St. Hilaire, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
St. Hilaire is a city in section 6 of River Falls Township in Pennington County
, Minnesota
, United States
. The population was 279 at the 2010 census.
, Minnesota
through Shirley, seven miles north of Crookston, Dorothy and Ives Station, to St. Hilaire.
St. Hilaire received its name in one of three ways:
Harry Ives was also the publisher of the St. Hilaire Spectator, the first newspaper to serve this community. The Spectator was published from 1883 to 1942, when it closed and sold its subscription list to the Thief River Falls Times.
, the city has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), of which, 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (8.33%) is water.
of 2000, there were 272 people, 121 households, and 68 families residing in the city. The population density
was 354.0 people per square mile (136.4/km²). There were 127 housing units at an average density of 165.3 per square mile (63.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.53% White, and 1.47% from two or more races.
There were 121 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples
living together, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% 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 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $37,143. Males had a median income of $27,188 versus $19,583 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,317. About 3.3% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 40.0% of those sixty five or over.
Pennington County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,584 people, 5,525 households, and 3,552 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 6,033 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
, 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 279 at the 2010 census.
History
St. Hilare was platted in 1882 and incorporated as a village on the auspicious date of July 4, 1883. Also on that date, St. Hilaire had rail service for the first time, as the Great Northern Railway opened a branch line from CrookstonCrookston, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,192 people, 3,078 households, and 1,819 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,658.8 people per square mile . There were 3,382 housing units at an average density of 684.8 per square mile...
, 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...
through Shirley, seven miles north of Crookston, Dorothy and Ives Station, to St. Hilaire.
St. Hilaire received its name in one of three ways:
- A Frenchman named St. Hilaire lived in a shack by the Red Lake RiverRed Lake RiverThe Red Lake River is a river located in northwestern Minnesota. The river begins on the western side of the Lower Red Lake and flows westward. After passing through Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, and Crookston, the river merges with the Red River of the North in East Grand Forks. The total...
, selling items like gunpowderGunpowderGunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...
and tobaccoTobaccoTobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, and when an item was needed, residents would "go to St. Hilaire" for it, and the name stuck. - A Frenchman named Arthur Yvernault bought land on which the townsite was then platted and named for his hometown in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - It was named by Hon. Frank Ives for the French Statesman and author Jules Barthélemy-Saint-HilaireJules Barthélemy-Saint-HilaireJules Barthélemy-Saint-Hilaire was a French philosopher, journalist, statesman, and possible illegitimate son of Napoleon I of France.- Biography :...
, who was born in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, August 19, 1805, and died November 24, 1895. Frank Ives was a judge in Crookston, MN, which was the county seat of Polk County (of which Pennington was then a part) and his son, Harry Ives, was the postmaster when the St. Hilaire post office began in 1882 while still part of Polk CountyPolk County, MinnesotaAs 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...
. Frank Ives owned land in St. Hilaire, but never lived there. This third possibility was favored by historian Warren UphamWarren UphamWarren Upham was a geologist, archaeologist, and librarian who is best known for his studies of glacial Lake Agassiz. Upham worked as a geologist in New Hampshire before moving in 1879 to Minnesota to study the resources and glacial geology of that state...
, and by extension by the Minnesota Historical SocietyMinnesota Historical SocietyThe Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
.
Harry Ives was also the publisher of the St. Hilaire Spectator, the first newspaper to serve this community. The Spectator was published from 1883 to 1942, when it closed and sold its subscription list to the Thief River Falls Times.
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 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²), of which, 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (8.33%) is water.
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 272 people, 121 households, and 68 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 354.0 people per square mile (136.4/km²). There were 127 housing units at an average density of 165.3 per square mile (63.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 98.53% White, and 1.47% from two or more races.
There were 121 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% 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, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 33.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.3% 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 2.88.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.5% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 106.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $37,143. Males had a median income of $27,188 versus $19,583 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 $13,317. About 3.3% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.2% of those under the age of eighteen and 40.0% of those sixty five or over.