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Princeton, Minnesota

11 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1953 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Princeton City. It lies in ZIP code area 55371. It stands on West Branch Rum River. The Survey maps it on the Princeton quadrangle. 4,819 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 981 feet above sea level.

Princeton within Mille Lacs County

On record in Princeton

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

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 11 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.

Fires near this place

189 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 189 fires within 5 miles of Princeton between 1992 and 2020, burning about 1,016 acres in total. None started naturally. 16 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
Debris and open burning96
Equipment and vehicle use30
Missing data/not specified/undetermined25
Arson/incendiarism16
Recreation and ceremony12
Smoking7
Misuse of fire by a minor2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
29 September 2000Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 September 1992Debris and open burning1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
18 September 1998Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
9 August 2007Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
8 August 2007Equipment and vehicle use1.0 acresMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
3 August 1995Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
28 July 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
11 July 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Mille Lacs County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Princeton: 3 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Mcminn PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Sanford Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Sanford Pit and MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Mille Lacs County

Storms near this place

35 since 1994

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Princeton in 35 storm reports between 1994 and 2025: 17 hail, 16 thunderstorm wind, 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
May 2012Thunderstorm WindPrinceton$50,000Several street lights and large trees blew down across Princeton, Minnesota, some knotted down several power poles on the east side of the city.
July 2018Thunderstorm WindPrinceton$20,000A tin roof blew off a business in Princeton. The roof came off in three large pieces and landed in an adjacent parking lot. It appears to have been tin sheets placed over the shingles. The shingle roof was still in place. The tin landed on an SUV in the parking lot and caused damage to the vehicle. A few power poles, and power lines were also blown down in Princeton.
July 2001Thunderstorm WindPrinceton$20,000Numerous trees down, some on homes and vehicles, in a swath that continued into Isanti County, from 12W to 2 SW Cambridge.
April 2025Funnel CloudPrinceton-Funnel cloud reported west of Hwy 169 and Hwy 95 just west of Princeton.
June 2025Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 65 mph knocked down a large tree knocked onto structure.
September 2019Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-There were reports of scattered trees blown down around Princeton.
June 2015Funnel CloudPrinceton-A trained spotter reported a funnel cloud east of Highway 169.
May 2014Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Numerous trees were blown down just north of Princeton.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-A large tree was uprooted on Highway 95, west of Princeton, Minnesota.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Several large trees were blown down across Highway 95.
August 2007HailPrinceton-Occurred along Highway 95.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Power lines were downed.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Numerous trees down, including some on vehicles and power lines. Semi truck tipped over. Bleachers at fairgrounds were ripped apart. A roof was blown off a used car building, and a few windows were blown out at an apartment complex.
June 2002Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Tree uprooted. Large tree branches down. Power lines down.
July 1999Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Estimated winds. Power lines down.
June 1999Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Numerous large branches and powerelines felled. Estimated Winds.
August 1997HailPrinceton-Thunderstorm winds of 50 to 60 mph also reported.
May 2022HailPrinceton-no account filed
May 2022HailPrinceton-no account filed
May 2022HailPrinceton-no account filed
August 2018HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2013Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-no account filed
August 2008HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2007HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2007HailPrinceton-no account filed
August 2006HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2005HailPrinceton-no account filed
April 2004HailPrinceton-no account filed
April 2004HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2002HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2002HailPrinceton-no account filed
May 1998HailPrinceton-no account filed
May 1994HailPrinceton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Mille Lacs 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
Brickton2.9 miles11
Woodward Brook7.3 miles10
Pease9.5 miles11
Estes Brook9.9 miles11
Foreston13.2 miles11
Milaca13.4 miles10
Bock14.9 miles11
Page22.3 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 PrincetonAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q2228008The 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 649738. 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.