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Howard Lake, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Howard Lake City. It lies in ZIP code area 55349. The Survey maps it on the Howard Lake quadrangle. 2,071 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,014 feet above sea level.

Howard Lake within Wright County

On record in Howard Lake

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

Population over time

2 figures

Howard Lake grew from 1,962 to 2,071 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
20101,962
20202,071+109 (+6%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 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

1,001 words on this township

History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915 names this settlement in its chapter on Howard Lake City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Albert G. Moffatt, M. D., a skilled and scholarly physician and surgeon of Howard Lake, was born in the Province of Ontario, Canada, September 5, 1865, son of James and Caroline (Pratt) Moffatt, who brought their family from Canada and settled in Pembina county, North Dakota, in 1883. Albert G. Moffatt received his preliminary education in the common schools, and in 1892 entered the medical department of the University of Minnesota. He graduated with the class of 1895, and at once opened an office in Howard Lake. In 1907 he took a post graduate course in the Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Ill. Dr, Mof. fatt's practice has been successful from the start. With technical mastery he combines a wide sympathy and understanding, and his name is held in the highest regard and affection in the hundreds of homes where he has ministered. His reputation, however, has not been confined to Howard Lake and vicinity. For several years he has sat as one of the Homeopathic members of the State Board of Medical Examiners, In the Minnesota State Homeopathic Society he has been vice president, director, and chairman of several important bureaus. Locally he has been president of the village council, influential member of the school heard, and president of the Howard Lake Commercial Club. For a number of years has done good service as coroner of Wright county, a position he still retains. A recent publication has said:

Passage source: History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915.

Dr. Moffatt married Alice Hoffman, of Canada, the daughter of John and Jeanette (Frazier) Hoffman, of Irish-German blood. Mrs. Alice (Hoffman) Moffatt died in 1889 at the age of twentyfour, leaving two children, Eva Thankful, wife of W. T. Campbell, of Golden Valley, N. D., and Janie Alberta, a graduate nurse, now living in Napa, Calif. Later, Dr. Moffatt married Alice J. Dillon, born in the province of Ontario, daughter of Robert and Alice (Hutchinson) Dillon, who spent the span of their years in Canada. Dr. Moffatt, by this marriage, has two children, Albert G., Jr, and Ralph. Albert G., Jr, is a graduate of the Howard Lake High school. Mrs. Moffatt is a member of the Library Club.

Passage source: History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915.

Edwin Young Chilton, M. D., now deceased, was for many years Howard Lake's beloved physician. For over three decades he labored throughout the countryside, bringing healing and sympathy and brightness to hundreds of families, and sanctifying his memory to thousands of patients. He was born, August 25, 1849, in Cumberland county, Kentucky. He received an Academy education, and began as a boy to read medicine with a prominent physician of his native county. Later he took a collegiate course in medicine and surgery in the Miami College, at

Passage source: History of Wright County, Minnesota Volume II, published 1915.

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 Howard Lake City - it names this place 2 more 2 times.

Fires near this place

1 since 2011

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Howard Lake in 2011, 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined1

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
9 November 2011Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Wright County

Storms near this place

43 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howard Lake in 43 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 23 thunderstorm wind, 14 hail, 3 tornado, 2 funnel cloud. 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
September 2019Tornado (EF1)Howard Lake$250,000A brief tornado occurred just southwest of Howard Lake, MN. The tornado damaged 3 properties, with 2 barns heavily damaged and a private residence with shingles ripped off along with numerous trees snapped along the path of the tornado.
June 2016HailHoward Lake$10,000A large swath of hail occurred in southern Wright County between Howard Lake and Watertown. The largest hail stone was measured at 2.5 inches (tennis ball) between Montrose and Watertown along Highway 25.
May 2025Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Three large trees were downed.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees down in both Cokato and Howard Lake.
June 2023Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Local law enforcement and trained spotters reported numerous trees and power lines down in the city of Howard Lake, MN, but no reported injuries or fatalities. A mesonet station just northeast of Lake Mary (5 miles south-southwest of Waverly) measured 68 mph. Also 4 miles SSW of Waverly, MN, a trained spotter reported damage to an agricultural field where crops appeared to have suffered wind and hail damage. Strong winds caused major damage to multiple barns on a farmstead. The strong thunderstorm continued into far northeastern McLeod County.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Several trees were blown down around Howard Lake.
July 2016Heavy RainHoward Lake-A trained spotter measured 4.00 inches of rain near Howard Lake.
July 2015Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Three large trees blown down, with some crop damage on County Road 30 near Howard Lake.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-A large tree blew down and blocked County Road 5 near Howard Lake.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Several large tree branches were blown down near Howard Lake, Minnesota.
August 2007Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Very large tree toppled over a roadway.
June 2007HailHoward Lake-Occurred on the North side of town near Highway 12.
June 2007HailHoward Lake-On Highway 12 between Waverly and Howard Lake.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees and power lines down.
September 2006Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees downed.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees were downed onto power lines 4 miles north of Winsted.
September 2005HailHoward Lake-Nickel sized hail was reported by a trained spotter near Highway 12.
April 2004HailHoward Lake-Penny sized hail fell just north of Winsted.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Tree blown onto shed.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Few trees down and power lines down.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Tree down across road.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees down, including one on shed.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Large tree down in road.
September 1998Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees and power lines down. Estimated windspeed.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees blown over. Estimated windspeed.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Trees and power lines down. Estimated windspeed.
July 1997Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-Tree blown onto house. Estimated windspeed.
July 1997Tornado (F3)Howard Lake-House completely destroyed on west side of Birch Lake.
July 1995Tornado (F1)Howard Lake-This affected mainly open country. On ground for six to 12 minutes. Metal shed destroyed. The width was estimated. Lifted off ground one mile northwest of Waverly.
June 2025HailHoward Lake-no account filed
September 2019Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-no account filed
July 2008HailHoward Lake-no account filed
July 2008HailHoward Lake-no account filed
June 2007Funnel CloudHoward Lake-no account filed
June 2007HailHoward Lake-no account filed
May 2006HailHoward Lake-no account filed
May 2004HailHoward Lake-no account filed
April 2002HailHoward Lake-no account filed
June 2002HailHoward Lake-no account filed
June 2002HailHoward Lake-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-no account filed
May 1996Funnel CloudHoward Lake-no account filed
August 1993Thunderstorm WindHoward Lake-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Wright 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
Smith Lake2.7 miles10
Highland4.8 miles10
Rice Lake5.0 miles10
Albright5.2 miles10
Waverly5.7 miles12
Cokato6.3 miles10
Oster7.4 miles11
Rassat7.6 miles12

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 Howard LakeAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2231389The 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 645261. 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.

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.