Pine City is located in east-central Minnesota. Pine City's ZIP
code (55063) more accurately reflects the town's size, with a
population of about 10,000 and more native pine trees. It is an
easy day trip from the Twin Cities to Pine City, the largest
city in Pine County and the county seat.
Pine City is a
typical rural American town, but it has surprisingly much to
offer for its size. The small-town feel has faded, giving way to
the suburbs that stretch outside the Twin Cities. Nevertheless,
Pine City remains true to its sense of place and community, and
there is no sense that it has been swallowed up by its larger
neighbor to the south. Pine City sits comfortably in the shadow
of Minneapolis-St. Paul, close enough for a quick detour and far
enough away to enjoy the idyllic life.
Pine City is the
kind of image that lingers in the American consciousness: an
oak-paved courthouse square. Gazebos and bandshells. A one-seat
barbershop. Gossip for breakfast and meatloaf for lunch. Small
town life as it was and still is.
The town's politics are
split between liberals and conservatives, historically slightly
in favor of the liberals. Carhartt is a popular brand among
local middle-aged men, often seen with fishhooks on their hats.
Also common for both men and women is the green plaid shirt, a
modern interpretation of the town's lumberjack tradition.
It is the largest city for miles, from North Branch to
Cloquet and from Mora to Rice Lake, Wisconsin (a very large
geographic area), yet it is not a pious place and the people are
not pretentious. They are "Minnesota Nice" in fine form and
eager to help tourists. The only way to better understand this
city is to visit it in person.
Pine City Area Chamber of Commerce, Pine Government Center, 315 Main Street S, ☏ +1 320 322-4040, pinecitychamber@gmail.com. M-F 8:30 am - 2:30 pm (by appointment) . Pine City does not have an official tourism bureau, but this Chamber of Commerce acts as a tourism bureau and does an excellent job!
Chengwatana State Forest
Chengwatana State Forest is a forest in
the United States. Chengwatana State Forest is located in Pine County
and the state of Minnesota, in the eastern part of the country, 1,500 km
northwest of the capital city Washington, D.C. The climate is
hemiboreal. The average temperature is 5 °C. The warmest month is July,
at 20 °C, and the coldest is January, at −14 °C. The average rainfall is
1,097 millimeters per year. The wettest month is May, with 219
millimeters of rain, and the driest is January, with 44 millimeters.
The Dakota Indians were the first in the region. With the expansion
of the Ojibwe, the area became a mix of both; by the early 19th century,
the area was dominated by the Ojibwe. They hunted and hunted on the land
and traded in furs at nearby trading posts. The 1837 Treaty of St.
Peter's, known as the "White Pine Treaty," opened the region to the
lumber industry, but the available waterways were limited.
In the
late 19th century, European settlers arrived in the Pine City area,
which was still one of the largest white pine forested areas in the
state. Once the railroad arrived in Pine City, logging expansion began.
Pine City prospered and grew to provide residents, farmers, and the
expanding lumber industry with everything they needed. 1869 was platted
and 1881 was incorporated.
When Buchanan County merged with Pine
County in 1861, the county seat was consolidated into Pine City. Because
of its location on the southern edge of Pine County, there have been
attempts over the years to move the county seat to a more central
location in Hinckley or Sandstone.
In 2005, Pine City became the
first city in rural America to host an annual gay pride event, East
Central Minnesota Pride. a book capturing Pine City's history in vintage
photographs was published as part of the Images of America series.
Chronology
1804 - European settlers arrive.
1837 - The Treaty
of St. Peters, known as the "White Pine Treaty," opens the lumber
industry in the area.
1848 - The Chengwatana community of Ojibwe is
formed as a formal village.
1856 - Chengwatana becomes the county
seat of Pine County.
1872 - Two years after the Chengwatana
courthouse fire, Pine City becomes the county seat by popular vote and a
new courthouse is built.
1881 - Pine City is incorporated as a
village west of Chengwatana because the railroad was west of Cross Lake.
Chengwatana becomes a ghost town.
1894 - Robinson Park in Pine City
becomes "Ground Zero," a way station for aid and relief for the Great
Hinckley Fire.
1903 - James Adam Bade speaks at the Associated Press
annual dinner in New York City.
1914 - The Minnesota Naval Militia
Armory opens in Pine City, with Minnesota Governor Everhart speaking at
the inauguration in November.
