Bigfork, Minnesota

Bigfork, Minnesota
—  City  —
Location of Bigfork in Itasca County and Minnesota
Coordinates: 47°44′49″N 93°39′18″W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Itasca
Area
• Total	1.8 sq mi (4.7 km2)
• Land	1.8 sq mi (4.6 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	1,309 ft (399 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	446
• Density	263.5/sq mi (101.7/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	56628, 56639
Area code(s)	218
FIPS code	27-05698
GNIS feature ID	0655384

Bigfork is a city in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 446 at the 2010 census. Scenic State Park is nearby.

Minnesota State Highway 38 serves as a main route in the community. Minnesota State Highways 1 and 6 are nearby.

History

Bigfork originally began as a settlement when Damase "Uncle Tom" Neveaux built a log cabin on the Big Fork River, claiming the stand of pine there, and began logging activities. Though Neveaux reached the area in 1887, and the settlement began in 1892, officially, he was a squatter until the land was opened for settlement in 1900.

By 1902, a post office was established, and in 1906, a station was added to the Minneapolis and Rainy River Railway.

On January 17, 1907, less than a year after the railway stop was completed, Bigfork was incorporated as a village.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²). 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (1.66%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 469 people, 208 households, and 110 families residing in the city. The population density was 263.5 people per square mile (101.7/km²). There were 226 housing units at an average density of 127.0 per square mile (49.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.65% White, 1.71% Native American, 0.21% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.

There were 208 households out of which 21.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% were non-families. 42.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 24.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.00 and the average family size was 2.68.

In the city the population was spread out with 16.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 31.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 80.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,167, and the median income for a family was $36,250. Males had a median income of $32,083 versus $19,886 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,455. About 6.0% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.