St. Olaf Township is a

township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

in Otter Tail County,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. The population was 395 at the time of the 2020 census. St. Olaf Township was originally called Oxford Township, and under the latter name was organized in 1869. The current name, adopted in 1870, was named after

Olaf II of Norway Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was List of Norwegian monarchs, King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he w ...

2020 tornado

On July 8, 2020, St. Olaf Township was struck by a tornado causing significant damage to the area.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the township has a total area of 36.1 square miles (93.4 km), of which 32.3 square miles (83.6 km) is land and 3.8 square miles (9.7 km) (10.43%) is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 332 people, 124 households, and 102 families residing in the township. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was 10.3 people per square mile (4.0/km). There were 175 housing units at an average density of 5.4/sq mi (2.1/km). The racial makeup of the township was 96.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.51% Native American, 0.30% Asian, and 1.51% from two or more races. There were 124 households, out of which 37.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 77.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 17.7% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.03. In the township the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 7.2% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 29.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males. The median income for a household in the township was $40,865, and the median income for a family was $45,625. Males had a median income of $22,857 versus $27,188 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the township was $17,878. About 5.2% of families and 6.8% 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 ...

, including 9.5% of those under age 18 and 11.1% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

St. Olaf is the often-referred hometown of the character

Rose Nylund Rose Nylund is a fictional character from the sitcom television series ''The Golden Girls'' and its spin-off, '' The Golden Palace''. She was portrayed by Betty White for 8 years, totaling 204 episodes. The role was originally to be played by ...

played by actress

Betty White Betty Marion Ludden ( White; January 17, 1922December 31, 2021), known professionally as Betty White, was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of early television with a career spanning almost seven decades, she was noted for her vas ...

in the television

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Golden Girls ''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...

'' that ran on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from 1985 to 1992. Although based on the actual St. Olaf, the show depicted a fictionalized version of the town with outlandish or inaccurate features, usually with fictionalized Scandinavian cultural and traditional traits.

References

{{authority control Townships in Otter Tail County, Minnesota Townships in Minnesota