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Caledonia, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1956 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Caledonia City. It lies in ZIP code area 55921. The Survey maps it on the Caledonia quadrangle. 2,847 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,181 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Caledonia within Houston County

On record in Caledonia

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 5 records

Population over time

2 figures

Caledonia fell from 2,868 to 2,847 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20102,868
20202,847-21 (-1%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 10 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

9,241 words on this township

The Advantages and Resources of Houston County, Minnesota, published 1858 names this settlement in its chapter on Caledonia Township. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

About two hundred lots have already been sold and tlie proprietor still retains a hundred more for sale on reasonable terms. Several buildings are Jiow in process of erection, among which might be mentioned a parsonage for the M. E. church, an Mr. McPliail agrees to donate for church purposes two eligible lots to any denomination who will build upon them. Though Caledoaia, by reason of htr situation off from the Root and Mississippi Rivers, may not be so well accommodated as regards facilities for transportation, yet her position is an important one to tin's county, as being the town most central for the business operations of the whole people, and must too become an important inland grain market upon which our towns of shipping more cji- less rely for supplies from the country ai'ound it. This trade rich as it will become from the iticivasing productivenegs of tii« farming lands aioujid tliis town would be ample in itself \<> sustain a flouiisliing village, and when added to this the busing sk whicli naturally accumulates at a county scat, tlie advantages of such a place are largely increased.

Passage source: The Advantages and Resources of Houston County, Minnesota, published 1858.

The nndorsi^'nod will give their attention to the buying and sellino- of lands, tbe selection and location of town sites on the line of the Southern Minnesota Railroad, the loaning of money for capitalists, and to such other business as appertains to a Q'cneral laud agency.

Passage source: The Advantages and Resources of Houston County, Minnesota, published 1858.

N. B. Persons having money to loan at moderate rates of interest, (say from 20 to 25 per cent, per annum,) on unquestionable real estate security will do well to give uf? a call. If desired, wo will furnish a full description of all land oliered as security, and its present market value. THOMPSON, "WYKOFF «fe CO,

Passage source: The Advantages and Resources of Houston County, Minnesota, published 1858.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Caledonia Township - it names this place 25 more 25 times.

Fires near this place

38 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 38 fires within 5 miles of Caledonia between 1992 and 2017, burning about 191 acres in total. 1 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning20
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Equipment and vehicle use8
Natural1
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
17 September 2003Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 July 2001Naturalunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
4 June 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 June 2014Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
17 June 1995Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
30 May 1996Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 May 2002Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
15 May 1995Debris and open burning2.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Houston County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Caledonia: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Gengler Quarry & MillStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Holty-Badger Quarry - BadgerStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Holty-Badger Quarry- HoltyStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer

Every working recorded in Houston County

Storms near this place

32 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Caledonia in 32 storm reports between 1994 and 2022: 16 thunderstorm wind, 9 hail, 2 flash flood, 2 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2018Heavy RainCaledonia$189,000Rainfall totaled 4.80 inches during this time frame.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$100,000A localized downburst blew down trees, power lines, a barn and some farm outbuildings just northwest of Caledonia.
September 2012Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$95,000An eighty foot tall tree fell on a garage and four vehicles near the intersection of First and Main Streets in Caledonia.
August 1997Tornado (F0)Caledonia$80,000no account filed
August 2018Flash FloodCaledonia$70,000Runoff from heavy rains caused street flooding to occur in Caledonia.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$40,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$35,000no account filed
March 2017Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$34,000Barns were damaged in the Caledonia area from strong storm winds.
June 1999HailCaledonia$15,000no account filed
August 1997Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$15,000no account filed
August 2000HailCaledonia$12,000no account filed
May 2007Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$10,000Roof damaged at elementary school.
June 1998HailCaledonia$10,000no account filed
May 2012Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$5,000Trees were blown down onto parts of State Highway 76 between Houston and Caledonia.
July 2012LightningCaledonia$5,000Lightning struck the Houston County Courthouse and knocked out phone services, destroyed a control module for one of the ventilation units and a copy machine.
August 2000HailCaledonia$5,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$5,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$4,000no account filed
September 2005Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$1,500no account filed
May 2007Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$1,000Siding ripped off and overhang damaged on mobile home.
August 2007Flash FloodCaledonia$1,000Law enforcement officials reported water over the roadway near Green Acres and across other sections of the county.
June 2000Thunderstorm WindCaledonia$250no account filed
August 2017Funnel CloudCaledonia-A funnel cloud was sighted northeast of Caledonia.
September 2016Heavy RainCaledonia-The COOP observer in Caledonia measured 4.41 inches of rain.
July 2013HailCaledonia-Up to half dollar sized hail fell in Caledonia.
July 1994Thunderstorm WindCaledonia-Several trees and power lines were blown down by strong thunderstorm winds.
May 2011HailCaledonia-no account filed
April 2010HailCaledonia-no account filed
April 2002HailCaledonia-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindCaledonia-no account filed
June 1997HailCaledonia-no account filed
June 1996Thunderstorm WindCaledonia-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Houston County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Highland Park Estates0.0 miles10
Pine Estates0.0 miles10
Schechs Mill5.0 miles9
Willington Grove5.8 miles9
Sheldon5.9 miles9
Wilmington6.5 miles9
Freeburg7.2 miles10
Black Hammer8.8 miles8

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on CaledoniaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1926675The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 640732. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

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.