Watkins, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
Watkins is a city in Meeker County
Meeker County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 22,644 people, 8,590 households, and 6,133 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 9,821 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...

, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 962 at the 2010 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²), all of it land.

Minnesota State Highway 55
Minnesota State Highway 55
Minnesota State Highway 55 is a highway in west-central, central, and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the North Dakota state line near Tenney and continues east and southeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S...

 serves as a main route in the community.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 880 people, 336 households, and 206 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 1,722.7 people per square mile (666.2/km²). There were 367 housing units at an average density of 718.4 per square mile (277.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 99.32% White, 0.34% African American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.57% of the population.

There were 336 households out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 25.6% from 25 to 44, 15.6% from 45 to 64, and 25.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,188, and the median income for a family was $41,786. Males had a median income of $35,435 versus $19,318 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $15,950. About 6.7% of families and 12.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.2% of those under age 18 and 16.2% of those age 65 or over.

Famous natives

  • Eugene McCarthy
    Eugene McCarthy
    Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...

    , U.S. Senator
    United States Senate
    The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

    ; candidate for President of the United States
    President of the United States
    The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

    • Watkins' sign recognizing this is mentioned in Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon
      Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon
      Pontoon: A Novel of Lake Wobegon is a novel by Garrison Keillor, a humorous fictional account of life in the fictitious heartland town of Lake Wobegon, Minnesota. It was first published in hardcover by Viking Press in September 2007....

      by Garrison Keillor
      Garrison Keillor
      Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...

      .
  • Abigail McCarthy
    Abigail McCarthy
    Abigail Quigley McCarthy was an American academic and writer, best known as the wife of politician and presidential contender Eugene McCarthy. She predeceased her estranged husband by almost five years.They met as teachers in Mandan, North Dakota and were wed on June 5, 1945 in St. Paul, Minnesota...

    , American writer, columnist and teacher (wife of Eugene McCarthy
    Eugene McCarthy
    Eugene Joseph "Gene" McCarthy was an American politician, poet, and a long-time member of the United States Congress from Minnesota. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949 to 1959 and the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971.In the 1968 presidential election, McCarthy was the first...

    )
    • Born in Wabasha
      Wabasha, Minnesota
      As of the census of 2000, there were 2,599 people, 1,062 households, and 665 families residing in the city. The population density was 318.4 people per square mile . There were 1,166 housing units at an average density of 142.9 per square mile...

      , Minnesota
      Minnesota
      Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

      ; but the McCarthys settled here after their marriage.

External links

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