Granite Falls, Minnesota

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Granite Falls City. It lies in ZIP code area 56241. The Survey maps it on the Granite Falls quadrangle. 2,737 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 919 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Granite Falls within Yellow Medicine County

On record in Granite Falls

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 1 record

Andrew John Volstead HouseNational Historic Landmark · listed 1974

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 9 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.

1953 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
1957 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000
1958 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000
1965 USGS Granite Falls quadrangle1:24000
1967 USGS New Ulm quadrangle1:250000
1986 USGS Montevideo quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings

Fires near this place

1 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Granite Falls in 2014, burning about 3 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
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
8 April 2014	Debris and open burning	3.0 acres	Minnesota Department of Natural Resources	not named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Yellow Medicine County

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Granite Falls: 1 unknown, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Granite, 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	Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
	Granite Falls Prospect	Gold	Unknown	Gold
	Green Quarry and Mill	Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer

Every working recorded in Yellow Medicine County

Storms near this place

37 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Granite Falls in 37 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 17 thunderstorm wind, 14 hail, 4 tornado, 1 heavy rain. The reports record 1 death and 15 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
July 2000	Tornado (F4)	Granite Falls	1 killed, 15 hurt, $20,000,000	The tornado first touched down in rural Yellow Medicine County, 8 miles west, and 3 miles north of Granite Falls. The tornado lifted before exiting Granite Falls, leaving the most concentrated damage path two miles long, and 500 feet wide, through a primarily residential area of Granite Falls. Most of the damage in Granite Falls was caused by F2 to F3 wind speeds. However, this tornado has been classified as a minimal F4 tornado, based on the twisted wreckage of an overturned railroad car near the intersection of 9th Avenue and 14th street in Granite Falls.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	$1,800,000	Widespread wind damage occurred around the city of Granite Falls. Numerous trees, power lines and structural damage occurred in the city with the Yellow Medicine East School District main building sustaining major damage. The winds tore off the heating and ventilation systems on the roofs, opening the duct work to the rain. Water poured through the ventilation system and directly into classrooms, hallways and on equipment. On the south side of the Minnesota River, the Granite Run golf course suffered significant damage to trees and their local restaurant.
July 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	$1,500,000	Several sources from the media, law enforcement and trained spotters reported widespread damage across the city of Granite Falls. Numerous trees and power lines were blown down along with some roof damage to businesses. The area was concentrated west and south of the Minnesota River in Yellow Medicine County.
June 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	$500	Several large tree limbs were blown down.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Trees were downed.
May 2022	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Several trees and power lines were blown down around the city of Granite Falls.
August 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	A measured wind report from a private weather station.
March 2019	Flood	Granite Falls	-	Numerous roads were closed for several days due to snow melt, and the flood waters that develop from it. Rapidly runoff led to impassable roads, especially along streams and creeks along county roads.
July 2016	Heavy Rain	Granite Falls	-	A trained spotter measured 3.42 inches of rain near Granite Falls.
June 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Measured at the Granite Falls airport.
July 2008	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Many huge trees toppled all over town, some onto homes and vehicles. Shingles torn off of homes. Many branches severed, many two to three feet in diameter, and some even larger.
August 2008	Hail	Granite Falls	-	Hail also reported by the public.
July 2007	Hail	Granite Falls	-	Some corn damage reported.
June 2006	Hail	Granite Falls	-	Ground white with hail. Crops sustained significant damage.
July 2006	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	At Granite Falls airport. Reports of trees down between Granite Falls and Hanley Falls along Highway 23.
September 2005	Tornado (F1)	Granite Falls	-	A tornado touched down a mile west of the Minnesota River (about 2 miles west of Wegdahl) in Yellow Medicine County then crossed the river into Chippewa County. Trees along the river bluff were blown onto Highway 212.
September 2005	Hail	Granite Falls	-	Ping pong sized hail fell in section 33 of Stony Run Township.
July 2004	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Large trees were downed onto Highway 212.
July 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Several trees and power lines down.
June 2003	Tornado (F0)	Granite Falls	-	Brief touchdown on the southwest side of the Minnesota River, with minor tree damage. The tornado then crossed into Chippewa County at 1939 CST.
June 2003	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Several eight inch branches down.
May 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Estimated winds. Numerous trees, a few sheds, and two barns toppled.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Estimated winds. Trees and power lines felled.
July 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Trees and power lines blown down. Estimated windspeed.
July 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Trees blown down. Estimated windspeed.
October 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Granite Falls	-	Power lines blown down. Estimated windspeed.
May 1993	Tornado (F0)	Granite Falls	-	A tornado touched down briefly south of Granite Falls downing power lines and destroying several farm buildings.
June 2011	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
July 2011	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
July 2006	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
June 2003	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
April 2002	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
July 2000	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
May 1999	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed
May 1998	Hail	Granite Falls	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Yellow Medicine 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.

Place	Distance	Sheets
Valley Courts	0.3 miles	9
Lorne	4.7 miles	10
Hanley Falls	9.0 miles	10
Hazel Run	9.8 miles	9
Wood Lake	10.9 miles	10
Clarkfield	14.0 miles	9
Echo	15.0 miles	9
Spring Creek	17.3 miles	9

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 Granite Falls	An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1005637	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 644347. 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.