Guide to Floodwood Minnesota

Floodwood (city)

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2000-2010 Change

Actual

Percent

Population

650

648

574

503

528

+25

+4.97

Land Area (sq. mile)

0.00

0.33

0.37

0.44

0.00

Density (persons per sq. mile)

1,963.6

1,551.4

1,131.9

1,200.0

+68.1

+6.02

Housing Units

265

314

300

290

292

+2.22

Households

277

266

254

257

+1.18

Persons Per Household

2.34

2.16

1.98

2.05

+0.07

+3.54

Floodwood is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota. It is roughly halfway between Duluth and Grand Rapids along U.S. Highway 2, as well as roughly halfway between Hibbing and Moose Lake along State Highway 73. U.S. Highway 2 and State Highway 73 are two of the main routes in the city. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.42 square miles (3.68 km2), all of it land. The elevation is 1,250 ft (381 m).

The city sits at the junctions of the Floodwood River and the East Savanna River with the Saint Louis River. The area surrounding the city largely comprises forests, wetlands and, where the conditions permit, dairy farms. Nearby peat bogs employ many people from Floodwood, Meadowlands and other communities in southwest Saint Louis County. Protected areas near Floodwood include Savanna Portage State Park, the Savanna State Forest and the Floodwood Game Reserve. The Savanna Portage, together with the three rivers that meet in the city, contributes much to local culture.

As of the census of 2010, there were 528 people, 257 households, and 118 families residing in the city. The population density was 371.8 inhabitants per square mile (143.6/km2). There were 292 housing units at an average density of 205.6 per square mile (79.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.9% White, 0.8% African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.4% from other races, and 4.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.1% of the population.

There were 257 households of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.0% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 54.1% were non-families. 47.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.03 and the average family size was 2.92.

The median age in the city was 40.9 years. 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.8% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 20.1% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.4% male and 49.6% female.

Floodwood (1,257 alt., 571 pop.), at the junction of the St. Louis, Floodwood, and Savanna rivers, once a typical logging town, is now an agricultural center.

This was one of the strategic points in the earliest days of the Minnesota Arrowhead, for it is near the westernmost bend of the St. Louis River, one of the main waterways traveled by fur traders. They paddled from Fond du Lac (see Duluth Tour 3) on the St. Louis River, then into the East Savanna; from there they portaged, over the once famous Savanna Portage, about six miles across swamps to the West Savanna, and thence to Big Sandy Lake (see Arrowhead Tour 3; McGregor) and the Mississippi River. Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, may have traveled this route in 1679. Others were Perrault, who made many trips over it between 1784 and 1794, the Cass Expedition in 1820, and Schoolcraft in 1832.
Ancient mounds, almost obliterated by sawmill operations, have been found in the vicinity, indicating predecessors to the Sioux and Chippewa, who were living within the region when the first white man came.

As soon as it was known that a railroad was to pass through the area, homesteads were acquired (1889), and Floodwood came into existence. There is some doubt whether the first settler was Bob Sutherland, cook for the construction crew laying the Duluth and Winnipeg Railroad, or Jean W. New, who was engaged by the crew to hunt deer and moose for their camps.

Although it is probable there had been early logging operations in the area, large-scale activities did not begin until after the building of the railroad in 1890, when J. C. Campbell started to operate here. In that year, too, the C. N. Nelson Lumber Company of Cloquet built the first logging railroad in the district, but it operated only in winter. The Nelson Company continued until 1894, when the Weyerhauser interests purchased its holdings.

Floodwood grew and in 1899 was incorporated as a village. For many years only the white pine, then plentiful, was considered marketable. Later, there was a demand for tamarack and cedar ties for railroad construction, and paper mills began to use more spruce. In 1923, the last timber was hoisted from the rivers, and by 1926 most of the big companies had completed logging operations in the vicinity. Much pulpwood, however, is still shipped.

With the passing of large-scale timber operations, fertile farm lands were developed. Dairying has now become the main industry, Floodwood having a cooperative creamery, the largest rural plant of its kind in St. Louis County.

Floodwood Independent School District No. 19, with four schools under its jurisdiction, now operates only one, Lincoln Grade and High (Elm St. bet. 3rd and 4th Ayes.), in the village limits.

Lake Name

Size
(acres)

Location

Lake info

Lake Map

Rec Map

Topo Map

none in the immediate area

Floodwood Minnesota Community Guide