Duluth is a city in and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 86,918. (Because of the growth of the city and the boundaries, there are around an extra 92,000 people on the outer-boundaries, making the population 184,000.) It is a seaport at the westernmost point on the north shore of Lake Superior. It is linked to the Atlantic Ocean 2,300 miles (3,700km) away via the Great Lakes and then either the Erie Canal/New York State Barge Canal or the Saint Lawrence Seaway; it is further from the ocean than any other deep water port. The current mayor of Duluth is Herb Bergson, who is serving his first term.
Duluth forms a single metropolitan area with Superior, Wisconsin, together called the Twin Ports. The two cities share a harbor and are one of the most important ports on the Great Lakes. Among the items shipped out are iron ore (taconite) and grain. Both cities have museums devoted to the local nautical heritage, and Duluth has the world's only freshwater aquarium, the Great Lakes Aquarium. A major destination for tourists is the Aerial Lift Bridge spanning the short canal into Duluth's harbor. It is a vertical lift bridge, and notable in that it was originally built as an exceedingly rare aerial transfer bridge.
The city is named for Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Luth, the first known European explorer of the area.
The northern terminus of Interstate 35 is in Duluth. The highway extends south through the state to the Twin Cities, and continues its southerly course to the city of Laredo, Texas.
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 86,918 people, 35,500 households, and 19,915 families residing in the city. The population density is 493.4/km2 (1,278.1/mi2). There are 36,994 housing units at an average density of 210.0/km2 (544.0/mi2). The racial makeup of the city is 92.65% White, 1.63% Black or African American, 2.44% Native American, 1.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.82% from two or more races. 1.06% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 35,500 households out of which 26.6% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% are married couples living together, 11.4% have a female householder with no husband present, and 43.9% are non-families. 34.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.26 and the average family size is 2.90.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.3% under the age of 18, 16.2% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 89.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $33,766, and the median income for a family is $46,394. Males have a median income of $35,182 versus $24,965 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,969. 15.5% of the population and 8.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.4% of those under the age of 18 and 9.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Native American tribes had occupied the Duluth area for thousands of years. The original inhabitants are believed to be members of Paleo-Indian cultures, followed by the "Old Copper" peoples, who hunted with spear points and knives and fished with metal hooks. Around two thousand years ago, the Woodlands people, known for their burial mounds and pottery, occupied the area. They also cultivated wild rice, a crop that continues to be harvested today by tribes in the region and is often seen being sold in the area, especially in Wisconsin.
In 1679, the first white man known to visit the location of present-day Duluth and the city's namesake, Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, arrived to settle rivalries between two Indian nations, the Dakota and the Ojibwe, to advance fur trading missions in the area. His work allowed for this to occur, with the Ojibwe becoming middlemen between the French and the Dakota. As a result, the area prospered, and as early as 1692, the Hudson Bay Company set up a small post at Fond du Lac.
It was not until 1792 that the next trading post, on the Wisconsin side of the St. Louis River, was opened by Jean Baptiste Cadotte of the North West Company. A fire destroyed the post in 1800, but a German emigre, John Jacob Astor, constructed a post on the river's Minnesota side. The store initially floundered as a result of the Indians' insistence in trading with established English and French partners. However, Astor managed to convince the United States Congress to ban foreigners from trading in American territory. His American Fur Company was re-formed in 1816-17. Hard times hit the post once again by 1839 due to fashionable Europeans choosing silk hats over those made from beaver pelts.
Interest in the area was piqued in the 1850s as rumours of copper mining began to circulate. A government land survey in 1852, followed by a treaty with local tribes in 1854, secured wilderness for gold-seeking explorers, a "land rush", and the development of iron ore mining in the area.
Around the same time, newly-constructed channels and locks in the East permitted large ships to access the area. A road connecting Duluth to the Twin Cities was also constructed. Eleven small towns on both sides of the St. Louis River were formed, establishing Duluth's roots as a city.
By 1857, copper resources were found to be scarce, and the area's economic focus shifted to timber harvesting. A nation-wide financial crisis led to nearly three quarters of the city's early pioneers leaving.
In the late 1860s, a financier Jay Cooke (after whom the Jay Cooke State Park is named), convinced the Lake Superior and Mississippi Railroad to create an extension from St. Paul to Duluth. The railroad opened areas due north and west of Lake Superior to iron ore mining. Duluth's population on New Year's Day, 1869 consisted of fourteen families; by the Fourth of July, 3,500 people were present to celebrate.
The city thrived, and the area's hillside and downtown areas were populated by early residents. In the 1900s, the city's port passed New York City in gross tonnage handled, elevating it to being the leading port in the United States. Meanwhile, there were ten newspapers, six banks, and an eleven-story skyscraper, the Torrey Building, already present in the town. In 1907, U.S. Steel announced that a $5 - $6 million plant would be constructed in the area. Although it took eight years for steel to actually be produced, predictions held that Duluth's population would rise to 200,000 to 300,000. With the plant came Morgan Park, a once-independent company town that now stands as a city neighborhood.
During much of the twentieth century, the city was an industrial port town, with a cement plant, nail mill, wire mills, and the U.S. Steel plant. In 1916, during World War I, a shipbuilding plant on St. Louis River produced eight vessels simultaneously. A neighborhood was formed around this operation, today known as Riverside. Similar industrial operations were heightened during the Second World War. Population growth continued after the war, with a peak of 106,884 reached in 1960.
Due to foreign competition, the steel plant closed in 1971, presenting a major blow to the city. Other industrial activity followed suit, along with an air base. Within a decade, unemployment rates surged to 15 percent, emptying local stores and creating long job application lines.
With the decline of the city's industrial core, the local economic focus shifted to tourism. The downtown was renewed with red brick streets and skywalks, and distasteful warehouses along the waterfront were converted into cafs, shops, and restaurants, forming Canal Park as a largely tourism-oriented district.
The city is a now a fairly popular Midwestern tourist attraction, and is a convenient base for trips to the North Shore via Highway 61, or to fishing and wilderness expeditions in Minnesota's far north. It continues to function as a regional hub for a large stretch of area encompassing northeastern Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin, and the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The population continues to decline, according to the U.S. Census and projections.
Source:
DuluthMinnesota.com
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