Richfield, Minnesota
Richfield | ||
---|---|---|
FIPS code 27-54214 | | |
GNIS feature ID | 0650061[5] | |
Website | richfieldmn.gov |
Richfield is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota. An inner-ring suburb of Minneapolis, Richfield is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport and Fort Snelling to the east, Bloomington to the south, and Edina to the west. The population was 36,994 at the 2020 census.[3]
Best Buy, the U.S.'s largest electronics retailer, is headquartered in Richfield.
History
In the 1820s, some small settlements developed around Fort Snelling. By the late 1830s, the fortress served as a destination for newcomers—lumbermen, missionaries, farmers, traders and travelers—migrating to the borderlands people were now calling "Minisota".[6] Minnesotan Franklin Steele reached the area in 1837 and worked as a sutler, selling goods to soldiers.[7]
Fort Snelling's garrison made up the bulk of the area's population,[8] along with Henry Sibley and Alexander Faribault's 75-person American Fur Company operation. Other small settlements of traders, farmers, missionaries and refugees began to develop outside the fort, some with permission, some without. These residents built communities on land that became known as Richfield.
- Minnesota's oldest suburb claim
Richfield was one of the earliest postwar suburbs in the Twin Cities to be populated by veterans returning from World War II, but its claim to be Minnesota's oldest suburb date to the land's connection to Fort Snelling in the 1820s. The term "suburb" is from the Latin suburbium, "the land outside a walled city". Much of the land that comprised the Township of Richfield and today's City of Richfield included the Fort Snelling military reservation, which included Camp Coldwater.[9][10]
Richfield Township is established
One of the first settlers to the area was Riley Bartholomew, a former general in the Ohio Militia. He later became a Richfield justice of the peace and a Minnesota state senator. Bartholomew built a house on Wood Lake's eastern shore in 1852, and the restored Riley Lucas Bartholomew House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Richfield Historical Society maintains the house and the site.
The Harmony post office, south of the Richland Mill on Lyndale Avenue, opened in 1854. Postmaster James Dunsmoor named the mail center after his hometown in Maine.[11] Richfield farmers looked on the metropolis to its north as their marketing target. They helped supply its restaurants, hotels, grocers and citizens with fresh produce, with enough left over to ship by railroad to other cities.[12]
On May 11, 1858, Congress approved the
Settlers from
Richfield's fields proved bountiful for the settlers. Early crops included corn, wheat and oats. Wheat immediately became the cash crop, sold in the area's first major market, St. Paul. Those in southern Hennepin County found it more profitable to haul their wheat crop to St. Paul than to the St. Anthony Falls district. This was before "King Wheat" and Minneapolis's evolution into a milling center.[16]
- Market gardening
Minneapolis became a favorite trading point for market gardeners in 1897 with the building of the modern, covered Second Street Market just two blocks west of Hennepin Avenue and Bridge Square. The market featured a massive platform for gardeners, including Richfield's sizable contingent, to unload and display produce. The new system freed streets from traffic snarls by allowing each person to unhitch and put up their horses, while their wagon was backed into an assigned space. Wholesale customers could then bring their teams to the platform and negotiate prices when the starting bell sounded.[17]
Boundary changes
Today's boundaries differ markedly from those the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners set forth on April 10, 1858, when it established the towns of Richfield, Minneapolis, Bloomington and Eden Prairie. Richfield's boundaries included about 63 square miles. Richfield originally ranged to Minneapolis's Lake Street on the north, to what is now Highway 169 on the west, to Bloomington on the south, and to Fort Snelling and the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers on the east.[18]
Parts of Richfield were later lost to neighboring towns or villages through annexation. An 1886 partition of Richfield created the village of St. Louis Park, and a division in 1889 produced the village of Edina. Minneapolis absorbed sizeable portions of Richfield through legislative action or annexations in 1867, 1883, 1887 and 1927. The growth of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport during the last half of the 20th century and additions of land to the Fort Snelling compound meant further reductions.[9]
20th century
In 1908, Richfield became a
Over the years, populations of all nearby communities increased and after
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 7.01 square miles (18.16 km2), of which 6.87 square miles (17.79 km2) is land and 0.14 square miles (0.36 km2) is water.[20]
Interstates
The majority of the 10,000 single-family homes were constructed in the 1950s, and the 5,000 apartments date from the 1960s and early 1970s. The Richfield Rediscovered Housing Program has established an environment of change in the community as it encourages home remodeling, expansion, and reconstruction. The program is gradually changing the face of Richfield's residential neighborhoods, upgrading them from small, post-WWII styles to larger homes.
