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.
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
Robert C. Dunn Houselisted 1985
Ephraim C. Gile Houselisted 1985
Great Northern Depotlisted 1977
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 11 printed sheetsMatched 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 Stillwater quadrangle1:250000
- 1955 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000
- 1968 USGS Princeton quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1975 USGS Stillwater quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1985 USGS Mora quadrangle1:100000
- 1991 USGS Mora quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
189 since 1992Regional 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 burning | 96 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 30 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 25 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 16 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 12 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2000 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 29 September 1992 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 18 September 1998 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 9 August 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 8 August 2007 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 3 August 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 28 July 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
| 11 July 2005 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Minnesota Department of Natural Resources | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mcminn Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sanford Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sanford Pit and Mill | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this place
35 since 1994Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | $50,000 | Several street lights and large trees blew down across Princeton, Minnesota, some knotted down several power poles on the east side of the city. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | $20,000 | A 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 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | $20,000 | Numerous trees down, some on homes and vehicles, in a swath that continued into Isanti County, from 12W to 2 SW Cambridge. |
| April 2025 | Funnel Cloud | Princeton | - | Funnel cloud reported west of Hwy 169 and Hwy 95 just west of Princeton. |
| June 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | Thunderstorm wind gust estimated at 65 mph knocked down a large tree knocked onto structure. |
| September 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | There were reports of scattered trees blown down around Princeton. |
| June 2015 | Funnel Cloud | Princeton | - | A trained spotter reported a funnel cloud east of Highway 169. |
| May 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | Numerous trees were blown down just north of Princeton. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | A large tree was uprooted on Highway 95, west of Princeton, Minnesota. |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | Several large trees were blown down across Highway 95. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Princeton | - | Occurred along Highway 95. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | Power lines were downed. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | 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 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | Tree uprooted. Large tree branches down. Power lines down. |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | Estimated winds. Power lines down. |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | Numerous large branches and powerelines felled. Estimated Winds. |
| August 1997 | Hail | Princeton | - | Thunderstorm winds of 50 to 60 mph also reported. |
| May 2022 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| May 2022 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| August 2018 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| July 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| August 2008 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| August 2006 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| June 2005 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| April 2004 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
| May 1994 | Hail | Princeton | - | no account filed |
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 | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brickton | 2.9 miles | 11 | |
| Woodward Brook | 7.3 miles | 10 | |
| Pease | 9.5 miles | 11 | |
| Estes Brook | 9.9 miles | 11 | |
| Foreston | 13.2 miles | 11 | |
| Milaca | 13.4 miles | 10 | |
| Bock | 14.9 miles | 11 | |
| Page | 22.3 miles | 11 |
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 Princeton | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2228008 | 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 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.







