Cottage Grove, Minnesota
18 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1946 and the latest in 1990. It stands in Cottage Grove City. It lies in ZIP code area 55016. The Survey maps it on the Saint Paul Park quadrangle. 38,839 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 814 feet above sea level.
On record in Cottage Grove
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 3 records
John P. Furber Houselisted 1982
Cordenio Severance Houselisted 1976- Grey Cloud Lime Kilnlisted 1978
Population over time
2 figuresCottage Grove grew from 34,589 to 38,839 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.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 34,589 | |
| 2020 | 38,839 | +4,250 (+12%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
13 surveys from 18 printed sheetsMatched 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.
- 1946 USGS Hudson quadrangle1:62500
- 1949 USGS Hudson quadrangle1:62500
- 1950 USGS St Paul Park quadrangle1:24000
- 1951 USGS St Paul Park quadrangle1:24000
- 1951 USGS St. Paul Park quadrangle1:24000
- 1953 USGS Saint Paul quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1953 USGS St. Paul quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS Saint Paul quadrangle1:250000
- 1959 USGS St. Paul quadrangle1:250000
- 1967 USGS St Paul Park quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1967 USGS St. Paul Park quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Hastings quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Hastings quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
3 since 2012Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Cottage Grove between 2012 and 2018, burning about 91 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1 |
| Debris and open burning | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 April 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 75 acres | Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge | GREY CLOUD |
| 1 April 2017 | Debris and open burning | 6.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 17 March 2012 | Equipment and vehicle use | 10 acres | Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge | INNOVATION |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Cottage Grove: 7 producers, 1 plant. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sulfur. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Facility) Northwestern Refinery | Sulfur | Plant | ||
| Shiely Larson Quarry & Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Cottage Grove Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Nelson Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Noltiemeyer Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Noltiemeyer Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Pine Bend Pit & Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Riggs Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
33 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Cottage Grove in 33 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 15 hail, 13 thunderstorm wind, 2 lightning, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 2 injuries. 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2005 | Lightning | Cottage Grove | 2 hurt | A lightning strike hit a home in the 7900 Block of 71st Street. The bolt caused an immediate explosion, and injured two 50 year olds who owned the home. The individuals were transported to Regions Hospital, where they were listed in fair and stable condition on the 5th. The fire destroyed the residence and caused some damage to neighboring residences. |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | $800,000 | no account filed |
| July 2020 | Tornado (EF1) | Cottage Grove | $100,000 | A NWS Storm Survey indicated that an EF1 tornado occurred in far southern Washington County, in a rural area, north of Hastings, Minnesota. ||The tornado spun up 5 miles north of Hastings, Minnesota, and tracked eastward for 3.2 miles until it moved across the St. Croix River, and into Wisconsin. Extensive tree damage occurred along its path, with the heaviest damage on top of the bluff as it moved across the St. Croix River into Wisconsin. A few farm outbuildings were also damaged. The tornado had a maximum speed of 100 mph, with a maximum width of 400 yards. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | $25,000 | Scattered trees were downed across the southern part of Washington County from south of Cottage Grove, northeast to near Afton. In addition, there were sporadic reports of power outages due to power lines downed. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | $20,000 | Several large trees and power lines were blown down in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. |
| September 2024 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | Report from Mping. |
| August 2021 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | A public report of quarter size hail relayed from a local TV Meteorologist. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | Multiple trees were blown down near Cottage Grove. |
| October 2016 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | A swath of 0.75 inch hail occurred in the southern part of Washington County from Cottage Grove, east to the Wisconsin border. |
| June 2014 | Heavy Rain | Cottage Grove | - | A 24 hour rainfall total of 4.00 inches was reported. |
| May 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | A private weather station reported a wind gust of 58 mph near Cottage Grove, Minnesota. |
| August 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | Several large tree branches were blown down. |
| May 2006 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | Hail occurred at Fire Station Number 2, located near the center of town. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | Limbs up to 4 inches in diameter fell onto power lines. |
| July 2005 | Lightning | Cottage Grove | - | Lightning struck a home near the intersection of Highway 61 and Jamaica Avenue. The resulting fire caused minor damage to the structure. |
| April 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | Trees and power lines were downed. A silo was damaged. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | Few trees and power lines down. |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | Few trees and power lines down. |
| June 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | Large branches down. Estimated windspeed. |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | 1000 trees lost. 29 homes uninhabitable. 548 homes sustained damage. Estimated windspeed. |
| August 2023 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| September 2016 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| June 2015 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| April 2012 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| July 2010 | Funnel Cloud | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| June 1997 | Hail | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Cottage Grove | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Langdon | 1.5 miles | 18 | |
| Saint Paul Park | 2.7 miles | 18 | |
| East Cottage Grove | 3.4 miles | 18 | |
| Newport | 4.0 miles | 28 | |
| Woodbury | 6.7 miles | 17 | |
| Basswood Grove | 7.7 miles | 18 | |
| Oakbury | 8.4 miles | 17 | |
| Point Douglas | 8.5 miles | 18 |
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 Cottage Grove | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q268916 | The 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 659701. 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.












