Amboy, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Amboy is a city in Blue Earth County
, Minnesota
, United States
. The population was 534 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Mankato
–North Mankato
Metropolitan Statistical Area
. The city was founded in 1879. It celebrated its 125th anniversary in September, 2004.
, the city has a total area of 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²), all of it land.
U.S. Route 169
and Minnesota State Highway 30
are two of the main routes in the community.
of 2000, there were 575 people, 242 households, and 161 families residing in the city. The population density
was 1,838.9 people per square mile (716.2/km²). There were 268 housing units at an average density of 857.1 per square mile (333.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.43% White, 0.17% Asian, and 1.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.39% of the population.
There were 242 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples
living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,595, and the median income for a family was $39,844. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $20,833 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $15,658. About 8.3% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.
By 1875, Shelby Township was a relatively mature agricultural area, well known for grains and livestock. At that time, the township's population was 800, and it remained at approximately the same level for the next thirty years. Despite such overall stability, there were some significant population shifts within the township itself.
The main catalyst for change was the St. Paul and Sioux City Railway (later a part of the Omaha Road), which in 1879 built a north-south branch line through Blue Earth County. In several townships along the proposed route, residents offered the railroad financial incentives to locate a depot in their vicinity. For reasons that are not completely clear, the citizens of Shelbyville declined to do so. On September 2, 1879, they voted down a proposition to give the railroad a $10,000 grant. A week earlier, however, a group of farmers residing two miles north of Shelbyville had made the railroad an offer of their own.
The farmers' proposal, which was accepted, was to buy forty acres of land for the railroad, if the railroad would lay out town lots, build a depot, and build a grain elevator. The town, named Amboy, was laid out in October 1879. This triggered the death of Selbyville, which was deserted within three years, the buildings having been moved to other locations. Incorporating as a city in 1887, Amboy had more than 400 inhabitants by the turn of the century.
Blue Earth County, Minnesota
Blue Earth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 64,013. Its county seat is Mankato.Blue Earth County is part of the Mankato–North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 534 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
–North Mankato
North Mankato, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,798 people, 4,744 households, and 3,178 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,502.5 people per square mile . There were 5,046 housing units at an average density of 1,070.3 per square mile...
Metropolitan Statistical Area
Mankato-North Mankato metropolitan area
The Mankato–North Mankato Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in south central Minnesota, anchored by the cities of Mankato and North Mankato. It was upgraded from a Micropolitan Statistical Area to a...
. The city was founded in 1879. It celebrated its 125th anniversary in September, 2004.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 0.3 square mile (0.776996433 km²), all of it land.
U.S. Route 169
U.S. Route 169
U.S. Route 169 currently runs for 966 miles from the city of Virginia, Minnesota to Tulsa, Oklahoma at U.S. Route 64.-Oklahoma:U.S. Highway 169 is a major south–north highway spanning in Oklahoma. The southern terminus for US-169 is Memorial Drive...
and Minnesota State Highway 30
Minnesota State Highway 30
Minnesota State Highway 30 is a highway in southwest and southeast Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 34 at the South Dakota state line near Airlie and Pipestone, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with Minnesota Highway 43 in Rushford.Highway 30 is in...
are two of the main routes in the community.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 575 people, 242 households, and 161 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,838.9 people per square mile (716.2/km²). There were 268 housing units at an average density of 857.1 per square mile (333.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.43% White, 0.17% Asian, and 1.39% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.39% of the population.
There were 242 households out of which 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,595, and the median income for a family was $39,844. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $20,833 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $15,658. About 8.3% of families and 13.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under age 18 and 12.8% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Maple River West Middle School is located in Amboy. As the name implies it was a middle school, which serviced 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. In the spring of 2009, the board members of The Maple River School District, Independent School District #2135, voted in favor of closing the Amboy middle school and reorganizing the student body in an effort to cut costs.History
Shelby Township was organized in 1858, the year Minnesota achieved statehood. The township's main inducement to settlement was its rich prairie loam, rendered still more attractive by the availability of wood lots along the Blue Earth River. By 1860, Shelby Township was the most populous in Blue Earth County. In addition to its 315 residents, it also sustained a small but thriving village known as Shelbyville, located in Section 35, about two miles south of modern Amboy. In the early 1860s Shelbyville hosted the county fair. The town included a hotel, church, schoolhouse, mill, two stores, a blacksmith shop, a wagon shop, and a post office.By 1875, Shelby Township was a relatively mature agricultural area, well known for grains and livestock. At that time, the township's population was 800, and it remained at approximately the same level for the next thirty years. Despite such overall stability, there were some significant population shifts within the township itself.
The main catalyst for change was the St. Paul and Sioux City Railway (later a part of the Omaha Road), which in 1879 built a north-south branch line through Blue Earth County. In several townships along the proposed route, residents offered the railroad financial incentives to locate a depot in their vicinity. For reasons that are not completely clear, the citizens of Shelbyville declined to do so. On September 2, 1879, they voted down a proposition to give the railroad a $10,000 grant. A week earlier, however, a group of farmers residing two miles north of Shelbyville had made the railroad an offer of their own.
The farmers' proposal, which was accepted, was to buy forty acres of land for the railroad, if the railroad would lay out town lots, build a depot, and build a grain elevator. The town, named Amboy, was laid out in October 1879. This triggered the death of Selbyville, which was deserted within three years, the buildings having been moved to other locations. Incorporating as a city in 1887, Amboy had more than 400 inhabitants by the turn of the century.