Watson is a city in Chippewa 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 205 at the 2010 census. Lac qui Parle State Park is nearby.

History

Watson was

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ted in 1879 when the railroad was extended to that point. The city took its name from the Watson Farmers Elevator, a local

grain elevator A grain elevator or grain terminal is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lowe ...

. A post office has been in operation in Watson since 1879. In 2024, a Watson man named Joseph M. Rongstad was arrested for threatening to kill

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

students. Rongstad, who had previously served as mayor of Watson, said he only made the threats because he wanted to talk to the

Secret Service A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For i ...

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 city has a total area of , all land.

U.S. Route 59 U.S. Route 59 (US 59) is a north–south U.S. highway (though it was signed east–west in parts of Texas). A latecomer to the U.S. Highway System, US 59 is now a border-to-border route, part of the NAFTA Corridor Highway System. It par ...

and

Minnesota State Highway 7 Minnesota State Highway 7, or Trunk Highway 7, (MN 7, TH 7) is a state highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 28 near Beardsley and continues east to its terminus with MN 100 and County Road& ...

( co-signed) serves as a main route in the community. Watson is known as "The Goose Capitol of the USA" due to the large number of Canada geese which migrate through and inhabit nearby

Lac Qui Parle Lac qui Parle is a lake located in western Minnesota, United States, which was widened by the damming of the Minnesota River. The dam was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939. It was reconstructed in 1996. "Lac qui Parle" is a ...

every fall.

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 205 people, 90 households, and 50 families residing in the city. 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 . There were 102 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 98.5%

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 ...

, 1.0% from other races, and 0.5% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.5% of the population. There were 90 households, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.3% 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, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.7% had a male householder with no wife present, and 44.4% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% 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 3.08. The median age in the city was 41.2 years. 28.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 21.5% were from 25 to 44; 30.8% were from 45 to 64; and 12.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 56.1% male and 43.9% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 209 people, 86 households, and 52 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 98 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.69%

, 0.96% Asian, 3.35% from other races.

or Latino of any race were 3.35% of the population. There were 86 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were

living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.5% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.00. In the city, the population was spread out, with 28.7% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 113.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 109.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $34,688, and the median income for a family was $45,000. Males had a median income of $25,781 versus $21,250 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 city was $14,617. About 7.1% of families and 13.0% 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 8.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 32.0% of those 65 or over.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Chippewa County, Minnesota Cities in Minnesota