Richfield Land Use Areas (2005) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Land Use | Specific | Acres | Percent |
Total City Area | 4569.4 | 100 | |
Streets and Highways | 1249.6 | 27.3 | |
Net Land Use Area | 3319.8 | 72.7 | |
Total Residential | Total Residential Area | 2396.9 | 52.4 |
Single Family | 2170.8 | 47.5 | |
Two Family | 35.0 | 0.8 | |
Town Housing | 3.4 | 0.07 | |
Multi-family | 182.2 | 4.0 | |
Care housing | 5.5 | 0.1 | |
Total Non-Residential | Total Non-Residential Area | 922.3 | 20.2 |
Commercial | 205.0 | 4.5 | |
Public | 16.8 | 0.4 | |
Quasi Public | 40.4 | 0.9 | |
Church | 56.6 | 1.2 | |
School | 109.2 | 2.4 | |
Park | 468.6 | 10.3 | |
Railroad | 11.8 | 0.3 | |
Vacant | 13.9 | 0.3 |
Economy
Business
Best Buy Company, Inc. moved its corporate headquarters to Richfield in 2003, becoming its largest employer.[21] Public subsidies of almost $60 million were spent to attract the corporate campus including spending $48 million to purchase and demolish over 100 homes and 3 car dealerships within the city just north of I-494. Tax increment financing was used to fund other infrastructure.[22] The use of eminent domain for a private business was controversial and resulted in lawsuits.[23]
From the first quarter of 2001 to the first quarter of 2003, net job growth equaled 2,444 – the second highest in the metropolitan area. Additionally, total employment in Richfield jumped from 10,090 to nearly 15,000 between 1995 and 2005.[24]
In 2007, Cedar Point Commons opened in Richfield at
Top employers
According to the city's 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[26] the top employers in the city are:
# | Employer | # of Employees |
---|---|---|
1 | Best Buy (HQ) | 4,500 |
2 | US Bank
|
2,400 |
3 | Richfield Public Schools | 682 |
4 | Target | 394 |
5 | Metro Sales Inc. (HQ) | 294 |
6 | Menards | 207 |
7 | DCM Services | 205 |
8 | Fraser School | 203 |
9 | City of Richfield | 191 |
10 | Weis Builders | 180 |
Education
Richfield has
Public schools
The local school district,
Four elementary schools serve primary students in grades K-5: Centennial Elementary; Sheridan Elementary; R-STEM Elementary, which focuses its curriculum on science, technology, engineering, and math; and RDLS Elementary, a dual language school that teaches students in both English and Spanish.
Students in grades 6-8 attend Richfield Middle School.[29] Richfield High School serves approximately 1400 students in grades 9–12.[30]
The South Education Center is in the 7400 block of South Penn Avenue. It serves pre-K through "Transition" age.[31][32]
In addition to Richfield Public Schools, public charter schools also serve residents, including Seven Hills Preparatory Academy[33] and Watershed High School.
Private schools
- Academy of Holy Angels, a Catholic, co-educational high school that serves over 800 students in grades 9-12
- Blessed Trinity Catholic School
Post-secondary
- Adler Graduate School
- Minnesota Life College
Recreation
Richfield's Ice Arena has two full-size indoor skating rinks.
2017-2019 brought a major overhaul of 66th street to improve the look of the city and increase recreation opportunities, with new, dedicated bike and walking lanes for pedestrians.[38]
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1860 | 866 | — | |
1870 | 930 | 7.4% | |
1880 | 1,501 | 61.4% | |
1890 | 1,324 | −11.8% | |
1900 | 1,537 | 16.1% | |
1910 | 2,673 | 73.9% | |
1920 | 2,411 | −9.8% | |
1930 | 1,301 | −46.0% | |
1940 | 3,778 | 190.4% | |
1950 | 17,502 | 363.3% | |
1960 | 42,523 | 143.0% | |
1970 | 47,231 | 11.1% | |
1980 | 37,851 | −19.9% | |
1990 | 35,710 | −5.7% | |
2000 | 34,439 | −3.6% | |
2010 | 35,228 | 2.3% | |
2020 | 36,994 | 5.0% | |
2022 (est.) | 36,710 | [4] | −0.8% |
U.S. Decennial Census[39][note 1] 2020 Census[3] |
2020 census
Race / Ethnicity | Pop 2000[41] | Pop 2010[42] | Pop 2020[43] | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White alone (NH)
|
27,125 | 22,260 | 21,838 | 78.76% | 63.19% | 59.03% |
Black or African American alone (NH)
|
2,257 | 3,152 | 3,591 | 6.55% | 8.95% | 9.71% |
Alaska Native alone (NH)
|
212 | 225 | 203 | 0.62% | 0.64% | 0.55% |
Asian alone (NH) | 1,812 | 2,159 | 2,446 | 5.26% | 6.13% | 6.61% |
Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 13 | 17 | 17 | 0.04% | 0.05% | 0.05% |
Some Other Race alone (NH) | 108 | 134 | 246 | 0.31% | 0.38% | 0.67% |
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) | 754 | 854 | 1,832 | 2.19% | 2.42% | 4.95% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2,158 | 6,436 | 6,821 | 6.27% | 18.27% | 18.44% |
Total | 34,439 | 35,228 | 36,994 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.
