History of Blaine, MN

Phillip Leddy, a native of Ireland, was recorded in the 1857 census as having settled in the township of Anoka until his death in 1872, on land that later became Blaine. In 1862, he moved near a lake that now bears his misspelled name, Laddie Lake. Another early settler was the Englishman George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what today is Lever St. and 103rd Ave.

It was not until 1865 that Blaine’s first permanent resident, Greenberry Chambers, settled on the old Townsend claim. Chambers was a former slave who moved north from Barren County, Kentucky, after the American Civil War. Around 1884, Chambers and his family moved to St. Paul.

In 1870, George Wall, Joseph Gagner, and others soon settled in the area and it began to grow.

In 1877, Blaine separated from Anoka and organized as a township of its own. That year the first election was held and Moses Ripley was elected the first Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. By 1880, Blaine’s population had reached 128.

While many other Anoka County communities experienced growth due to farming, Blaine’s sandy soil and abundant wetlands discouraged farmers and it remained a prime hunting area. Blaine’s growth remained slow until after World War II when housing developments began in the southern part of town and the community became more suburban. Blaine’s population has grown from 1,694 in 1950 to 20,573 in 1970 to 57,186 in 2010 to 70,222 in 2020. By 2022, the population was over 72,000.

Furthermore, the land development technique of sand mining opened thousands of acres of peat-sod farms up for development. Beginning with the development of the Knoll Creek, Club West, Pleasure Creek, and TPC Twin Cities, the existing land was modified through extensive grading efforts with the result in the large open water areas. The sand from the excavation of those ponds was used to raise the level of the site. These site modifications are needed to accommodate the development of the homes and neighborhoods. The success of mining sand allowed for further development in the city. The centerpiece of those developments is The Lakes of Blaine.^[13] Corporate residents include the Aveda Corporation, Infinite Campus, PTC Inc, MagnetStreet, the parking lot portion of Medtronic Development, and Dayton Rogers Manufacturing.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaine,_Minnesota

Demographics of Blaine, MN

As of the census of 2010, there were 57,186 people, 21,077 households, and 15,423 families living in the city. The population density was 1,689.4 inhabitants per square mile (652.3/km²). There were 21,921 housing units at an average density of 647.6 per square mile (250.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.0% White, 3.7% African American, 0.5% Native American, 7.8% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.2% of the population.

There were 21,077 households, of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.8% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 26.8% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.71 and the average family size was 3.14.

The median age in the city was 35.6 years. 26.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.4% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.7% were from 25 to 44; 27% were from 45 to 64, and 8.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.1% male and 50.9% female.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaine,_Minnesota