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Proctor is located beside the
Bayview Heights neighborhood of
Duluth, with which it forms something of a
contiguous community unit due to Bayview Heights'
Topographic separation (the hill) from adjacent
West Duluth. It is bounded by school rival
Hermantown to the north,
Midway Township to the west, Duluth's Bayview
Heights neighborhood to the east, and a mostly
undeveloped area of
Duluth (officially in the Riverside neighborhood) to
the south.
As of the
census2
of 2000, there were 2,852 people, 1,196 households, and
772 families residing in the city. The
population density was 363.4/km˛ (942.8/mi˛). There
were 1,246 housing units at an average density of
158.8/km˛ (411.9/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city was
96.49%
White, 0.14%
African American, 1.16%
Native American, 0.53%
Asian, 0.28% from
other races, and 1.40% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.
There were 1,196 households out of which
28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them,
51.5% were
married couples living together, 10.6% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were
non-families. 30.8% of all households were made up of
individuals and 17.1% had someone living alone who was
65 years of age or older. The average household size was
2.38 and the average family size was 2.99.
In the city the population was spread
out with 24.0% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24,
27.3% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who
were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38
years. For every 100 females there were 86.6 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.8
males.
The median income for a household in
the city was $38,322, and the median income for a family
was $49,875. Males had a median income of $33,583 versus
$22,035 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $18,851. About
3.2% of families and 5.0% of the population were below
the
poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18
and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
Proctor (1,236 alt., 2,468 pop.), a village whose
history parallels that of the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railroad,
is the greatest iron ore transportation center in the world.
In 1892, the Merritts built the Duluth, Missabe and
Northern Railroad from Mountain Iron to Stony Brook, a distance of 45
miles, to transport ore from the Mountain Iron Mine to the Duluth and
Winnipeg Railroad, which had agreed to carry the output from Stony Brook
to the lake. A year later, because the Duluth and Winnipeg failed to
supply sufficient cars, and, moreover, was shipping the ore to docks in
Superior, the Duluth, Missabe and Northern was extended into Duluth.
The site of the present Proctor, then regarded as part
of Oneota (see Duluth), was selected for the shops and classification
yards. In 1894, the village was incorporated.
Now officially rechristened as Proctor, it was
originally named Proctor-knott for the Honorable J. Proctor Knott,
former Governor of Kentucky and United States Congressman, who in 1871
delivered a satirical Congressional speech ridiculing Duluth. It was on
January 27, 1871, that one up in Congress tried to secure the extension
of a land grant for "the construction of a railroad from the St. Croix
River or lake to the west end Lake Superior and to Bayfield," while the
other group was anxious to secure the passage of a bill designed "to
appropriate $500,000 to improve the harbor at Duluth." The latter group
was influenced by the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad, which had
just been completed in July, 1870. Mr. Knott evidently supposed that the
proposed appropriation for the Duluth harbor was a part of the scheme of
those interested in getting a land grant for the railroad. As a matter
of fact it had no relation to the railroad land grant. The Duluth people
as well as the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad were very much
opposed to the land grant, mainly on account of the intense rivalry
between Duluth and Superior in those days. The St. Croix and Bayfield
Railroad was to have its terminus at Superior, and there is little doubt
that the building of that railroad would have promoted the growth of
Duluth's rival.
Mr. Knott, who had no connection with either of the
opposing groups, tried in his speech, as a matter of principle, to fight
the extension of the land grant. His words were so packed with sarcastic
humor that the House repeatedly rocked in laughter. The land grant bill
was killed, but his humorous speech caught the public fancy. Attention
was focused on Duluth, which he had termed "the center of the universe,"
and within 20 years many of the predictions that Proctor Knott had made
in mocking jest became a reality. Railroading is Proctor's only
industry. The shops and ore classification yards of the Duluth, Missabe
and Iron Range Railroad cover approximately 240 acres and ordinarily
employ about 1,000 men. These classification yards, the largest in the
world, with 57 miles of track and a capacity of 6,479 hopper-bottomed
cars, make up trainloads of ore according to quality specifications, to
be hauled by mallet engines down the heavy six-mile grade to the Duluth
ore docks (see Duluth Tour 8). The roundhouse has 30 stalls, with
equipment for repairs, and is a modern engine terminal. When cold
weather sets in, the ore-steaming plant thaws ore that has been frozen,
thus facilitating loading and lengthening the shipping season.
Proctor's public school system consists of three
schools: Proctor High; Proctor East Side Grade (cor. Central Ave. and E.
2nd St.); and Summit Grade and Junior High (cor. 8th Ave. and W. 2nd
St.). There is one parochial school, St. Rose of Lima (116 E. 3rd St.),
conducted by the Sisters of St. Benedict.
The $102,000 two-story brick Village Hall was
completed in 1940, replacing the frame structure that had been in use
for 30 years.
