles. Early life and education When Rozier was four years old, he avidly watched nightly newscasts in his home state of Minnesota. For his birthday that year, he a ...

, journalist *

Tom Rukavina Thomas Rukavina (August 23, 1950 – January 7, 2019) was an American politician and a Democratic–Farmer–Labor (DFL) member of the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1987 to 2013. In 2010 he was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor ...

, Minnesota state legislator * Sherman Walt, bassoonist * Leonard C. Ward,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Brigadier General * Thomas D. Yukelich, Minnesota state legislator

References

External links

City of Virginia – Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in St. Louis County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota Mining communities in Minnesota Populated places established in 1892 1892 establishments in Minnesota