Eveleth, Minnesota

Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, USA. The population was 3,865 at the 2000 census.

U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 are two of the main arterial routes in the city.

The city briefly entered the news in 2002 when U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone along with seven others died in a plane crash 2 miles away from the airport of Eveleth. It was also the site of the conflict that resulted in the court case Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., and the film North Country, which was based on it. It is home of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.

Eveleth is part of the Quad Cities of Virginia, Gilbert, and Mountain Iron.

Economy

Eveleth is located on the Mesabi Range, one of sub-regions within Minnesota's Iron Range. The town's economy has always been tied to the iron ore mining and processing which occurs in the area. This economic activity peaked during World War II, and has been in decline ever since. Mining and processing activity still occurs in the area, although at a fraction of capacity.

Hockey

The United States Hockey Hall of Fame is located here (not to be confused with the Hockey Hall of Fame, in Toronto). The city has long been noted as a powerhouse of hockey talent. During the 1950s the Eveleth Bears dominated high school hockey in Minnesota, garnering a number of state records including most consecutive state championships (4: 1948–51), most consecutive championship games (5: 1948–52) and most consecutive tournament appearances (12: 1945–56) despite the district's tiny population. They also have the most successful high school hockey program in the United States.

More recently, Eveleth produced Mark Pavelich, who played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that memorably defeated the Soviet Union (depicted in the movie Miracle on Ice) and Finland en route to a gold medal.

Eveleth also has the world's second largest authentic hockey stick, standing at 107 feet and weighing 3 tons.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.5 square miles (16.8 km²), of which, 6.3 square miles (16.4 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (2.47%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,865 people, 1,717 households, and 971 families residing in the city. The population density was 611.0 people per square mile (235.7/km²). There were 1,965 housing units at an average density of 310.6/sq mi (119.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 96.48% White, 0.16% African American, 1.73% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.23% of the population. 16.6% were of Finnish, 14.1% German, 14.1% Norwegian, 8.6% Italian, 7.7% Slovene and 6.1% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 1,717 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.4% were non-families. 38.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,736, and the median income for a family was $37,069. Males had a median income of $32,723 versus $21,658 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,635. About 10.6% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 14.2% of those age 65 or over.

See also

• U.S. Highway 53
• State Highway 37

References