2010 census
As of the
There were 14,818 households, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 43.2% were non-families. 34.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.05.
The median age in the city was 36.2 years. 21.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 31.4% were from 25 to 44; 24.7% were from 45 to 64; and 14.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.2% male and 50.8% female.
2000 census
As of the
There were 15,073 households, out of which 24.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.4% were married couples living together, 10.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.2% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $45,519, and the median income for a family was $56,434. Males had a median income of $38,417 versus $29,909 for females. The
Politics
Richfield's mayor is Mary Supple, a retired Richfield Public School teacher.
Former Richfield Mayor Maria Regan Gonzalez was the first Latina mayor in Minnesota history. Regan Gonzalez was a councilwoman in Ward 3 before being elected in 2018.
Richfield has five city council members: Sharon Christensen (Council At-Large), Simon Trautmann (Council Ward One), Sean Hayford Oleary (Council Ward Two), Ben Whalen (Council Ward Three), and Supple.[44] At the state level, Richfield is represented State Senator Melissa Halvorson Wiklund[45] and State Representative Michael Howard.[46] The city is in Minnesota's 5th congressional district, represented by Ilhan Omar.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third parties
|
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 24.9% 5,128 | 72.4% 14,931 | 2.7% 555 |
2016 | 26.2% 4,839 | 64.6% 11,924 | 9.2% 1,697 |
2012 | 31.6% 5,919 | 65.9% 12,364 | 2.9% 472 |
2008 | 33.5% 6,271 | 64.7% 12,112 | 1.8% 325 |
2004 | 38.0% 7,144 | 60.9% 11,442 | 1.1% 216 |
2000 | 37.9% 6,744 | 55.8% 9,924 | 6.3% 1,124 |
1996 | 33.8% 5,774 | 56.5% 9,657 | 9.7% 1,675 |
1992 | 31.7% 6,566 | 47.3% 9,790 | 27.0% 4,328 |
1988 | 45.3% 9,167 | 54.7% 11,049 | 0.0% 0 |
1984 | 49.7% 10,496 | 50.3% 10,616 | 0.0% 0 |
1980 | 40.6% 8,370 | 47.9% 8,370 | 11.5% 2,388 |
1976 | 47.2% 10,375 | 51.2% 11,239 | 1.6% 353 |
1972 | 57.0% 12,592 | 41.4% 9,140 | 1.6% 349 |
1968 | 43.9% 9,643 | 52.9% 11,615 | 3.2% 715 |
1964 | 40.1% 8,300 | 59.0% 11,950 | 0.9% 15 |
1960 | 55.8% 10,613 | 44.0% 8,375 | 0.2% 30 |
Notable people
- Steve Christoff – member of the 1980 USA men's hockey team that won the gold medal in the Miracle on Ice
- Larry Fitzgerald – football player
- Donald F. Gleason– American physician and pathologist
- Jason Heinrichs – musician also known as Anomaly
- Darby Hendrickson – former NHL player
- Shirley A. Hokanson – Minnesota state legislator and social worker
- William G. Kirchner – Minnesota state legislator and banker
- Richard Kruger – CEO of Imperial Oil, former vice president of ExxonMobil
- Charles W. Lindberg – U.S. Marine
- Bill Mack – sculptor, artist
- Damian Rhodes – hockey player
- Chad Smith – Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer
- Will Steger – Arctic explorer and environmentalist
- Christopher Tjornhom – Minnesota state legislator
Notes
References
- ^ "About Richfield". City of Richfield, MN. Retrieved December 19, 2019.
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Explore Census Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2022". United States Census Bureau. June 25, 2023. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ William Watts Folwell, A History of Minnesota 1:455-57,(St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society). 1921 reprint 1956
- Rodney C. Loehr. "Franklin Steele, Frontier Businessman." Minnesota History 27 (December 1946): 312-314.
