Erskine, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Erskine, Minnesota
City
Downtown Erskine in 2007
Location of Erskine, Minnesota
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	Polk
Founded	1889
Incorporated	March 8, 1897
Area
• Total	0.968 sq mi (2.507 km2)
• Land	0.645 sq mi (1.671 km2)
• Water	0.323 sq mi (0.836 km2)
Elevation	1,184 ft (361 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	403
• Estimate  (2022)	393
• Density	624.81/sq mi (241.20/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP Code	56535
Area code(s)	218
FIPS code	27-19700
GNIS feature ID	2394699
Sales tax	7.375%

Erskine is a small city located in Polk County, Minnesota. It is part of the Greater Grand Forks area. In 2020, about 403 people lived there.

History of Erskine

Erskine was first planned out in 1889. It was named after George Quincy Erskine, who was a banker in Minnesota. The city has had a post office since it was founded in 1889.

Geography and Land

The city of Erskine covers an area of about 0.968 square miles (2.51 km²). Most of this area, about 0.645 square miles (1.67 km²), is land. The rest, about 0.323 square miles (0.84 km²), is water.

People of Erskine

The number of people living in Erskine has changed over the years. In the 1920s, the population was over 800. It stayed above 600 until the late 1960s. After that, the population went down to around 400-500 people.

Erskine's Population in 2010

In 2010, there were 503 people living in Erskine. These people lived in 234 different homes, and 131 of these were families. The city had about 740 people per square mile.

Most of the people in Erskine were White (94.8%). A small number were Native American (2.2%), African American (0.4%), or Asian (0.2%). About 2.4% of the people were from two or more races. About 2% of the population was Hispanic or Latino.

In Erskine, 27.4% of homes had children under 18. About 37.6% of homes were married couples. The average home had 2.15 people, and the average family had 2.88 people.

The average age in the city was 38 years old. About 25.4% of residents were under 18. About 23.9% were 65 years or older. The city had almost an equal number of males (49.9%) and females (50.1%).

Culture and Fun

Downtown Erskine, around 1910

Erskine has a special town festival called the Erskine Water Carnival. It happens every year in early June.

One of the most famous things in Erskine is a giant concrete statue of a fish. It's called the Erskine Fish and is known as the world's largest northern pike. You can find it in a small park by Cameron Lake, close to downtown Erskine. It's a popular spot for visitors!

Erskine is also home to a community of Russian Old Believers. These families started moving to Erskine around 1998. They came here to find a new home away from farming problems and growing cities in Oregon.

The world's largest northern pike statue

Parks, Recreation, and Public Places

• The Rydell National Wildlife Refuge is a great place to visit. It's about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Erskine.
• You can play golf at the Oak Lake Golf Course, which is just east of town.
• There are several beautiful lakes nearby for fishing and relaxing. These include Maple Lake, Maple Bay, Union Lake, and Lake Sarah.
• Cameron Lake, right by Erskine, is much cleaner now. Years ago, the town's sewage went into the lake. But after the Clean Water Act in 1970, the sewage was sent to a new treatment plant. This helped make the lake much healthier.

Schools and Learning

Erskine is part of the "Win-E-Mac" school district. This district serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade. It includes students from McIntosh and Winger, as well as Erskine.

For higher education, there's a technical college in Thief River Falls. You can also find four-year colleges nearby, like a branch of the University of Minnesota in Crookston and Bemidji State University in Bemidji. Larger universities like the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks and North Dakota State University in Fargo are also within reach.

Media and Communication

Telephone and Internet Service

Erskine is home to the Garden Valley Telephone Company. This company is the oldest telephone cooperative in Minnesota. It was started to bring phone service to this part of the state when it was hard to get. Today, Garden Valley Telephone Company also provides internet service. The phone number prefix for Erskine is 687, and the area code is 218.

Newspapers

Erskine has its own weekly newspaper called the Erskine Echo, which has been published since before 1900. Other local weekly papers include the McIntosh Times and The 13 Towns. Larger daily newspapers like the Crookston Times, Grand Forks Herald, and The Forum are also available.

Radio and Television

Erskine does not have its own radio or TV stations. However, you can pick up radio and TV signals from nearby cities. These include Fosston, Bemidji, Crookston, Thief River Falls, Grand Forks, Fargo, and even Winnipeg in Canada.

Transportation

Roads and Highways

Erskine is located near important roads. It's just west of where U.S. Highway 59 and U.S. Highway 2 meet. It's also about 60 miles (97 km) east of Interstate 29 in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Air Travel

If you need to fly, the closest airports with passenger flights are in Bemidji (55 miles (89 km) east), Thief River Falls (35 miles (56 km) north), and Grand Forks (60 miles (97 km) west). Erskine used to have a small grass airfield, but it closed in the 1970s.

Train Travel

Erskine was once an important spot for trains, where the Great Northern Railway and the Soo Line Railroad tracks met. These tracks are still used today by different companies. However, the old train station in Erskine is closed, and passenger train service stopped many years ago.

Bus Services

While Greyhound Bus Lines no longer serves Erskine, Jefferson Lines now offers bus service on the Fargo-Minneapolis route. There's also a local bus service called the Tri-Valley Heartland Express Bus. It provides scheduled trips to places like Crookston and Bemidji for seniors and others who book in advance.

Businesses and Jobs

Past Businesses

For a long time, Erskine was a service center for local farms. In the early 1900s, it had many businesses that helped farmers. These included places to store grain, an ice plant, a lumber mill, and blacksmith shops. Even in 1980, the town had a creamery, a lumber yard, and shops that sold farm equipment. As family farms became less common, many of these businesses closed.

Erskine Attachments

Erskine was once home to a company called Erskine Attachments. It started in 1948 as Erskine Manufacturing Company. They first made snowblowers and grain elevators for heavy machinery. Later, they changed their name and started making special tools called Skid Steer Attachments. These tools fit onto machines like the Bobcat.

Today, Erskine Attachments makes over 40 different tools. These include brush mowers, snowblowers, buckets, and stump grinders. These tools fit many types of skid steers and front-end loaders. The company was even used as an example of a successful business in a program to help manufacturing in Minnesota. Erskine Attachments is now located just outside of Fosston.

Other Important Businesses

Other big employers in Erskine include the Garden Valley Telephone Company and the Pioneer Memorial Care Center. The care center is a nursing home and retirement community. In 2008, a company planned to build a large ethanol plant near Erskine, but those plans were put on hold.

Famous People from Erskine

• Hector A. Hanson - He was a state legislator in Minnesota.
• Roger Moe - He also served as a state legislator in Minnesota.
• Jan Narveson - He is a well-known professor of philosophy.

See also

In Spanish: Erskine (Minnesota) para niños