Erskine, Minnesota

Erskine is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 437 at the 2000 census. It is part of the 'Grand Forks- ND-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area'.

Downtown Erskine Minnesota in 2007

Geography

Location of Erskine, Minnesota

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.6 km² (1.0 mi²). 1.9 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (26.73%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 437 people, 203 households, and 111 families residing in the city. The population density was 228.0/km² (590.0/mi²). There were 250 housing units at an average density of 130.4/km² (337.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.99% White, 0.23% African American, 5.49% Native American, and 2.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.23% of the population.

There were 203 households out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.3% were non-families. 42.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 25.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.6% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 26.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 84.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,771, and the median income for a family was $35,278. Males had a median income of $33,333 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,122. About 17.3% of families and 18.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 37.8% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.

The population of Erskine was more than 800 in the 1920s. It hovered above 600 until the late 1960s, dipped to 571 (1970) and 585 (1980), and then plunged to 424 (1990), 428 (1995), and 437 (2000).

Culture

Erskine's town festival is known as the Erskine Water Carnival, and is held in early June. Erskine lays claim to having the largest Northern Pike in the world, a statue on the shores of Cameron Lake. It is also the hometown of actress and singer Jamie Foss, winner of 2004's Superstar USA. In addition, it is the center of a community of Russian Old Believers estimated at between 50 and 100 families. The Old Believers began moving to Erskine around 1998 in order to escape a farming crisis and suburban sprawl which threatened their community near Woodburn, Oregon.

Parks, Recreational and Public Facilities

The Erskine Fish, a concrete statue of a Northern Pike that is the town's principal tourist attraction, is located on a grassy lawn in a small park on the shore of Cameron Lake just down the street from downtown Erskine. The Rydell National Wildlife Refuge is located along County Road 238 approximately 3 miles west of Erskine and 2-1/2 miles south of U.S. Highway 2. The Win-E-Mac Golf Course is locate just east of town at the intersection of Highway 2 and U.S. Highway 59. The best local resort and fishing areas are Maple Lake, a lake near Mentor, Minnesota, and Maple Bay, Minnesota, as well as Union Lake and Lake Sarah, located a few miles west. Like many other lakes in other towns, Erskine's sewage was dumped into Cameron Lake until the Clean Water Act of 1970 forced the town to redirect its sewage to the new sewer plant near Badger Lake. Former residents and old-timers will recall that the shores of Cameron Lake were littered with dead fish in the old days, and cringe at the memory of water skiing on the lake during the Water Carnival. Today, the lake is much cleaner, and with the rising costs of lakeshore property in the area, there is an increase in development on the lakeshore.

Schools

Erskine is served by a consolidated multi-community K-12 school district known as Win-E-Mac (which represents McIntosh, Minnesota and Winger, Minnesota in addition to Erskine. The Old Believers operate their own educational facilities for children of their faith in the former K-12 Erskine public school buildings which were decommissioned as public school buildings when Win-E-Mac opened its new facilities north of Erskine along Highway 59. A vocational and technical college is located in Thief River Falls. The nearest four-year colleges in the vicinity include a branch campus of the University of Minnesota in Crookston and Bemidji State University in Bemidji, in addition to the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and North Dakota State University in Fargo.

Media

Telephone and Internet Service

The oldest telephone cooperative in the state, Garden Valley Telephone Company, is headquartered in Erskine and serves most of northwestern Minnesota. It was formed to provide telephone coverage to the region at a time when it was difficult to get telephone service to the area. Garden Valley Telephone Company now also provides internet services, although other ISPs also serve the area. The Erskine telephone prefix is 687, formerly MUrray 7. The area code is 218.

Newspapers

Erskine is home to the Erskine Echo, a weekly newspaper which began publishing before 1900. Other available weekly newspapers include the McIntosh Times and The 13 Towns, (published in Fosston for the 13 townships of eastern Polk County. Area daily newspapers include the Crookston Times (Crookston), Grand Forks Herald (Grand Forks, North Dakota), The Forum (Fargo, North Dakota), The Bemidji Pioneer (Bemidji), and the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) available via subscription or in vendor boxes.

Radio and Television

Erskine has no radio or television stations, but nearby Fosston is home to three radio stations. Other radio and television stations from Bemidji, Minn., Crookston, Minn., Fargo, N.D., Grand Forks, N.D., and Thief River Falls, Minn., as well as Winnipeg, Manitoba, can also be received.

Transportation

Roads and Highways

Erskine is located just west of the intersection of U.S. Highway 59 and four-lane U.S. Highway 2, and is situated approximately 60 miles east of Interstate 29 at Grand Forks, N.D., and 105 miles north of Interstate 94 at Fergus Falls, Minn.

Air Transport

The nearest airports with commercial service are Bemidji (55 miles east), Thief River Falls (35 miles north) and Grand Forks (60 miles west). An uninstrumented grass airfield known as the Erskine Airport was in operation from 1954 until the early 1970s, but no longer exists. Nearby Fosston (12 miles east) and Crookston (20 miles west) both have private aviation airfields.

Rail Transport

Located at the historic junction of the Great Northern Railroad and the Soo Line Railroad, Erskine formerly appeared prominently on many national railroad maps and atlases which omitted much larger cities and towns in the vicinity. The trackage of both lines in and near Erskine now is owned by the Minnesota Northern Railroad, which provides connections to BNSF Railroad ( formerly the Burlington Northern Railroad ) and continues to provide freight services to sidings in and near Erskine. Erskine's freight depot, while still standing, is closed for business, and rail passenger service also was discontinued many years ago.

Bus Services

Greyhound Bus Lines no longer serves Erskine, but Jefferson Lines has taken over the Fargo-Minneapolis route previously served by Greyhound. The Tri-Valley Heartland Express Bus provides scheduled weekly or bi-weekly service to Crookston, Bemidji, Thief River Falls and other destinations for seniors and others on an advance reservation basis.

Business and Manufacturing

Prior to 1980, Erskine's primary function was as a service community for the local agricultural community, and the town businesses included a grain elevator, a creamery, a fuel delivery service, and several farm implement dealers and repair shops. As family farming in the area declined, the agricultural services component has diminished as larger growers took their supply and services business to larger communities. Erskine continues as the home of Erskine Attachments, a manufacturer of snow blowers and grain drill hitches formerly known as Erskine Manufacturing Company. Other significant employers include Garden Valley Telephone Company and the Pioneer Home, a nursing home and retirement community.

External links

• Rydell National Wildlife Refuge Official Site
• Click here and Page Down to "Elena's Place" for an Interview with an Erskine Old Believer
• A 1999 Article Explaining How and Why the Old Believers moved to Erskine
• For a photograph and description of the "World's Largest Fish"
• For another photograph of the "Erskine Pike"
• For information concerning Tri-Valley Corporation Heartland Express Bus
• Garden Valley Telephone Company website
• For a recent photograph of the Erskine Great Northern Railway Depot, see
• Erskine Attachments Company website
• Win-E-Mac School District website

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