BlockBefore

Redwood Falls, Minnesota

13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1952 and the latest in 1992. It stands in Redwood Falls City. It lies in ZIP code area 56283. It stands on Ramsey Creek. The Survey maps it on the Redwood Falls quadrangle. 5,102 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,040 feet above sea level.

Research this city

Redwood Falls within Redwood County

On record in Redwood Falls

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

Redwood Falls fell from 5,254 to 5,102 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
20105,254
20205,102-152 (-3%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

8 surveys from 13 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

4,866 words on this township

The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, published 1916 names this settlement in its chapter on Redwood Falls City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Redwood Falls is picturesquely located on the high banks of the Redwood river, about one mile south of the Minnesota river. It is the terminus of what is now known as the Sleepy Eye-Redwood Falls branch of the Chicago & North Western, but which when built in 1878 was called the Minnesota Valley division of the Winona & St. Peter.

Passage source: The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, published 1916.

The trees set out in the early days give the city the appearance of a settlement set in a beautiful grove, while the nearby parks have given to Redwood Falls the justly deserved title of "The Scenic City." The streets are well kept, the public buildings are unusually sightly, the churches are noted for their splendid architecture, the business houses are modern and progressive, the homes are attractively built and surrounded with lawns and shrubbery. From the earliest days, the city had been noted for its religious and educational activities, and the clean moral atmosphere of its social life.

Passage source: The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, published 1916.

A history of Redwood Falls would be incomplete without mentioning its incomparable system of waterworks and sewers. The water plant was installed in 1892, and consisted of four miles of 4, 6, 8 and 10-inch mains, a water tower with a capacity of 92,000 gallons, giving a gravity pressure of 47 pounds ; a power building, 40x80. in which are installed one Duplex non-condensing Gordon pump, 2,000,000 gallons capacity, one 80-horsepower Springfield boiler, with foundation and piped for a duplicate set of boiler and pumps, should necessity arise for more power. The station is 175 feet lower and one-half mile west of the tower, on one of the most beautiful reaches of the Redwood river. The source of supply is a number of springs that are collected in a gallery and are conducted to a receiving reesrvoir, from whence it is pumped to the tower as needed for fire purposes. Water is taken from the river and forced direct into mains, the tower being shut off by a combination electric and air valve. The spring water is strongly impregnated with magnesia with a trace of iron ; it is certainly the most wholesome water to be found anywhere in this part of the state, as no case of contagious disease has ever occurred where the people have used city water exclusively. It is absolutely free from all animal life. Since its installation the system has been gradually extended, and the extension is still going on. The principal parts of the city are covered, and as the city grows, the system is most admirably adapted to expansion.

Passage source: The History of Redwood County, Minnesota, published 1916.

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 Redwood Falls City - it names this place 18 more 18 times.

Mines and quarries near this place

2 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 2 workings within 5 miles of Redwood Falls: 2 producers. All of them still produce. What was taken out: Kaolin, Clay. 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
Morton PitKaolinProducerGibbsite, Illite, Kaolinite, Montmorillonite, Quartz
Norton Clay PitClayProducer

Every working recorded in Redwood County

Storms near this place

43 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Redwood Falls in 43 storm reports between 1995 and 2020: 17 thunderstorm wind, 17 hail, 3 heavy rain, 2 flash flood. The reports record 1 death. 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 2019FloodRedwood Falls1 killedThe local police department reported that an individual had disappeared in the Redwood River near the 100 block of West Bridge Street and was presumed dead from drowning.
August 2017Flash FloodRedwood Falls$350,000Very heavy rainfall, and associated flooding led to numerous reports of basement flooding in Redwood Falls, and surrounding communities. Flood waters caused damage to roads and drainage systems.
March 2017HailRedwood Falls$25,000Several reports of large hail occurred from south of Redwood Falls, north-northeast toward the Renville County line. The largest hail stone was 2 inches in diameter. There was damage to local vehicles and vinyl siding due to the hail.
May 2012Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls$25,000Several trees were blown down, and one half of a barn's roof was blown off.
September 2020Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-Several trees and power lines were blown down in Redwood Falls.
July 2018Heavy RainRedwood Falls-A measured rainfall report of 5.21 inches fell west of Redwood Falls in 24 hours.
July 2018Heavy RainRedwood Falls-A measured rainfall report of 8.20 inches fell west of Redwood Falls in 24 hours.
August 2017Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-Trees and power lines were blown down in Redwood Falls.
June 2014Heavy RainRedwood Falls-A local observer had a 12 hour rainfall report of 5.10 inches.
August 2012Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-A trained spotter measured a wind gust of 67 mph on the west side of Redwood Falls.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-In addition to the wind gust at the airport, hundreds of trees were reported uprooted throughout the city of Redwood Falls, Minnesota.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-The wind was measured at the Redwood Valley High School.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-The wind was measured on a car's anemometer.
June 2007HailRedwood Falls-One inch hail report relayed by KMSP-TV.
August 2007Flash FloodRedwood Falls-Water flooded the intersection of Highway 67 and 68 in the city of Morgan. Water flowed out of ditches along Highway 71 near Redwood Falls.
March 2007FloodRedwood Falls-Water flooded Ramsey Park, covering a road.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-Forty to fifty foot tall tree with a diameter larger then two feet felled. In twenty minutes 0.86 inches of rain fell.
September 2006Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-ASOS located at Redwood Falls airport on the east side of town.
July 2003Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-Numerous trees and power lines down.
August 2002Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-Numerous large branches down. Numerous tents blown down at the county fair.
September 2020HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
September 2020HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
September 2020HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
March 2017HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
June 2016HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
June 2016HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
August 2012Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-no account filed
August 2012Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-no account filed
August 2012Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-no account filed
June 2012HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
July 2011HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
July 2011HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
July 2011Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-no account filed
June 2005HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
June 2004HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
May 2002HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
May 2002HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
August 2002HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
June 1998Tornado (F0)Redwood Falls-no account filed
June 1996HailRedwood Falls-no account filed
August 1996Funnel CloudRedwood Falls-no account filed
August 1996Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindRedwood Falls-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Redwood 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
North Redwood2.0 miles13
Delhi6.5 miles11
Gilfillan8.5 miles10
Rowena10.5 miles9
Clements11.4 miles9
Seaforth11.9 miles10
Wabasso12.0 miles10
Belview12.1 miles9

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 Redwood FallsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1924130The 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 649900. 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.

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.