Waubun is a city in

Mahnomen County Mahnomen County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,411. Its county seat is Mahnomen. The county is part of the White Earth Indian Reservation. It is the only county in Minnesota entire ...

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 409 at the 2020 census.

U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south U.S. highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. Highway System, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It par ...

and

Minnesota State Highway 113 Minnesota State Highway 113 (MN 113) is a highway in northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 32 in Syre and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 71 in Clover Township ...

are two of the main routes in the community.

History

The city was incorporated as a village on December 18, 1907. When the Soo Line was built through the county in 1903–4, the general manager, Pennington, and his chief engineer, Thomas Green, named the stations as they moved the line north; all towns on the

White Earth Indian Reservation The White Earth Indian Reservation () is home to the White Earth Band, in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in the state by land area. The reservation includes all of Mahnomen County, plus parts of Becker and Clea ...

had to have Ojibwe Native American names. The community post office was established in 1905 as Bement and changed to Waubun in 1906. The name "Waubun" comes from the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

word for "the east", "the morning", "the twilight of dawn", and "dawn of day".

Geography

Waubun is in southwestern Mahnomen County on the west side of

, which leads north to Mahnomen, the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

, and south to Ogema. State Highway 113 runs along the community's south side, leading east to Elbow Lake and west to its terminus at Syre. According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, Waubun has an area of , all of it land. The city is in the western part of the

, which includes all of Mahnomen County and parts of neighboring counties to the east and south.

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 400 people, 160 households, and 108 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 182 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 46.0%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 33.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, and 20.3% 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 2.0% of the population. There were 160 households, of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.9% 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, 23.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 7.5% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.96. The median age in the city was 33.7 years. 31.7% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.2% were from 25 to 44; 21.6% were from 45 to 64; and 17.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 43.0% male and 57.0% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 403 people, 179 households, and 100 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 183 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 66.75%

, 17.12% Native American, and 16.13% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 0.25% of the population (1 person). There were 179 households, out of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.7% were

living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.1% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 25.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.6% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 20.3% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males. The median income for a household in the city was $31,042, and the median income for a family was $35,625. Males had a median income of $23,906 versus $22,292 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 $14,968. About 2.8% of families and 11.4% 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 7.0% of those under age 18 and 23.7% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Cities in Minnesota Cities in Mahnomen County, Minnesota