Hermantown, Minnesota

Hermantown, Minnesota
—  City  —
Motto: The City of Quality Living
Location of Hermantown in Saint Louis County, Minnesota
Coordinates: 46°48′5″N 92°13′21″W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Saint Louis
Incorporated	December 31, 1975
Government
• Mayor	Wayne Boucher
Area
• Total	34.3 sq mi (89.0 km2)
• Land	34.3 sq mi (88.9 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2)
Elevation	1,362 ft (415 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	9,414
• Density	216.9/sq mi (83.8/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	55811, 55810
Area code(s)	218
FIPS code	27-28682
GNIS feature ID	0660490
Website	www.hermantownmn.com

Hermantown is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,414 at the 2010 census. A suburb of Duluth, Minnesota, it has been the only city in the county to report population growth as much of the area's residential and commercial expansion occurs there. Hermantown is located near the tip of Lake Superior.

The eastern section of the city has an appearance typical of a lower-density bedroom community, with large, leafy lots and occasional subdivisions. The car-oriented "Miller Hill area", or Miller Trunk Corridor of Duluth, has sprawled well past the border into this part of Hermantown. The western part is dominated by a more rural landscape, reminiscent of the past agricultural focus of the city. Hermantown's motto is "The City of Quality Living ".

One of Hermantown's more interesting features is the proliferation of "Jackson Homes" on certain roads. These single-family dwellings were built during the Great Depression as subsistence homesteads. Many today retain their original brick appearance, albeit with additions.

Hermantown's current mayor is Wayne Boucher, who won a 2008 election against opponent Susie Stockinger.

History

Hermantown's population would get a boost from a new wave of homesteaders just before World War II. During the hard times of the Great Depression, the federal government built nearly a hundred "subsistence homestead" projects designed to move people trapped in poverty in the cities, to new homes in rural or suburban locations. One of the two Minnesota projects was assigned to Hermantown

The Jackson Project was completed in 1937. Each of the 84 homesteads had a brick veneer farmhouse; half also had a garage-barn combination. Each had five or 10 acres (40,000 m²) of land, and the family also received a pig, a cow, and 35 chickens. The idea was that the family would be able to raise its own food and use the profits from selling any surplus to work off its debt to the government. The units were sold to homesteaders on very liberal terms: the average price for the home and property was $2,687.40 plus interest.

The Hermantown project was one of the later projects built, which was a benefit because the quality of housing improved. Plumbing and electricity were now required in all homes. The homesteaders gave a whole new profile to the Town of Herman. Now with 84 homes and families concentrated in one part of the community, the Project marked the start of a transition from rural to suburban for Hermantown.

Hermantown was incorporated as a city on December 31, 1975.

The community of Adolph is located within the city of Hermantown.

On November 10, 2008, Hermantown experienced the first homicide in its history. A 20-year old male was taken into custody, but his victim, a 27-year old male, died from multiple stab wounds on his way to the hospital.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.3 square miles (89 km²), of which, 34.3 square miles (89 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.06%) is water.

U.S. Highway 53, State Highway 194, and County 13 / Midway Road are three of the main routes in the city.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1980	6,759		—
1990	6,761		0%
2000	7,448		10.2%
2010	9,414		26.4%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,448 people, 2,726 households, and 2,077 families residing in the city. The population density was 216.9 people per square mile (83.8/km²). There were 2,822 housing units at an average density of 82.2 per square mile (31.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.27% White, 0.36% African American, 0.83% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.11% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population. 19.5% were of Norwegian, 15.9% German, 13.2% Swedish, 9.0% Finnish and 6.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 2,726 households out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.9% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 19.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,861, and the median income for a family was $55,632. Males had a median income of $41,152 versus $25,481 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,993. About 2.2% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.7% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

External links

• City of Hermantown, MN – Official site
• Hermantown Schools site
• Hermantown Star newspaper site

See also

• U.S. Highway 53
• State Highway 194
• County Road 13 – Midway Road