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Lakefield, Minnesota

9 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Lakefield City. It lies in ZIP code area 56150. The Survey maps it on the Lakefield quadrangle. 1,735 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,483 feet above sea level.

Lakefield within Jackson County

Population over time

2 figures

Lakefield grew from 1,694 to 1,735 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
20101,694
20201,735+41 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

4 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.

In the county-history sources

5,259 words on this township

An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910 names this settlement in its chapter on Lakefield City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

RANKING second in size, according to the last census, among Jackson county towns is Lakefield. The village is situated in Heron Lake and Hunter townships and is in almost the exact geographical center of the county, its business center being less than one mile from the central point. It is only a short distance from the head of Heron lake, that great expanse of watnr which is noted the country over as a hunters' paradise. Lakefield is on the Soutliern Minnesota division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, and is twelve miles west and north of Jackson. The population in 1905 was 916, but the census of 1910 will undoubtedlv show an increase.

Passage source: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910.

As regards trade territory^ Lakefield has a stragetic location, drawing its trade from an immense area of exceptionally prosperous country. To the north, northeast, south and southwest there are no towns for many miles, and to LakeiSeld comes the trade from long distances in those directions. The town is compactly built and presents an attractive appearance. It has broad streets, lined with substantial business houses and handsome residences.

Passage source: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910.

No more beautiful site for a town could be found. It is located on high, rolling ground, of a greater elevation than the surrounding country, exactly on the divide or watershed which separates the two great watercourses of the west - the Mississippi and the Missouri.^ There is plenty of room for the town to grow without taking in a foot of low or swampy ground. All the improvements to be found m Minnesota towns of its size are in Lakefield. It has an excellent waterworks system, electric light plant, good schools and churches.

Passage source: An Illustrated History of Jackson County, Minnesota, published 1910.

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 Lakefield City - it names this place 28 more 28 times.

Fires near this place

3 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Lakefield between 2004 and 2020, burning about 155 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were 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
Arson/incendiarism2
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
7 April 2004Missing data/not specified/undetermined152 acresWindom Wetland Management DistrictBOOT LAKE
13 October 2020Arson/incendiarism1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
10 October 2020Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Every fire recorded in Jackson County

Storms near this place

59 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lakefield in 59 storm reports between 1993 and 2026: 23 hail, 21 thunderstorm wind, 8 tornado, 5 flash flood. 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 2000Tornado (F1)Lakefield$400,000A tornado damaged several buildings, including businesses and homes, a grain elevator, and trees as it touched down along highway 86 in Lakefield.
August 2000Tornado (F1)Lakefield$100,000A tornado caused extensive damage to a family owned dairy farm.
June 1998Tornado (F0)Lakefield$100,000no account filed
June 1998HailLakefield$100,000no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindLakefield$50,000Thunderstorm winds destroyed a silo and caused widespread tree damage, including several large trees uprooted or blown down. Some roads were blocked by tree debris. Power lines were blown down, resulting in power outages.
August 2000Thunderstorm WindLakefield$50,000Downburst winds caused damage to power lines and a grain elevator, and tore singles off roofs.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindLakefield$20,000Thunderstorm winds destroyed a barn and garage on a farm.
April 2001LightningLakefield$20,000no account filed
May 2012Thunderstorm WindLakefield$5,000Thunderstorm winds tore the roof off an open faced hog barn.
June 1998Thunderstorm WindLakefield$5,000Thunderstorm winds blew over a grain bin.
September 2004Tornado (F0)Lakefield$2,000A tornado damaged corn crops , trees, and an outbuilding on a farm.
April 2026HailLakefield-Considerable dime to quarter size hail occurred.
April 2026HailLakefield-Most of the hail was penny to quarter size, but some stones were as large as hen eggs.
September 2021Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Several trees were downed by strong thunderstorm wind gusts. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Wind gusts accompanied hail up to golf ball size.
July 2020HailLakefield-Hail size estimated from photo on social media.
June 2019HailLakefield-Pea to penny size hail.
June 2019Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Tree branches two inches in diameter broken.
May 2017Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Wind Gusts measured by State of Minnesota Department of Transportation Weather Sensor along Interstate 90.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including a 2 foot diameter tree broken off just above the ground.
June 2016Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including up to 3 inch diameter limbs blown down.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Thunderstorm winds caused widespread tree damage, including several trees and numerous branches blown down.
June 2014Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including numerous branches up to 6 inches in diameter blown down. The winds were accompanied by heavy rain.
June 2014Heavy RainLakefield-Rainfall of 2.62 inches was measured.
June 2013Flash FloodLakefield-Heavy rain from thunderstorms caused flash flooding of streets in Lakefield. Basements and lower levels of some homes were flooded.
May 2012Tornado (EF0)Lakefield-A brief tornado caused no reported damage.
May 2012Flash FloodLakefield-Heavy rain caused flooding of Minnesota Highway 86.
May 2012Tornado (EF0)Lakefield-A brief tornado caused no reported damage.
May 2012Tornado (EF0)Lakefield-A brief tornado caused no reported damage.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Thunderstorm winds caused an unknown amount of tree damage.
July 2009Flash FloodLakefield-Heavy rainfall caused brief flash flooding of several intersections.
August 2007Flash FloodLakefield-Heavy rainfall of over 3 inches in a short time caused flooding of numerous roads in central and western Jackson County. Roads flooded included Minnesota Highway 86 just south of Interstate 90, several roads in the town of Okabena, and many rural roads. Fields in the area were also flooded.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindLakefield-A thunderstorm gust to 58 mph was measured by road weather equipment.
May 2005Flash FloodLakefield-Heavy rain caused widespread street flooding in Lakefield.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, including 2 to 4 inch diameter branches down.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindLakefield-Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage.
April 1994Tornado (F0)Lakefield-A tornado was spotted southwest of Lakefield and damaged a roof on a building. Several trees were also toppled.
May 2022HailLakefield-no account filed
July 2020HailLakefield-no account filed
June 2019HailLakefield-no account filed
July 2019HailLakefield-no account filed
July 2019Thunderstorm WindLakefield-no account filed
July 2018HailLakefield-no account filed
June 2016HailLakefield-no account filed
June 2016HailLakefield-no account filed
June 2014HailLakefield-no account filed
May 2012HailLakefield-no account filed
June 2005HailLakefield-no account filed
May 2005HailLakefield-no account filed
May 2005HailLakefield-no account filed
May 2004HailLakefield-no account filed
August 2004Thunderstorm WindLakefield-no account filed
April 2002Thunderstorm WindLakefield-no account filed
July 2002HailLakefield-no account filed
July 2002HailLakefield-no account filed
June 1998HailLakefield-no account filed
June 1994Thunderstorm WindLakefield-no account filed
July 1994HailLakefield-no account filed
September 1993HailLakefield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jackson 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
Rost6.9 miles8
Okabena8.8 miles8
Wilder10.4 miles7
Jackson10.5 miles6
Heron Lake11.3 miles7
Spafford11.4 miles7
Sioux Valley11.6 miles7
Miloma12.0 miles7

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 LakefieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1004211The 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 646405. 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.