Editing Brooks, Minnesota

{{short description|City in Minnesota, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Brooks
|settlement_type          = [[City]]
|nickname                 = 
|motto                    = 
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|image_map                = Red_Lake_County_Minnesota_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Brooks_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Brooks, Minnesota
|image_map1               = 
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<!-- Location ------------->
|subdivision_type         = Country
|subdivision_name         = United States
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = [[Minnesota]]
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Minnesota|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = [[Red Lake County, Minnesota|Red Lake]]
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<!-- Area ----------------->
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_27.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=July 24, 2022}}</ref>
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|area_total_km2           = 2.98
|area_land_km2            = 2.98
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|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.15
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.15
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
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|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
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|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 117
|population_density_km2   = 39.20
|population_density_sq_mi = 101.56
<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
|utc_offset               = -6
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|utc_offset_DST           = -5
|elevation_footnotes      = 
|elevation_m              = 344
|elevation_ft             = 1129
|coordinates              = {{coord|47|49|2|N|96|0|21|W|region:US-MN|display=inline}}
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP code]]
|postal_code              = 56715
|area_code                = [[Area code 218|218]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 27-08038<ref name="GR2">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=January 31, 2008 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0640513<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|accessdate=January 31, 2008|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=October 25, 2007}}</ref>
|website                  = {{URL|http://www.brooksmn.com/|brooksmn.com}}
|footnotes                = 
}}

'''Brooks''' is a city in [[Red Lake County, Minnesota|Red Lake County]], [[Minnesota]], United States. The population was 117 at the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="2020 Census (City)">{{cite web|title=2020 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=1600000US2708038 |work=American FactFinder |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=May 19, 2022}}</ref>

==Geography==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|1.17|sqmi|sqkm|2}}, all land.<ref name="Gazetteer files">{{cite web |title=US Gazetteer files 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |accessdate=November 13, 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120702145235/http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/files/Gaz_places_national.txt |archivedate=July 2, 2012 }}</ref>

U.S. Highway [[U.S. Route 59#Minnesota|59]] and Minnesota Highway [[Minnesota State Highway 92|92]] are two of the main routes in the community.

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1960= 148
|1970= 163
|1980= 173
|1990= 158
|2000= 141
|2010= 141
|2020= 117
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref><br>2020 Census<ref name="2020 Census (City)"/>
}}

===2010 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name ="wwwcensusgov">{{cite web|title=U.S. Census website|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=November 13, 2012}}</ref> of 2010, there were 141 people, 60 households, and 36 families residing in the city. The [[population density]] was {{convert|120.5|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|1}}. There were 66 housing units at an average density of {{convert|56.4|/sqmi|/km2|1}}. The racial makeup of the city was 96.5% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 0.7% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 1.4% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], and 1.4% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.7% of the population.

There were 60 households, of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 5.0% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 40.0% were non-families. 28.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.89.

The median age in the city was 37.5 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 5% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.9% were from 25 to 44; 26.3% were from 45 to 64; and 18.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female.

===2000 census===
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2"/> of 2000, there were 141 people, 61 households, and 37 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|121.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 64 housing units at an average density of {{convert|55.0|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 100.00% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]].

There were 61 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.8% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 4.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 23.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 3.00.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 11.3% from 18 to 24, 19.1% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 110.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,417, and the median income for a family was $33,750. Males had a median income of $22,500 versus $16,250 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $13,947. There were none of the families and 2.8% of the population living below the [[poverty line]], including no under eighteens and 11.8% of those over 64.

==History==
Brooks was established in 1904 as a station on the [[Soo Line Railroad]].  By 1926, Brooks had two general stores, a grocery store, a bank, hardware store, butcher shop, blacksmith shop, a livery barn, two saloons, a community hall and a hotel to accommodate travelers.  Brooks was primarily a service town for the surrounding agricultural townships, and a [[creamery]] was established as the local [[dairying]] business developed on neighboring farms.  After the invention of the [[cream separator]], [[family farms]] in adjoining townships of [[Polk County, Minnesota|Polk]] and Red Lake counties switched from [[subsistence agriculture]] to a [[market economy]] and became a part of the [[dairy industry]].

===Brooks Cheese Company===
{{unreferenced section|date=January 2021}}

In 1926, the Brooks creamery was purchased by the owners of the cheese factory in nearby [[Terrebonne, Minnesota|Terrebonne]], who moved their operation to Brooks. The business was widely known as the Brooks Cheese Company. It was a cheese factory owned by the Parenteau family, which sold its product to the [[Kraft Foods|Kraft Foods company]], and marketed its products throughout the [[United States Midwest|Midwest]]. Local farmers would process the milk from their own cows by removing the [[butterfat]] or cream, which was hauled in cream cans to the cheese factory, while the [[skim milk]] or [[whey]] was fed to [[Domestic pig|hogs]] raised on the same farm. The Brooks Cheese Company continued in business until the late 1970s, at which point the decline of the family farm and the predominance of [[monoculture]] and [[industrial agriculture]] eliminated the mixed agriculture that formerly had predominated in the area of Brooks.

Although the local history of [[Red Lake County, Minnesota|Red Lake County]] blames the [[National Farmers Organization]] for organizing farmers to cooperative actions in withholding milk shipments, the reality is that Brooks Cheese Company could not compete with the major industrial cheese manufacturers and the development of [[agribusiness]] which portended the demise of the family farm. By the beginning of the 21st century, few dairy cows could be found within twenty miles of Brooks, whereas at one time virtually every quarter section could be counted on for the cream produced by 10 or 15 cows. Nonetheless, Brooks continues to be the site of an [[Agricultural supply store|agricultural supply]] business, a gas station, and several other local businesses, as well as one church.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Red Lake County Historical Society, Inc., ''A History of Red Lake County: Red Lake County, Minnesota'' (Taylor Publishing Co., Dallas, Texas, 1976), at pp.&nbsp;98–103.
* [http://www.co.red-lake.mn.us/ Official Red Lake County website]
{{Red Lake County, Minnesota}}

{{Coord|47|48|52|N|96|00|08|W|type:city_region:US-MN|display=title}}

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[[Category:Cities in Minnesota]]
[[Category:Cities in Red Lake County, Minnesota]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1904]]