Geography[edit]
U.S. Route 75 and
Minnesota State Highway 28 are the two major highways that run through the community. The town’s
main street is named Studdart Avenue. The town is located on the northeast corner of Toqua Lake, a recreational lake surrounded by two campgrounds, a golf course and a shooting club.
Graceville is in a natural area called a
wet prairie, which is a mix of prairie land, swamp and numerous small lakes and ponds. In 2011 the Wheaton-Dumont Co-op Elevator began construction on a grain elevator facility east of town. The elevator recently completed construction in time for 2013 harvest (primarily corn, wheat and soybeans).
Toquatennial Days[edit]
In an effort to promote tourism, the Graceville City Council began Toquatennial Days on the first weekend of July in 1988, the 110th Anniversary of the town’s founding. Events included the crowning of “Miss Toquatennial” (entants limited to women who would be seniors at the high school), a “Medallion Hunt”, softball tournament, a Sunday evening ice cream social and
drag competition (an apparent parade of past Miss Toquatennials), two street dances (a free “kiddie” dance on Friday night, and the Graceville Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser dance on Saturday night), and the Saturday morning “Graceville Gallop”, a six kilometer walk/run event that circles Toqua Lake. The events culminated with a fireworks display at dusk on the Sunday evening over Toqua Lake. Events continued to be held annually on the first weekend of July or last weekend of June until the City Council was disbanded in 1998, but several local businesses and the Volunteer Fire Department have independently kept many of the events going every year, including the addition of a 3-on-3 basketball tournament and fire department “water fights”.
Demographics[edit]
2010 census[edit]
As of the
census[2] of 2010, there were 577 people, 263 households, and 135 families residing in the city. The
population density was 994.8 inhabitants per square mile (384.1 /km
2). There were 305 housing units at an average density of 525.9 per square mile (203.1 /km
2). The racial makeup of the city was 99.8%
White and 0.2%
Asian.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.7% of the population.
There were 263 households of which 19.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were
married couples living together, 1.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 48.7% were non-families. 44.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 25.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.80.
The median age in the city was 52.2 years. 17% of residents were under the age of 18; 5.5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 15.8% were from 25 to 44; 26.6% were from 45 to 64; and 35% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 45.9% male and 54.1% female.
2000 census[edit]
At the 2000
census,
[4] there were 605 people, 257 households and 149 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,007.7 per square mile (389.3/km²). There were 283 housing units at an average density of 471.4 per square mile (182.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.50%
White, 0.17%
Native American, 0.17%
Asian, and 0.17% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 0.17% of the population.
There were 257 households, of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were
married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.0% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.92.
Age distribution was 22.3% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 32.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 80.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 74.7 males.
The
median household income was $27,143, and the median family income was $35,385. Males had a median income of $27,031 versus $21,250 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,451. About 3.9% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 10.7% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley High School[edit]
Graceville is part of the Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley School District (Independent School District 2888). It is an elementary and high school conglomerate consisting of rural schools in
Big Stone County, which united in 1994. The school mascot is the
Wolverine and the school newspaper is the “Paw Press.” The high school is located in Graceville and the elementary school is located in nearby Clinton, MN.
Notable residents[edit]
- Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo
- Birthplace of former Minnesota Twins Manager Tom Kelly in 1950.
- Irish language storyteller Éamon a Búrc (1866–1942) was a resident in the early years of settlement.
- Birthplace of Bridget Connelly, author of Forgetting Ireland: Uncovering a Family’s Hidden History (Borealis Books, Minnesota Historical Society, 2003). Connelly was a scholar of folklore and comparative literature and Emeritus Professor of Rhetoric at the University of California-Berkeley. Her previous book, “Arab Folk Epic and Identity,” was awarded the Chicago Folklore Prize and the Arberry Prize in Arabic Literature. She has received numerous awards for her work, including two Fulbright Fellowships and a Mellon grant.
- Birthplace of Charles “Charlie” Ryan (December 19, 1915, Graceville, Minnesota – February 16, 2008, Spokane, Washington), who was an American singer and songwriter, best known for co-writing and first recording the rockabilly hit single “Hot Rod Lincoln”.
- Birthplace of Jack Conway (17 July 1887; Graceville, Minnesota – 11 October 1952; Pacific Palisades, California), who was a film director and film producer, as well as an actor of many films in the first half of the 20th century. His full name was Hugh Ryan Conway.
- Arthur Willard Davis (born June 6, 1942 in Graceville, Minnesota) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for three seasons. He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1965 to 1966 and the San Diego Padres in 1969.
References[edit]
Further reading[edit]
External links[edit]
| [hide]
|
|
|
|
|
| Cities |
|
|
|
| Townships |
|
|
| Footnotes |
‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
|
|
jespringett 