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Isanti County, Minnesota

35 topographic sheets cover 30 settlements here, and 9 properties are on the National Register of Historic Places.

Research this county

From the record

9 National Register listings published here.

Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service

Minnesota within the United States
Isanti County within Minnesota

What the record shows

  • 352 topographic sheet readings cover the county's settlements.
  • 9 properties here are on the National Register of Historic Places: 9 buildings.
  • The Geographic Names Information System records 30 populated places in this county; 30 are covered by at least one topographic sheet.

Places on the National Register

9

Every property in this county listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with the year it was listed and the federal nomination document.

Photograph PropertyType ListedReference
District No. 1 Schoolbuilding198080002078
Edward Erickson Farmsteadbuilding198080002071
Farmers Cooperative Mercantile Company of West Stanfordbuilding80002079
Isanti County Courthousebuilding198080002074
Linden Barnbuilding198080002075
Oscar Olson Housebuilding198080002073
St. John's Lutheran Churchbuilding198080002072
Svenska Mission Kyrka i Sodre Maple Ridgebuilding198080002077
West Riverside Schoolbuilding198080002076

Wildfire, 1992 to 2020

781 fires

Every wildfire the federal occurrence database records inside this county: 781 of them, burning about 2,630 acres. 3 started naturally and 58 were recorded as arson. Each settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning408
Missing data/not specified/undetermined115
Equipment and vehicle use105
Arson/incendiarism58
Recreation and ceremony37
Smoking19
Railroad operations and maintenance14
Misuse of fire by a minor11
Fireworks5
Power generation/transmission/distribution5
Natural3
Other causes1

The five largest, by the area the report gives. Two of them were set deliberately.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
10 April 2009Recreation and ceremony130 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
7 April 2004Arson/incendiarism99 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
20 April 2010Fireworks93 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
21 April 1993Equipment and vehicle use90 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 April 2005Recreation and ceremony70 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
19 March 2012Debris and open burning60 acresMinnesota Department of Natural ResourcesLOW RENT
25 March 2016Smoking59 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 April 2009Arson/incendiarism52 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every settlement page carries the fires within five miles of it - see the settlement index below.

Storms, 1975 to 2025

60 of 225 shown

The NOAA Storm Events Database holds 225 reports for this county, causing no deaths, 4 injuries and about $2,750,500 in recorded property damage. Each settlement page carries the reports that name it.

Kind of event Reports
Hail99
Thunderstorm Wind91
Tornado14
Heavy Rain10
Flash Flood5
Funnel Cloud5
Lightning1

