Brooks, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Brooks is a city in Red Lake County, Minnesota
, United States
. The population was 141 at the 2010 census.
, the city has a total area of 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all of it land.
U.S. Highway 59
and Minnesota Highway 92
are two of the main routes in the community.
of 2000, there were 141 people, 61 households, and 37 families residing in the city. The population density
was 121.3 people per square mile (46.9/km²). There were 64 housing units at an average density of 55.0 per square mile (21.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 100.00% White.
There were 61 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were married couples
living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 19.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 110.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,417, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,947. There were none of the families and 2.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 11.8% of those over 64.
. By 1926, Brooks had two general stores, a grocery store, a bank, hardware store, butcher shop, blacksmith shop, a livery barn, two saloons, a community hall and a hotel to accommodate travelers. Brooks was primarily a service town for the surrounding agricultural townships, and a creamery
was established as the local dairying business developed on neighboring farms. After the invention of the cream separator
, family farms in adjoining townships of Polk
and Red Lake counties switched from subsistence agriculture
to a market economy
and became a part of the dairy industry.
who moved their operation to Brooks. The business was widely known as the Brooks Cheese Company. It was a cheese factory owned by the Parenteau family, which sold its product to the Kraft Foods company
, and marketed its products throughout the Midwest. Local farmers would process the milk from their own cows by removing the butterfat
or cream, which was hauled in [cream cans to the cheese factory, while the skim milk or whey
was fed to hogs
raised on the same farm. The Brooks Cheese Company continued in business until the late 1970s, at which point the decline of the family farm and the predominance of monoculture
and industrial agriculture
eliminated the mixed agriculture that formerly had predominated in the area of Brooks.
Although the local history of Red Lake County blames the National Farmers Organization
for organizing farmers to cooperative actions in withholding milk shipments, the reality is that Brooks Cheese Company could not compete with the major industrial cheese manufacturers and the development of agribusiness
which portended the demise of the family farm. By the beginning of the 21st century, few dairy cows could be found within twenty miles of Brooks, whereas at one time virtually every quarter section could be counted on for the cream produced by 10 or 15 cows. Nonetheless, Brooks continues to be the site of an agricultural supply business, a gas station, and several other local businesses, as well as one church.
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 141 at the 2010 census.
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 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), all of it land.
U.S. Highway 59
U.S. Route 59
U.S. Route 59 is a north–south United States highway . A latecomer to the U.S. numbered route system, U.S. 59 is now a border-to-border route, Part of NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It parallels U.S. Route 75 for nearly its entire route, never much more than away, until it veers southwest...
and Minnesota Highway 92
Minnesota State Highway 92
Minnesota State Highway 92 is a highway in northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 32 in Lake Pleasant Township near Red Lake Falls and continues east and then south to its eastern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 200 at Zerkel, south of the city of...
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 141 people, 61 households, and 37 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 121.3 people per square mile (46.9/km²). There were 64 housing units at an average density of 55.0 per square mile (21.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 100.00% White.
There were 61 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% 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, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 19.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 110.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,417, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $16,250 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 $13,947. There were none of the families and 2.8% of the population living below the poverty line, including no under eighteens and 11.8% of those over 64.
History
Brooks was established in 1904 as a station on the Soo Line RailroadSoo Line Railroad
The Soo Line Railroad is the primary United States railroad subsidiary of the Canadian Pacific Railway , controlled through the Soo Line Corporation, and one of seven U.S. Class I railroads. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste...
. By 1926, Brooks had two general stores, a grocery store, a bank, hardware store, butcher shop, blacksmith shop, a livery barn, two saloons, a community hall and a hotel to accommodate travelers. Brooks was primarily a service town for the surrounding agricultural townships, and a creamery
Creamery
In a dairy, the creamery is the location of cream processing. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream returned to the skimmed milk....
was established as the local dairying business developed on neighboring farms. After the invention of the cream separator
Cream separator
A separator is a centrifugal device that separates milk into cream and skimmed milk. Separation was commonly performed on farms in the past. Most farmers milked a few cows, usually by hand, and separated milk. Some of the skimmed milk was consumed while the rest was used to feed calves and pigs...
, family farms in adjoining townships of Polk
Polk County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,369 people, 12,070 households, and 8,050 families residing in the county. The population density was 16 people per square mile . There were 14,008 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
and Red Lake counties switched from subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
to a market economy
Market economy
A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...
and became a part of the dairy industry.
Brooks Cheese Company
In 1926, the Brooks creamery was purchased by the owners of the cheese factory in nearby TerrebonneTerrebonne, Minnesota
Terrebonne is a former townsite on the Clearwater River in Terrebonne Township, Red Lake County, Minnesota, United States. In 1901, the village of Terrebonne was the site of a thriving flour mill, a cheese factory, a blacksmith shop, a general store and an "eating place", the latter operated by...
who moved their operation to Brooks. The business was widely known as the Brooks Cheese Company. It was a cheese factory owned by the Parenteau family, which sold its product to the Kraft Foods company
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
, and marketed its products throughout the Midwest. Local farmers would process the milk from their own cows by removing the butterfat
Butterfat
Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain.- Composition :The fatty acids of butterfat are typically composed as follows :...
or cream, which was hauled in [cream cans to the cheese factory, while the skim milk or whey
Whey
Whey or Milk Serum is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a by-product of the manufacture of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is manufactured during the making of rennet types of hard cheese like cheddar or Swiss cheese...
was fed to hogs
Domestic pig
The domestic pig is a domesticated animal that traces its ancestry to the wild boar, and is considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species in its own right. It is likely the wild boar was domesticated as early as 13,000 BC in the Tigris River basin...
raised on the same farm. The Brooks Cheese Company continued in business until the late 1970s, at which point the decline of the family farm and the predominance of monoculture
Monoculture
Monoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing one single crop over a wide area. It is also known as a way of farming practice of growing large stands of a single species. It is widely used in modern industrial agriculture and its implementation has allowed for large harvests from...
and industrial agriculture
Industrial agriculture
Industrial farming is a form of modern farming that refers to the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops. The methods of industrial agriculture are technoscientific, economic, and political...
eliminated the mixed agriculture that formerly had predominated in the area of Brooks.
Although the local history of Red Lake County blames the National Farmers Organization
National Farmers Organization
The National Farmers Organization is a producerist movement founded in the United States in 1955. Its greatest notoriety came in 1967 when it organized milk farmers to engage in a “holding action” to drive up the price of milk....
for organizing farmers to cooperative actions in withholding milk shipments, the reality is that Brooks Cheese Company could not compete with the major industrial cheese manufacturers and the development of agribusiness
Agribusiness
In agriculture, agribusiness is a generic term for the various businesses involved in food production, including farming and contract farming, seed supply, agrichemicals, farm machinery, wholesale and distribution, processing, marketing, and retail sales....
which portended the demise of the family farm. By the beginning of the 21st century, few dairy cows could be found within twenty miles of Brooks, whereas at one time virtually every quarter section could be counted on for the cream produced by 10 or 15 cows. Nonetheless, Brooks continues to be the site of an agricultural supply business, a gas station, and several other local businesses, as well as one church.
Further reading
- Red Lake County Historical Society, Inc., A History of Red Lake County: Red Lake County, Minnesota (Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, Texas, 1976), at pp. 98–103.