1939 - The Village of Pine City built a
two-story yellow brick municipal building, but became nervous that it
might lose its county seat status due to the need for better office
space and turned the building over to the county. Still, the words "Pine
City Village Hall" were inscribed above the east entrance.
1952 - The
1886 Romanesque Revival-style courthouse building was destroyed by
lightning.
1954 - Pine County financed the construction of a new
courthouse through a bond issue and built an addition on the north end
of the former City Hall (ironically still used as part of City Hall)
with the same marble paneling and terrazzo floors. The words "Court
House" were inscribed on the north entrance.
1967 - Interstate 35
passes through Pine City.
1978 - The first International Polkafest
was held.
1980 - Jean Lindig Kessler of Pine City was named Princess
Kay of the Milky Way.
1992 - A 30-foot-tall statue of the Voyageur is
erected on the north bank of the Snake River near downtown.
2005 -
The first East Central Minnesota Pride is held in Pine City by area
residents.
2007 - A new courthouse is built on the north end of Pine
City near the highway, a few years after a failed attempt to split the
county in two.
2009 - The 2007-2008 financial crisis leads to the
failure of Horizon Bank in Pine City, whose nearly $90 million in assets
are acquired by Stearns Bank.
2010 - Lakeside Medical Center, a Pine
City hospital, closes its doors amid a wave of local hospital closings
across the United States.
2012 - On June 5, H.R. 3220 renamed the
Pine City post office the "Sergeant Daniel L. Feder Post Office."
2017-The Pine City men's basketball team received national attention in
the Wall Street Journal for its three-point shooting-oriented offensive
philosophy.
Pine City is located in eastern Minnesota on both sides of the Snake
River, a right tributary of the St. Croix River, which flows into the
Mississippi. The geographical coordinates are 45°49′34″ north latitude
and 92°58′07″ west longitude. The city extends over 10.13 km², which is
spread over 8.91 km² of land and 1.22 km² of water.
Neighboring
towns of Pine City are Hinckley (10.1 km north) and Rock Creek (7.6 km
south).
The nearest major cities are Minneapolis (108 km south),
Minnesota's capital Saint Paul (105 km in the same direction), Eau
Claire in Wisconsin (217 km southeast), Duluth on Lake Superior (141 km
northeast), and Fargo in North Dakota ( 375 km WNW).
The border
with Canada is 378 km to the north.
One of the attractions of the Pine City is definitely not the
weather. It is a place where you can have a boatload of fun in any
season, but the climate must be taken into account.
Hidden from
view by Minnesota's blustery winters (see "Cold" section) is the summer
heatwave; July and August are often hot and humid. But summer nights are
more pleasant, and a trip to the lakeshore offers a few degrees of
respite. But there is winter, too: from November to March, temperatures
can be very cold and the winds chilly. Blizzards and ice storms are a
daily occurrence. However, Pine City is so accustomed to these winters
that city services and public transportation rarely come to a halt.
Pine City has a few good climatic periods: May and September are
pleasant and mild; April and June are mostly sunny, but can have sudden
thunderstorms with heavy winds; October is cooler, but only a light coat
is needed; and December and December are mild, but only a light coat is
needed.
Interstate 35 runs along Pine City's western city limits. Minor
highways converge in downtown Pine City. All other roads are inner-city
connecting roads.
A rail line of the St. Croix Valley Railroad, a
regional (Class III) railroad company, runs north-south through the
metropolitan area of Pine City.
Rush City Regional Airport is a
small regional airport located 9 miles south of Pine City. The nearest
international airport is Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport,
78 miles south.
As of the 2010 census, Pine City had 3,123 people in 1,322
households. The population density was 350.5 inhabitants per square
kilometer. Statistically, 2.24 people lived in each of the 1322
households.
The racial makeup of the population was 95.6 percent
White, 0.3 percent African American, 1.5 percent Native American, 0.7
percent Asian, and 0.2 percent from other races; 1.7 percent descended
from two or more ethnic groups. Regardless of ethnicity, 1.2 percent of
the population was Hispanic or Latino.
21.7 percent of the
population was under 18 years old, 57.0 percent were between 18 and 64,
and 21.3 percent were 65 years of age or older. 51.2 percent of the
population was female.
The median annual household income was
$45,801. Per capita income was $22,087. 16.9 percent of the residents
lived below the poverty line.