Granite Falls, Minnesota

Granite Falls
City
Prentice Street in downtown Granite Falls in 2007
Location of Granite Falls within Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota
Coordinates: 44°48′38″N 95°32′17″W / 44.81056°N 95.53806°W / 44.81056; -95.53806
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Counties	Chippewa, Yellow Medicine
village	1879
incorporated	April 24, 1889
Government
• Mayor	Dave Smiglewski
Area [1]
• Total	3.73 sq mi (9.66 km2)
• Land	3.49 sq mi (9.05 km2)
• Water	0.24 sq mi (0.61 km2)
Elevation [2]	906 ft (276 m)
Population  (2020)[3]
• Total	2,737
• Estimate  (2021)[4]	2,713
• Density	783.34/sq mi (302.48/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	56241
Area code	320
FIPS code	27-25280[5]
GNIS feature ID	2394962[2]
Website	granitefalls.com

Granite Falls is a city located mostly in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat with a small portion in Chippewa County, Minnesota. The population was 2,737 at the 2020 census.^[3][6] The Andrew John Volstead House, a National Historic Landmark (NHL), is located in Granite Falls. Another NHL located in Granite Falls is the Julian A. Weaver House.^[7]

In 1870 a post office began operating at Granite Falls.^[8] The town was platted in 1872^[9] and named for deposits of granite rock in the area.^[10] In 1874 the county seat was moved to Granite Falls and a small one courtroom courthouse was erected. In 1876 the Norwegian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was formed and a church was built. Granite Falls was incorporated as a city in 1879 with East Granite Falls joining in 1889.^[9] The existing county courthouse was erected in 1880. In 1888 the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad built the town train station that still stands. The rail line remains active as a short line operated by the Twin Cities and Western Railroad (TC&W).

A grain elevator was built along the rail lines that today exists as the Farmers Co-Op elevator. In 2005 Granite Falls Energy LLC began producing Corn ethanol and extract Corn oil at their newly constructed plant.

On July 25, 2000, the city of Granite Falls and Yellow Medicine County were hit by a powerful tornado. The tornado first touched down in rural parts of the county west-northwest of Granite Falls, hitting the city at 6:10 pm. After tearing through the residential sections of town, the tornado lifted at approximately 6:25PM after being on the ground for over nine miles. One person was killed, more than a dozen were injured, and the town and surrounding area suffered millions of dollars in property damage. Most of the damage in Granite Falls was rated F2 and F3, but the extent of the damage at the corner of 9th Avenue and 14th Street caused the National Weather Service to classify it as an F4 tornado.^[11]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.82 square miles (9.89 km²), of which 3.59 square miles (9.30 km²) is land and 0.23 square miles (0.60 km²) is water.^[12]

U.S. Highway 212 and Minnesota State Highways 23 and 67 are three of the main routes in the city.

Granite Falls, along with the rest of Minnesota, has a humid continental climate^[13] with significant differences between seasons. With a July mean temperature of 22.2 °C (72.0 °F) Granite Falls just falls into the hot-summer zone of the Köppen classification of the humid continental climate regime.^[14] Winters are cold and dry influenced by arctic air masses affecting it through its continental position, while summers are influenced by humid subtropical air masses bringing hot temperatures and significant rainfall. Transitional periods are very short, since only April and October are between 0 °C (32 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F) in daily mean temperatures, with May–September being clearly above and November–March averaging below freezing.^[14] The middle three months in each of those cycles are also clearly warmer and colder, respectively, than the months at the beginning or at the end of transitional periods. That is in turn a typical feature of continental climates.

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,897 people in 1,282 households, including 747 families, in the city. The population density was 807.0 inhabitants per square mile (311.6/km²). There were 1,417 housing units at an average density of 394.7 per square mile (152.4/km²). The racial makup of the city was 89.9% White, 0.6% African American, 5.2% Native American, 0.4% Asian, 1.8% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.7%.^[19]

Of the 1,282 households 25.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.1% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.1% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.7% were non-families. 37.2% of households were one person and 17.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.82.

The median age was 43 years. 21.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.3% were from 25 to 44; 26.9% were from 45 to 64; and 20.7% were 65 or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.4% male and 51.6% female.

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,070 people in 1,344 households, including 806 families, in the city. The population density was 890.5 inhabitants per square mile (343.8/km²). There were 1,472 housing units at an average density of 427.0 per square mile (164.9/km²). The racial makup of the city was 92.35% White, 0.07% African American, 5.70% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.42% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.15%.

Of the 1,344 households 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 35.0% of households were one person and 18.5% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.91.

The age distribution was 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 21.8% 65 or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.2 males.

The median household income was $32,031 and the median family income was $45,536. Males had a median income of $32,905 versus $22,957 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,356. About 6.6% of families and 9.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 10.6% of those age 65 or over.

• United States Highway 212
• Minnesota State Highway 23
• Minnesota State Highway 67

• Media related to Granite Falls, Minnesota at Wikimedia Commons
• City Website
• Advocate-Tribune newspaper site