Cloquet, Minnesota

Cloquet is a city in Carlton County, Minnesota, United States, located at the junction of Interstate 35 and Minnesota State Highway 33. A portion of the city lies within the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation and also serves as one of three administrative centers for the Indian Reservation. The population was 12,124 at the 2010 census.

Cloquet is located on the St. Louis River.

History
Cloquet was incorporated as a village in 1884 and became a city, with a mayor and city council, in 1904.

The area was the site of the 1918 Cloquet Fire, which destroyed much of the town and killed approximately 500 people.

Cloquet is famed in American economic history because before and after the Second World War it was home of the strongest consumers cooperative of the country. The Cloquet Coöperative Society (founded 1910) operated two cooperative stores which handled food, hardware, shoes, drygoods, and furniture. Other cooperative services included a building supply store, a coal yard, a mortuary, an auto repair shop and a gas service station.

In 1939 the co-op did 35% of the business in the town and 18% in Carlton County. By the mid-1950s the consumer society had a membership of 4,262 on a population of 8,500. This was a national record, given the fact that the total business of all American co-ops combined represented only 0.5% of the economy. The Finnish cooperative groups of the area also had an influence on the American cooperative movement in general.

- In 2001 a tradition was established which celebrated the 5th of July 1776, the day on which it is imagined that the country's founding fathers reflected on their accomplishments of the previous day. For many years this celebration was undertaken by the youth of Cloquet much to the delight of the local populace. The celebration is centered at the intersection of Carlton Avenue and Highway 33, and consists of a peaceful protest. In 2007, a new subject was addressed, the imperialism of the British Empire. A full fledged protest supporting the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands was staged and received considerable press in the city’s newspaper, “The Pine Journal.”


 * Florence C. Parker, The First 125 Years. A history of Distributive and Service Cooperation in the United States, 1829-1954 (Superior WI: CLUSA, 1956).

Architecture
Cloquet is home to the R.W. Lindholm Service Station, the only gas station designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright and a structure now on the National Register of Historic Places.
 * National Trust website - article on Frank Lloyd Wright designed service station

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.0 square miles (93.2 km²), of which, 35.2 square miles (91.3 km²) of it is land and 0.7 square miles (1.9 km²) of it (2.06%) is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,201 people, 4,636 households, and 2,967 families residing in the city. The population density was 317.9 people per square mile (122.7/km²). There were 4,805 housing units at an average density of 136.4 per square mile (52.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.21% White, 0.16% African American, 9.35% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.13% from other races, and 1.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.63% of the population. 16.0% were of German, 15.4% Finnish, 12.4% Norwegian, 9.8% Swedish and 6.1% Polish ancestry.

There were 4,636 households out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 89.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,675, and the median income for a family was $47,799. Males had a median income of $40,140 versus $26,144 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,812. About 7.7% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.7% of those under age 18 and 12.4% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

 * Jamie Langenbrunner, active NHL player for Dallas Stars. He has also played for New Jersey Devils.
 * Derek Plante, former NHL Player.
 * Corey Millen, former NHL Player.
 * Jessica Lange, actress