Northome, Minnesota

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Northome is a city located in the SW corner of Koochiching County, Minnesota. The population was 230 at the 2000 census. The County Seat is International Falls, Minnesota, about seventy miles away. Highways 71, 1, and 46 meet here. There are approximately 6 paved roads between Northome and the North Pole, two of which are in Minnesota (in addition to highway 71, on the north side of town).

Northome was founded in 1903 and enjoyed a boom time early in the 20th century as a logging town. In the 1930's, the big pines were mostly logged out, and farming gained importance. Many farmers relocated here from the dust bowl conditions in the Dakotas at the time. Today resorts in the area and the Northome School are also important sources of employment. The Burlington Northern Railroad had a depot in Northome until the late 70's, although passenger service discontinued long before that. Today the railroad bed is part of a large network of snowmobile trails. There is a grass-strip airfield. The local paper is the Northome Record, produced since 1905.

Carved wooden Black Bear Statue at Northome

The Northome Fairgrounds hold the annual Koochiching County Fair, celebrated its 100th anniversary in August, 2006. Fair events include a demolition derby, ATV race, animal and produce judging and a related Bear Fest parade in the city of Northome. Northome is known as the "Heart of Big Bear Country". There is a hunting season on black bears, and hunters in the Northome-Mizpah area have occasionally bagged bears weighing over 500 pounds that can stretch 8 feet high.

The town is on the shores of Bartlett Lake, to the south is Island Lake, popular for fishing and swimming. Other smaller lakes are in the area as well, together supporting a variety of fish including walleyed and northern pike. Fall brings the deer hunters and in the winter snowmobiling is a growing activity, supporting a small industry with a network of trails leading to nearby communities, including across the Big Bog State Recreation Area to Waskish Township, Minnesota. Winters also support ice-fishing, as the occasional -40° (F or C) temperatures create ice that can support small snowplows to clear roads on the lakes. Many Christmas wreaths are made here from local balsam and spruce trees.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.9 km² (1.9 mi²). 3.9 km² (1.5 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (19.58%) is water.

Northome is located at 47°52′19″N, 94°16′48″W (47.871986, -94.280248).

[edit] Demographics

Primary occupations in the area are logging timber, farming, healthcare and resorts/tourism. The largest single employer is the Northome School. As of the census ² of 2000, there were 230 people, 87 households, and 46 families residing in the city. The population density was 58.4/km² (151.3/mi²). There were 113 housing units at an average density of 28.7/km² (74.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.96% White, 1.74% Native American, and 1.30% from two or more races.

There were 87 households out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 2.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 42.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 32.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 3.9% from 18 to 24, 19.6% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 30.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females there were 71.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 61.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,417, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $30,556 versus $20,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,758. About 13.0% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under the age of eighteen and 20.8% of those sixty five or over.