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Home >> Regional >> North America >> United States >> Minnesota >> Metro Areas >> Duluth |
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Duluth occurs as town around & a county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, United wtates. When of the 2000 census, the city got the number people of 86,918. These are the hort]] at the westernmost point on the north shore of aake auperior]], perhaps farther from the ocean than any other seaport. It is linked to tlantic tcean]] via the Great Lakes and then either the Erie Canal/New York a a aanal or the Saint Lawrence Seaway.
f current mayor of Duluth is Herb Bergson, who is serving his first term.
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e city is named for Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Luth, the first known European explorer p the area.
ue northern terminus of Interstate 35 is in Duluth. The highway extends south through the s te to the Twin Cities, and continues its southerly course to the i i if Laredo, Texas.
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u Native American]] tribes had occupied the Duluth area for thousands of years. The original h h bitants are believed to be members of Paleo-Indian cultures, followed by the "Old apper" peoples, who hunted with spear points and knives and fished v th metal hooks. Around the time of Christ's birth, the Woodlands people, known for their e e l mounds and pottery, occupied the area. They also cultivated wild rice, a crop that continues to be harvested today by tribes in the region and is often seen being sold in the area, especially in Wisconsin. In 1679, the first white man known to visit the location of present-day Duluth and the city's namesake, Sieur du Lhut, arrived to settle rivalries between two Indian nations, the Dakota and the Ojibwe, to advance fur trading missions in the area. His work allowed for this to occur, with the Ojibwe becoming middlemen between the French and the Dakota. As a result, the area prospered, and as early as 1692, the Hudson Bay Company set up a small post at Fond du Lac. It was not until 1792 that the next trading post, on the Wisconsin side of the St. Louis River, was opened by Jean Baptiste Cadotte of the North West Company. A fire destroyed the post in 1800, but a German emigree, John Jacob Astor, constructed a post on the river's Minnesota side. The store initially floundered as a result of the Indians' insistence n trading with established English and French partners. However, Astor managed to convince the United States Congress to ban foreigners from trading in American territory. His American Fur Company was re-formed in 1816-17. Hard times hit the post once again by 1839 due to fashionable Europeans choosing silk hats over those made from beaver pelts. Interest in the area was piqued in the 1850s as rumours copper mining began to circulate. A government land survey in 1852, followed by a treaty with local tribes in 1854, secured wilderness for gold-seeking explorers, a "land rush", and the development of iron ore mining in the area. Around the same time, newly-constructed channels and locks in the East permitted large ships to access the area. A road connecting Duluth to the Twin Cities was also constructed. Eleven small towns on both sides of the St. Louis River were formed, establishing Duluth's roots as a city. By 1857, copper resources were found to be scarce, and the area's economic focus shifted to timber harvesting. A nation-wide financial crisis led to nearly three quarters of the city's early pioneers leaving. In the late 1860s, a financier Jay Cooke (after whom the Jay Cooke State Park is named), convinced the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to create an extension from St. Paul to Duluth. The railroad opened areas due north and west of Lake Superior to iron ore mining. Duluth's population on New Year's Day, 1869 consisted of fourteen families; by the Fourth of July, 3,500 people were present to celebrate. The city thrived, and the area's hillside and downtown areas were populated by early residents. In the 1900s, the city's port passed New York City in gross tonnage handled, elevating it to being the leading port in the United States]. Meanwhile, there were ten newspapers, six banks, and an eleven-story skyscraper, the Torrey Bulding, already present in the town. In 1907, U.S. Steel announced that a $5 - $6 million plant would be constructed in the area. Although it took eight years for steel to actually be produced, predictions held that Duluth's population would rise to 200,000 to 300,000. With the plant came Morgan Park, a once-independent company town that now stands as a city neighborhood. During much of the twentieth century, the city was an industrial port town, with a cement plant, nail mill, wire mills, the U.S. Steel plant. In 1916, during World War I, a shipbuilding plant on St. Louis River produced eight vessels simultaneously. A neighborhood was formed around this operation, today known as Riverside. Similar industrial operations were heightened during the Second World War. Population growth continued after the war, with a peak of 106,884 reached in 1960. Due to foreign competition, the steel plant closed in 1971, presenting a major blow to the city. Other industrial activity followed suit, along with an air base. Within a decade, unemployment rates surged to 15 percent, emptying local stores and creating long job application lines. With the decline of the city's industrial core, the local economic focus shifted to tourism. The downtown was renewed with red brick streets and skywalks, and distasteful warehouses along the waterfront were converted into cafés, shops, and restaurants, forming Canal Park as a largely tourism-oriented district. The city is a now a fairly popular Midwestern tourist attraction, and is a convenient base for trips to the North Shore via Highway 61, or to fishing and wilderness expeditions in Minnesota's far north. It continues to function as a regional hub for a large stretch of area encompassing northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the western Upper Penninsula of Michigan. The population continues to decline, according to the U.S. Census and projections.