The most serious of them, by death, then injury, then recorded damage. The accounts are quoted exactly as the forecast office filed them.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 1995Tornado (F1)Cambridge3 hurt, $1,500,000Tornado touched down one mile west of Cambridge and moved east through western and southern Cambridge. Lifted off ground 16 minutes later, about seven miles east of Cambridge. Twenty homes, two apartment buildings, a senior citizen center, a hospital and a water treatment plant were damaged or destroyed. Heaviest property damage in Carraige Hills Drive Housing Development. Agricultural damage to 500 acres. There were three minor injuries.
October 1996Tornado (F1)Cambridge1 hurtno account filed
July 2020Thunderstorm WindSpringvale$250,000A NWS Storm Survey indicated that numerous trees were blown down across north central and northeast Isanti County. The damage was in a swath about two miles wide. The hardest hit areas were west of Stanchfield, through the town, and to the east of Stanchfield. Several large sheds were also damaged in this area.
June 1981Tornado (F2)not stated$250,000no account filed
June 2001Tornado (F1)Day$200,000NWS damage survey indicated tornado trekked from 2 miles E of Day to the northeastern corner of Braham, exiting Isanti county at 1835 CST, and then headed into Kanabec county. Two barns were brought down, a dozen outbuildings damaged. Trees toppled, a few sheds were smashed, and siding was ripped off houses in the northwestern side of Braham.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindCambridge$100,000In addition to a trained spotter measured wind speed of 63 MPH east of Cambridge, several large trees were blown over at the Pine Village Mobile Home Park in Cambridge.
July 1997Flash FloodIsanti$100,000Estimate of four inches of rain in less than one hour. Major damage to wastewater treatment facility under construction.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBraham$50,000Several trees blew down near Braham, including damage to an outbuilding.
August 2018HailCarmody$50,000A swath of large hail, up to golf ball size, continued into Isanti County from west of Day, to the far northeast corner near Braham. Vehicles were reported damage from the hail stones.
July 2011Tornado (EF0)Carmody$50,000An EF-0 tornado continued southeast across northwest Isanti County, before turning directly south along County Road 58 west of Dalbo, and north of Carmody, Minnesota. The tornado ended less than a half mile north of South Stanchfield Lake. The most intense damage occurred along County Road 58 where concentrated tree damage was present, along with a resident garage which was shifted off its foundation. Another resident had small structure damage to shingles or roof damage. Two trailers at this residences slid a short distance, while one of the trailers flipped over. Maximum wind speeds were 70 to 80 mph along with a path length of approximately 5 miles.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindStanchfield$50,000Roof blown off portion of church.
June 2001HailBraham$50,000Numerous cars, windows, roofs and siding damaged.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindCambridge$50,000Bleachers blown over. Portion of Walmart greenhouse ripped off and destroyed.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindSpencer Brook$25,000In addition to a private weather station that measured 75 mph peak wind gust, Spencer Brook had damage associated with a micro-burst. The severe winds caused three large trees to blow down, along with damage to a homes roof and siding.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindIsanti$10,000Numerous reports of downed trees and power lines across southern Isanti County between Highway 47 and 65, north of 245 Street.
August 2022Flash FloodCambridge$5,000Several observations from local media to law enforcement indicated flooding occurring in the Cambridge city limits. The local cooperative observer reported 4.38 inches of rainfall in less than 2 hours with pictures around the city indicating stalled cars in flooded roadways. In addition, a local business had water damage from the runoff.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindOxlip$5,000A few power lines were blown down due to severe straight-line winds.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindCambridge$5,000The swath of damaging wind that started 4 W Princeton in Mille Lacs County at 0400 persisted to just southwest of Cambridge. Numerous trees were felled.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindBodum$500Several tree branches were blown down between Cambridge and Isanti. Based on several wind sensors near the area, the highest wind gusts were around 40 mph.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindIsanti-Thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 65 mph downed a large tree across driveway.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindCambridge Muni Arpt-Large tree branch snapped, about 6 inches in diameter.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindBlomford-Trees measuring 8 inches in diameter snapped halfway up from the base near Cty Rd 5 and Durant St. East of Isanti.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindIsanti-Delayed report of multiple large trees down throughout Isanti, time estimated from radar.
August 2024Thunderstorm WindCrown-Hundreds of trees were broken or uprooted from a downburst that spread out to be three or four miles wide. Some trees fell on houses, sheds, and vehicles. A neighborhood on the east side of Lake Francis was especially hard hit. The winds also blew portions of roofs off of several farm buildings.
August 2024Tornado (EF1)Isanti-A tornado developed in Anoka County and moved through portions of Oak Grove, St Francis, and East Bethel before crossing into Isanti County. In Isanti County, twofarm outbuildings weredestroyed and a pole barnsustained roof damage. Hundreds of trees were also broken or uprooted.