- ^ Holcombe. Minnesota as a Territory, (Mankato: Publishing Society of Minnesota) 2:96. Folwell, A History of Minnesota, 1:503-515
- ^ a b Johnson, Fred, Richfield, Minnesota's Oldest Suburb 1, (Richfield: Richfield Historical Society Press).
- ^ Smetanka, Mary Jane (February 11, 2008). "Richfield, the state's 'oldest suburb'". StarTribune. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
- ^ Johnson, Fred, Richfield, Minnesota's Oldest Suburb 14, (Richfield: Richfield Historical Society Press). Balcom, Early Richfield History 16-17.
- ^ Johnson, Fred, Richfield, Minnesota's Oldest Suburb 37, (Richfield: Richfield Historical Society Press).
- ^ History of Richfield Archived December 1, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, City of Richfield Website
- ^ On April 10, 1858, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners established a number of towns including "Richland." Folwell History of Minnesota. II: 10-11. Records of the Town of Richfield, County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, See minutes of the May 11, 1858, meeting.
- ^ Richfield History, Community Profile
- ^ Attwater and Stevens, History of Minneapolis and Hennepin County, Minnesota 1413-1414. Richfield's George Odell wrote his town's history in the Atwater and Stevens book. Minnesota Farmer and Gardener, Lyman M. Ford and John H. Stevens, ed., No. 1. Nov. 18, 1860, 13. Letter from H. H. Hopkins in the December 1860 issue. pages 60-61.
- ^ The new Second Street Market at 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue North is praised in the Minneapolis monthly magazine The Market garden: Journal for the Gardener and Trucker, 4 (Market 1897): 3.
- ^ Johnson, Fred, Richfield, Minnesota's Oldest Suburb 14, (Richfield: Richfield Historical Society Press). David J. Butler. "Did the Town of Richfield ever extend as far north as Franklin Avenue?" Richfield Historical Society Bulletin, (Summer 2006):3-4. Balcom, Early Richfield History
- ^ Richfield Historical Society's web site
- ^ "US Gazetteer files 2010". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on January 12, 2012. Retrieved November 13, 2012.
- ^ Best Buy Corporate Office Headquarters
- ^ Albertson-Grove, Josie (December 10, 2023). "Best Buy seeks lower property tax as Richfield offices sit half vacant". Star Tribune. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ Pristin, Terry (October 5, 2005). "Eminent Domain Revisited: A Minnesota Case". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
- ^ Richfield Community Profile
- ^ Cedar Point Commons Archived June 24, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ City of Richfield CAFR
- ^ rSchooltoday
- ^ Richfield District
- ^ Richfield Middle
- ^ Richfield High School
- ^ "South Education Center".
- ^ Paul Walsh; Eder Campuzano (February 1, 2022). "2 arrested after shooting outside school in Richfield kills one student, injures another". Star Tribune. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
South Education Center, an alternative school in the Intermediate District 287 that serves students from pre-K to age 21. Police found the two students wounded outside the school, in the 7400 block of S. Penn Avenue
- ^ cmhehre. "Richfield Campus". Seven Hills Preparatory Academy. Retrieved March 13, 2019.
- ^ "Parks". City of Richfield, Minnesota. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ "Woodlake Nature Center". City of Richfield, Minnesota. Archived from the original on May 14, 2013. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ "Ice Arena". City of Richfield, Minnesota. Archived from the original on March 21, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ "Outdoor Pool". City of Richfield, Minnesota. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ "66th Reconstruction Process from Richfield.gov".
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "Census of Population and Housing". Retrieved June 15, 2013.
- ^ "Number of Inhabitants - Minnesota" (PDF). 1950 Census of Population. United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 24, 2017.
- ^ "HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2000-Minnesota". Google Books.
- ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Richfield, Minnesota". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Richfield, Minnesota". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "City of Richfield City Council".
- ^ "Minnesota State Senate". www.senate.mn. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ^ "Rep. Michael Howard (50A) - Minnesota House of Representatives". www.house.leg.state.mn.us. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
- ^ "Election Results - Minnesota Legislative Reference Library".
- ^ "Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State - Election Results".
Further reading
- Johnson, Frederick L. (2008). Richfield: Minnesota's Oldest Suburb. Richfield Historical Society. ISBN 978-1-60585-636-0.
- Smetanka, Mary Jane (February 11, 2008). "Richfield, the state's 'oldest suburb'". Star Tribune.