Geography & Climate Duluth's geography is dominated by a rather steep, San Francisco-like hill which represents a transition from the elevation of Lake Superior's beach to that of the inland. For example, Sky Harbor airport near the lake on the Park Point sandbar has an elevation of 610 ft (185.9 m), while Duluth International Airport atop the hill is at 1,428 ft (435.3 m) (source). As a result, Duluth is primarily a southwest-northeast city. A considerable amount of development on the hill's upslope gives Duluth a reputation for deathly steep streets. Some neighborhoods, such as Piedmont Heights and Bayview Heights, are atop the hill, at times giving scenic views of the city. Perhaps the most rapidly developing part of the city is a commercial auto-oriented shopping strip "over the hill". The city's climate is known for long, cold winters and cool summers, hence the nickname "the air-conditioned city". During the winter months, temperatures often remain below freezing for periods of weeks. A normal winter brings consistent snow cover from December through March. Summers are cool and comfortable, with daytime temperatures averaging in the 70-80°F range (21-26°C) due to the cooling easterly winds of the lake (as opposed to occasional temperatures over 90°F (32°C) inland), although temperatures may remain below 50°F (10°C) even during June afternoons along the Lake Superior shore, even when the inland temperature is in the 70s°F (mid-20s°C). Great local variations are also common, due to the rapid change in elevation between the hill and shore-side.
Demographics As of the census2 of 2000, there are 86,918 people, 35,500 households, and 19,915 families residing in the city. The population density is 493.4/km² (1,278.1/mi²). There are 36,994 housing units at an average density of 210.0/km² (544.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 92.65% White, 1.63% Black or African American, 2.44% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 35,500 households out of which 26.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% are married couples living together, 11.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 43.9% are non-families. 34.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 2.90. In the city the population is spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.7 males. The median income for a household in the city is $33,766, and the median income for a family is $46,394. Males have a median income of $35,182 versus $24,965 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,969. 15.5% of the population and 8.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.4% of those under the age of 18 and 9.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Neighborhoods
Central
Eastern Duluth
Neighborhoods above the hill
West Duluth
West of West Duluth
"West End" / Lincoln Park
Colleges and universities
K-12 Education
Catholic Schools
Catholic elementary schools in Duluth are under the administration of the Diocese of Duluth.
Public Elementary Schools
Public Middle Schools
Public High Schools
Alternative Public Schools
Private and Charter Schools (non-Catholic)
Professional Sports History
Duluth once fielded a team called the Kelleys (officially the Kelley Duluths after the Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store) from 1923-1925 and the Eskimos (officially Ernie Nevers' Eskimos after their star player) from 1926-1927 in the National Football League. The Eskimos were then sold and became the Orange, NJ Tornadoes.
Season-by-season
Amateur sports
The Duluth-Superior Shoremen are a semi-pro football team based in Duluth's Public Schools Stadium. They play for the Mid-American Football League, and placed second in that league's championship game last year.
Grandma's Marathon is Duluth's annual marathon in June, named after its original sponsor, Grandma's Restaurant. The course of the marathon starts just outside Two Harbors, Minnesota, runs down Old Highway 61, the old route for Minnesota State Highway 61, along the North Shore of Lake Superior and finishes in one of Duluth's tourism neighborhoods, Canal Park. The same route is also taken during the North Shore Inline Marathon which takes place in September, drawing racers from all over the world.
The Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon is Duluth's annual sled dog race organized in February and named after John Beargrease, the son of the Anishinabe Chief Moquabimetem and one of the first mail carriers between Two Harbors, Minnesota and Grand Marais, Minnesota. He and his brothers carried mail by sled dog, boat, and horse for almost twenty years between the two towns, where there was no road. Competitors can choose between two distances; the longer 400-mile course takes a round trip from Duluth to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, and the 150-mile course departs from Duluth and ends in Tofte, Minnesota. The marathon was first held in 1980 and is acknowledged as a training ground for the larger and more elite Iditarod sled dog race.
The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldog hockey games are a major event in town during the cold Duluth winter. Players have become minor celebrities, glad-handing with fans around town and enjoying pats on the back from classmates. Games are televised locally and thousands watch the games in person at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center (DECC)
Famous people
Politics
Media
Local FM Radio Stations:
Local Television Stations:
Duluth has experienced firsthand the consequences of media consolidation. On March 8, 2005 the sale of Duluth's CBS affiliate was announced to Malara Broadcast Group of Sarasota, Florida. The group agreed to pay Granite Broadcasting Group, which already runs the NBC affiliate KBJR, to take over the operations for KDLH. The majority of the newstaff of KDLH was dismissed.
Transportation
There are many state highways that serve the area as well. Minnesota State Highway 23 runs diagonally across Minnesota, indirectly connecting Duluth to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. MN-33 provides a bypass of Duluth connecting Interstate 35 to U.S. Highway 53 providing access from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to the Iron Range while bypassing Duluth. Minnesota State Highway 61 provides access to Thunder Bay, Ontario via the breath taking North Shore of Lake Superior. State Highway MN-194 provides Duluth's "Central Entrance" and 6th Avenue East. WI-13 reach along Lake Superior's South Shore. Wisconsin State Highway 35 runs along Wisconsin's western boarder.
Duluth International Airport serves the city and nearby Superior, Wisconsin.
Power Supply
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Digital City: Duluth-Superior Yellow pages, area attractions. National Weather Service: Carlton and South St. Louis Counties, MN Zone forecast, statewide forecast, current conditions around the area. Statewide weather summary for past 24 hours, including precipitation, temperatures. Northstar Physicians Association of independent primary care clinics in northern Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin. Site includes directory of clinics. |
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