Sauk Centre is a city in Stearns County,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, United States. The population was 4,555 at the 2020 census. Sauk Centre is part of the St. Cloud

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally incorporated as a city or tow ...

. Sauk Centre is the birthplace of

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

, a novelist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. It inspired his fictional Gopher Prairie, the setting of Lewis's 1920 novel '' Main Street''.

History

The town was originally named by a lottery. The eight original town shareholders submitted suggestions for a name, and Sauk Centre was selected. The name was submitted by Alexander Moore, who originally bought and platted the town. Sauk refers to the many place names associated with the Sauk tribe (Sauk River, Sauk Rapids, Little Sauk, Osakis, etc). Centre (the British spelling of "center") refers to the town's central location between Sauk Rapids and Lake Osakis. When the Sauk Centre post office was established it used the spelling "Sauk Center", until 1936 when the city won its fight to spell the name as Moore suggested. Local lore has it that five refugees from the Sauk tribe had been killed by settlers in an ambush on the shores of Lake Osakis away. Sauk Centre contains the Sinclair Lewis Boyhood Home, a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. Two other properties and a historic district are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

The Palmer House The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Palmer House was the city's first hotel with elevators ...

built in 1901 and expanded in 1916, the Minnesota Home School for Girls built 1911–1935, and the

Original Main Street Historic District The Original Main Street Historic District stretches for ten blocks along Main Street in downtown Sauk Centre, Minnesota, United States. It is considered the inspiration for the 1920 novel '' Main Street'' by locally born author Sinclair Lewis ...

built 1920–1947.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of ; is land and is water. Sauk Centre is located along Interstate 94/ U.S. Highway 52, U.S. Highway 71, and

Minnesota State Highway 28 Minnesota State Highway 28 (MN 28) is a state highway in west-central and central Minnesota, which travels from South Dakota Highway 10 at the South Dakota state line near Browns Valley and continues east to its intersection with ...

. It is approximately northwest of the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

metropolitan area. The city is considered to be in the middle of the state. Sauk Lake and Sauk River are the most notable water features of the area. Fairy Lake and Lily Lake are located just outside of the city limits.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2010, there were 4,317 people, 1,851 households, and 1,174 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . There were 1,994 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.8%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.3%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 2.2% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.9% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.4% of the population. There were 1,851 households, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.6% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.86. The median age in the city was 41.4 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.2% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 22.8% were from 25 to 44; 24.3% were from 45 to 64; and 21.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.4% male and 52.6% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 3,930 people, 1,616 households, and 1,042 families living in the city. The

was 1,057.2 people per square mile (407.9/km). There were 1,709 housing units at an average density of 459.7 per square mile (177.4/km). The racial makeup of the city was 98.68%

, 0.31%

, 0.13% Native American, 0.25%

, 0.25% from

, and 0.38% from two or more races.

of any kind were 0.53% of the population. There were 1,616 households, out of which 30.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 31.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.1% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $37,644, and the median income for a family was $47,623. Males had a median income of $33,382 versus $20,399 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $18,390. About 2.3% of families and 5.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 8.0% of those age 65 or over.

Churches

* Harvest Community Church * Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church * Saint Paul's Catholic Church (home of the first U.S. shrine dedicated to the

Divine Mercy The Divine Mercy is a form of God's compassion, an act of grace based on trust or forgiveness. In Catholicism, it refers specifically to a devotion which had its origin in the apparitions of Jesus Christ reported by Faustina Kowalska. Etymol ...

of Jesus, dedicated 1982) * First Lutheran Church (ELCA) * Zion Lutheran Church (LCMS) * Faith Baptist Church * United Church of Christ Methodist Church * River of Life Assembly of God Church * Good Samaritan Episcopal Church * Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses * Sauk Centre United Methodist Church * Tierra Prometida A/D

Notable people

* Joshua Harrison Bruce - farmer and Minnesota legislator * Benjamin F. DuBois — banker and Minnesota legislator * Ody J. Fish — Chairman of the

Republican Party of Wisconsin The Republican Party of Wisconsin is a right-wing political party in Wisconsin and is the Wisconsin affiliate of the United States Republican Party (GOP). The state party chair is Paul Farrow. The state party is divided into 72 county parties f ...

Rachael Ellering Rachael Ellering (born December 28, 1992) is an American professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in box ...

— professional wrestler *

— American novelist and playwright, 1930 Nobel Prize winner in Literature * Joseph T. Niehaus, Sr. - farmer, businessman, beekeeper, and Minnesota legislator * Sylvester Uphus — farmer and Minnesota legislator * Harry C. Van Norman - businessman and Illinois legislator *

Cory Undlin Cory Undlin (born June 29, 1971) is an American football coach who is the defensive passing game coordinator for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the defensive coordinator for the Detroit Lions ...

- NFL Coach Main Street Sauk Centre sign

Education

There are two schools in the town: Holy Family and Sauk Centre Public School. Holy Family is a Catholic private school; it enrolls students from kindergarten to 6th grade. Sauk Centre Public School has two departments: elementary (kindergarten to 6th grade) and secondary school (7th to 12th grade). The mascot of Sauk Centre Public Schools is the Mainstreeters, in honor of Lewis' novel.

Other

A violent local incident in 1996, where the elderly Paul Crawford shot and killed four members of the neighboring Schloegl family over a property dispute, was featured in the episode "Lake of Madness" on the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Amer ...

series ''

Fear Thy Neighbor ''Fear Thy Neighbor'' is an American-Canadian true crime documentary television series which premiered on April 14, 2014 on the Investigation Discovery channel. The narrator for the series is voice actress Tish Iceton. The series is an intern ...

''. The episode aired on April 20, 2015.

References

External links

City of Sauk Centre official website

Tri-CAP (Transit/bus)

at Open-Public-Records.com {{authority control Cities in Stearns County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota St. Cloud, Minnesota metropolitan area