Buhl Minnesota City Guide

Buhl (city)

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2000-2010 Change

Actual

Percent

Population

1,303

1,284

915

983

1,000

+17

+1.73

Land Area (sq. mile)

2.50

3.00

3.08

3.29

0.00

Density (persons per sq. mile)

521.20

428.00

297.08

299.01

303.95

+4.94

+1.65

Housing Units

420

510

422

432

496

+64

+14.81

Households

477

383

405

430

+25

+1.23

Persons Per Household

2.63

2.32

2.21

0.00

Buhl is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota. U.S. Highway 169 serves as a main arterial route in the community. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), of which, 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (6.80%) is water. The elevation is 1,526 ft (465 m) above sea level.

As of the census of 2000, there were 983 people, 405 households, and 240 families residing in the city. The population density was 299.0 people per square mile (115.4/km²). There were 432 housing units at an average density of 131.4/sq mi (50.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.91% White, 0.71% African American, 2.75% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.51% of the population. 20.5% were of Finnish, 15.1% German, 10.7% Italian, 6.8% English and 5.8% Norwegian ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 405 households out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.5% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.9% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 118.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,574, and the median income for a family was $34,464. Males had a median income of $35,938 versus $21,538 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,828. About 7.2% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.9% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Buhl, a city in sections 20 and 21 of Great Scott Township (T. 58N, R. 19W), on the Mesabi Range, incorporated on February 25, 1901, was named in honor of Frank H. Buhl, of Sharon, Pa., president of the Sharon Ore Company, which corporation opened the first mines in this locality in the spring of 1900 (history of the county, 1910, p. 727). The post office began in 1900.

Buhl is another Mesabi Range town that had its beginnings when lumber interests moved into the area in 1898 and established a camp. By 1900, lumber companies employing thousands of men, had cut over seven million feet of lumber here.

Buhl's population reached its peak in 1920 with 2,007 people. Since that year, until recently, its population has declined with the decrease in local mining activity. Its future is directly connected, like that of many other communities on the ranges, to taconite production.

Simultaneously, mining companies were exploring, and in 1900, the Sharon Ore Company, while preparing for mining, platted a forty acre townsite and named it Buhl, for Frank H. Buhl, then president of the ore company. The town occupied a six block area that is Buhl's shopping district today.

Mining forged ahead as the chief industry. Men from many countries came to work in the eight open pit mines that eventually surrounded the town.

In 1900 there was no hotel or restaurant. Meals were served at a logging camp in a tent with "walls" of brush and trees. The train depot was a boxcar.

Yet the population boomed. From lumberjacks and explorers in 1900, the town grew to a population of 800 in 1903 (with only 50 women).

Buhl's largest mine, the Wabigon, held the record for low cost operation. In just three seasons, from 1920-1923, it was stripped of overburden and 500,000 tons of ore by electric drag lines, with an average daily crew of five men, each handling approximately 250 tons of ore per day. This was the first open pit on the Mesabi to be electrified, and its shovel, with a dipper capacity of fourteen tons, was the largest ever used to that date in an open pit.

Excerpt From: Iron Range Country A Historical Travelogue of Minnesota's Iron Ranges
Published by: The IRRRB 1979

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