Walnut Grove is a city in Redwood 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 871 at the 2010 census. Another name formerly associated with the area is Walnut Station.

History

In 1862 a massacre occurred at Lake Shetek that became known as Slaughter Slough. One of the survivors, Henry W. Smith, escaped and made his way to Walnut Grove to warn the village. A John Renniker was killed Northeast of Walnut Grove and is included with those that died at the slough. Walnut Grove 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 1874. It was named for a grove of

black walnut ''Juglans nigra'', the eastern American black walnut, is a species of deciduous tree in the walnut family, Juglandaceae, native to central and eastern North America, growing mostly in riparian zones. Black walnut is susceptible to thousand can ...

trees near the original town site. It was incorporated in 1879. Walnut Grove gained more than 250 residents between 2001 and 2006. The residents are Hmong. This has increased the population to nearly 900, and Hmong now comprise 42 percent of the students in the Westbrook-Walnut Grove School District.

Little House

Walnut Grove is the site of the

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, teacher, and journalist. She is best known as the author of the children's book series ''Little House on the Prairie'', published between 1932 and 1 ...

Museum, dedicated to the author of the ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

'' books. Wilder and her family lived in the area for a part of her childhood and the location is the setting for the ''Plum Creek'' part of the ''Little House'' book series. Charles Ingalls, her father, was the community's first justice and her only brother, Charles Frederick "Freddy" Ingalls (November 1, 1875 – August 27, 1876), was born in Walnut Grove. The name "Walnut Grove" was also used in the ''Little House on the Prairie''

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

, although the program was filmed in California.

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. Walnut Grove lies along U.S. Route 14, which connects it with Tracy to the west and Revere to the east. The town is located on Plum Creek.

Demographics

2010 census

At the 2010

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 ...

, the city had 871 people, 313 households and 210 families. 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 367 housing units at an average density of . The city's racial make-up was 63.4%

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 ...

, 0.5% Native American, 35.0% Asian, 1.0% from other races and 0.1% 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 2.1% of the population. There were 313 households, of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.9% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.5% had a male householder with no wife present and 32.9% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.53. The median age was 36.8 years. 31.3% of the city's population was under age 18; 7.9% was from age 18 to 24, 18.3% was from age 25 to 44, 23.1% was from age 45 to 64 and 19.3% was age 65 or older. The city's sex make-up was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, the city had 599 people, 291 households and 178 families. The

was . There were 341 housing units at an average density of . The city's racial make-up was 97.66%

, 0.67%

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 ...

, 0.17% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 1.17%

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 ...

and 0.17% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population. There were 291 households, of which 21.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.3% were

living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.67. 19.4% of the city's population was under age 18, 6.5% was from age 18 to 24, 22.7% was from age 25 to 44, 22.7% was from age 45 to 64 and 28.7% was age 65 or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The city's

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $24,013 and the median family income was $34,167. Males had a median income of $24,750 and females $20,192. 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 ...

was $15,637. About 5.0% of families and 9.6% 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 13.2% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

In the late 1990s, the Westbrook Wildcats and the Walnut Grove Loggers combined school districts and sports teams to form the Westbrook-Walnut Grove Chargers. * Schools: one high school in Westbrook (Grades 7–12) and one elementary school in Walnut Grove (Grades K–6) * Mascot: Chargers * School colors:

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

Notable people

* Norman R. DeBlieck, farmer and Minnesota state legislator * Lester Mondale, Unitarian minister * Leo Thorsness, Medal of Honor recipient *

, author

Sister cities

* Westbrook, Minnesota, and Walnut Grove are sister cities because Westbrook-Walnut Grove (WWG) Public Schools is distributed between both towns. * De Smet, South Dakota, and Walnut Grove are sister cities because of the impact that

has had on both of the cities.

References

External links

Walnut Grove, Minnesota – city website

Laura Ingalls Wilder Museum site
* {{authority control Cities in Redwood County, Minnesota Populated places established in 1879 1879 establishments in Minnesota Cities in Minnesota