September 2024Thunderstorm WindOxlip-A photo showed a 10 inch diameter pine tree that was snapped.
July 2023HailWeber-Strong thunderstorm produced a combination of quarter size hail up to half-dollar size hail.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindOxlip-Several dozen trees were blown down or uprooted on the northwest side of Long Lake and northeast of Lake Francis.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindBradford-Several large tree branches were blown down in Bradford.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindSpringvale-Wind damage to trees was noted on a social media video in Springvale Township, which is northwest of Cambridge.
May 2022HailIsanti-There was a social media picture of 1.5 inch hail.
May 2022HailIsanti-There was a social media picture of golf ball size hail.
May 2022HailCambridge-There was a social media picture of 1.25 inch hail.
July 2020Tornado (EF1)Day-The tornado made contact just west of Day and traveled just north of a few houses, then hit a farm where multiples trees were uprooted or broken. A partially filled grain bin was also blown off its foundation. The tornado continued across open fields and wooded areas before dissipating. An anemometer on the southern edge of the tornado measured 87 mph.
July 2020HailIsanti-There was a lot of smaller hail, but a few hail stones were as large as half dollar size.
July 2018Heavy RainBraham-A measured rainfall report of 3.07 inches fell west near Braham in 24 hours.
May 2018Thunderstorm WindBradford-Sporadic trees and power lines were blown down around Bradford, Minnesota.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindIsanti-Several trees were blown down in the city of Isanti.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindCambridge Muni Arpt-Several trees were blown down in the city of Cambridge, with portions of the city without power.
July 2016Funnel CloudOxlip-A funnel was caught on video close to the ground near Marget Lake, but it could not be determined whether it touched down.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindSpencer Brook-Several large tree limbs and a few small trees were toppled near Spencer Brook.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindCambridge Muni Arpt-A large tree was blown down near Cambridge.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindBraham-A large tree was uprooted near Braham.
June 2013Heavy RainWalbo-Storm total rainfall amount of 2.20 inches was measured near Walbo.
September 2013Thunderstorm WindCrown-Several large trees were blown down across southwestern Isanti County.
May 2012Heavy RainPine Brook-A local observer measured 3.60 inches in the last 24 hours.
May 2012Heavy RainDalbo-A local observer measured 4.25 inches in the last 24 hours.
May 2012Heavy RainOxlip-A local observer measured 5.50 inches in the last 24 hours.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindBlomford-A storm survey was conducted in eastern Isanti County and revealed storm damage to areas east of Blomford, Minnesota. Several trees were uprooted east of Blomford, Minnesota.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindCambridge-A large tree was blown down on Emerson Avenue.
June 2012Thunderstorm WindCrown-Several large tree branches were blown down at the intersection of Highway 47, and County Road 53.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindCambridge Muni Arpt-Nearly 1,000 trees fell in a heavily wooded area along an 1/8-mile stretch of gravel road in the Cambridge, Minnesota area.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindIsanti-Several large tree limbs were blown down near Isanti, Minnesota.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindCambridge-The wind was measured by a trained spotter.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindWeber-Several trees were blown down southwest of North Branch, Minnesota.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindCrown-Several large tree branches were blown down east of Crown.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindIsanti-Several large trees were blown down south of Isanti.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindIsanti-Multiple trees were blown down near Isanti.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindCarmody-Scattered downburst wind damage occurred in much of Dalbo Township, northwest of the town of Dalbo. Damage was confined to trees and crops. The most concentrated damage occurred north of County Road 13, near 389th Avenue Northwest, eastward to Xenon Street Northwest.
June 2010Heavy RainPine Brook-A local observer reported 4.10 inches of rain west of Cambridge between 230 and 430 am.

Mines and quarries

1 recorded

The Survey's mineral resources record lists 1 working inside this county. It is closed or unrecorded. Each settlement page carries the workings within five miles of it.

Commodity Workings
Peat1

The least common of them first, because a county's hundredth gravel pit says nothing its first ten did not.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Isanti County Peat BogsPeatPast Producer

Every populated place in the county

30

Named settlements recorded in the Geographic Names Information System, each with the topographic sheets covering it. Villages, hamlets and abandoned places alike. Each is shown with the nearest named watercourse or landform and the survey quadrangle it falls on.

Provenance

  • Topographic sheets. USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, county index, measured from the bulk metadata.
  • Fire insurance maps. Library of Congress Sanborn collection, faceted to this county.
  • Photographs. Each place queried individually against the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs search.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.