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Litchfield, Minnesota

10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Litchfield City. It lies in ZIP code area 55355. It stands on Jewett Creek. The Survey maps it on the Litchfield North quadrangle. 6,624 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,129 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Litchfield within Meeker County

On record in Litchfield

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 7 records

Population over time

2 figures

Litchfield fell from 6,726 to 6,624 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
20106,726
20206,624-102 (-2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

5 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

13,775 words on this township

Album of History and Biography of Meeker County, Minnesota, published 1888 names this settlement in its chapter on Litchfield City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

The first death in the community occurred in the year 1871, and was that of the little son of M. D. Bowen. About the same time a Swedish settler, while passing to his home west of the city, fell from the trestle bridge of the railroad near the western limits of the village, and broke his neck. Old residents are undecided as to which of these preceded the other, but as the former is the death of a resident of the vilhige it is given prominence.

Passage source: Album of History and Biography of Meeker County, Minnesota, published 1888.

The genei'al merchandise firm of Cairncross & Palm, originated in 1871 with the Nelson Bros. Several changes have been made in the name and style, several parties having oiierated it, among whom were Cairncross A: Brother, who commenced in 1878. In 1881, Alexander Cairncross purchased the interest of his brother, Stewart, and ran the business until January 1, 1885, when, John Palm having acquired an interest, the present firm was formed.

Passage source: Album of History and Biography of Meeker County, Minnesota, published 1888.

V. II. Harris, who is also engaged in the drug business, was the second to open a store of that character in the village, commencing in the fall of 1ST3, under the firm name of Harris & Bell, in the building now occupied by the ])ostolEce. There they remained until IST'.t, when, having erected the second brick store building in the jilace, Mr. Harris removed into it, where he now carries on bu&iii' ss, which he has filled with a full and comp ete stock of first-class goods and is a leader in that line.

Passage source: Album of History and Biography of Meeker County, Minnesota, published 1888.

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 Litchfield City - it names this place 54 more 54 times.

Fires near this place

3 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 3 fires within 5 miles of Litchfield between 2012 and 2015, burning about 244 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 burning2
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
2 May 2015Debris and open burning217 acresLitchfield Wetland Management DistrictSTONE LAKE WF
29 November 2012Debris and open burning26 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 November 2013Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresLitchfield Wetland Management DistrictLITCHFIELD WF

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Meeker County

Storms near this place

51 since 1993

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Litchfield in 51 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 27 hail, 19 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado, 2 funnel cloud. The reports record 3 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
September 2005Thunderstorm WindLitchfield3 hurtFire and rescue officials reported that high winds overturned a trailer camper at Lake Ripley Campground. Three people were pined inside and were transported to the hospital after rescue. A woman and a man in the trailer suffered minor injuries and the third victim, a retired police officer, suffered cracked ribs and numbness in his legs. Two other unoccupied campers were overturned nearby and others were damaged. Trees were also downed around town. A wind gust of 55 MPH was recorded at the Litchfield airport at 3:55 PM CDT.
July 2025Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Multiple trees down in Litchfield.
July 2023Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Public works responded to 1 large branch across the road.
May 2022Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-The county courthouse sustained roof damage. Numerous trees were uprooted around Litchfield. Time estimated based on radar.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Wind gust reported by RAWS station LFSM5, Litchfield 3S, operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
June 2016Heavy RainLitchfield-A rainfall report of 2.76 inches occurred south of Litchfield in less than 6 hours.
July 2016Tornado (EF2)Litchfield-The tornado near Litchfield was rated an EF-2 with peak winds of 115 mph. It had a maximum width of 100 yards and traveled approximately 3.2 miles. The tornado caused a lot of tree damage, though three single family homes received significant roof damage, and a double wide manufactured home, and garage were flipped and rolled. Another garage and shed were destroyed near Highway 12 on the north side of town.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Several large tree branches were blown down in Litchfield.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-A measured wind gust at the Litchfield RAWS site.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-A large tree fell near Southside Park in Litchfield.
August 2011Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Several large tree branches were blown down on the east side of Litchfield, Minnesota.
July 2008Funnel CloudLitchfield-The funnel cloud dropped briefly out of the parent thunderstorm, then quickly went back up.
September 2007Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Numerous trees were felled, including some 22 inches in diameter. One tree fell on a mobile home in the north side of Litchfield.
June 2006HailLitchfield-Hail covered the ground.
May 2006HailLitchfield-Hail covered Highway 22.
June 2005Funnel CloudLitchfield-The Sheriff's department stated that several motorists reported seeing a funnel cloud.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Trees were downed near Round Lake.
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-A pontoon boat was flipped and a dock was destroyed along the Lake Ripley shoreline.
September 2005HailLitchfield-Quarter to golf ball sized hail was reported by a trained spotter. The county sheriff's office reported that several squad cars sustained hail damage. The windshield on one patrol car was broken by the hail.
June 2004Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-A tree was downed.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Two turkey barns were slightly damaged along Route 23 near Long Lake.
June 2002HailLitchfield-Ground white.
June 2001Tornado (F1)Litchfield-Damage survey indicated brief tornado on the west side of Lake Ripley, downing trees and ripping apart sheds and outbuildings. Tornado was accompanied by a large swath of damaging wind.
June 2001HailLitchfield-Wind blown hail dented houses, vehicles, and hundreds of structures.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Estimated winds. Several docks and boats flipped on Lake Minnie Belle.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-Large branches blown down. Estimated windspeed.
July 2025HailLitchfield-no account filed
July 2023HailLitchfield-no account filed
August 2013HailLitchfield-no account filed
May 2012HailLitchfield-no account filed
August 2011HailLitchfield-no account filed
September 2007HailLitchfield-no account filed
April 2007HailLitchfield-no account filed
September 2005HailLitchfield-no account filed
May 2004HailLitchfield-no account filed
June 2004HailLitchfield-no account filed
June 2002HailLitchfield-no account filed
June 2001HailLitchfield-no account filed
June 2001HailLitchfield-no account filed
May 2000HailLitchfield-no account filed
May 1998HailLitchfield-no account filed
May 1998HailLitchfield-no account filed
May 1998HailLitchfield-no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-no account filed
July 1997HailLitchfield-no account filed
June 1996HailLitchfield-no account filed
June 1996HailLitchfield-no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-no account filed
June 1994HailLitchfield-no account filed
June 1994HailLitchfield-no account filed
August 1993Thunderstorm WindLitchfield-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Meeker 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
Beckville6.0 miles10
Casey6.2 miles10
Forest City6.4 miles10
Darwin6.6 miles10
Strout7.6 miles10
Acton7.6 miles8
Grove City8.4 miles8
Greenleaf9.2 miles11

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 LitchfieldAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1911450The 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 646743. 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.