Vergas, Minnesota

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Vergas, Minnesota
settlement_type = City
nickname =
motto =

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mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location of Vergas, Minnesota


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = Minnesota
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Otter Tail

government_footnotes =
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leader_title =
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unit_pref = Imperial
area_footnotes =

area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 3.9
area_land_km2 = 3.8
area_water_km2 = 0.1
area_total_sq_mi = 1.5
area_land_sq_mi = 1.5
area_water_sq_mi = 0.0

population_as_of = 2000
population_footnotes =
population_total = 311
population_density_km2 = 82.6
population_density_sq_mi = 213.9

timezone = Central (CST)
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 431
elevation_ft = 1414
latd = 46 |latm = 39 |lats = 21 |latNS = N
longd = 95 |longm = 48 |longs = 22 |longEW = W

postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 56587
area_code = 218
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 27-66766GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0653630GR|3
website =
footnotes =

Vergas is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 311 at the 2000 census. The name comes from a railroad station.

Vergas claims it is Home of the World's Largest Loon, actually a twenty foot high sculpture of a loon, the state bird.

History

The community was platted in 1903 as "Altona." It was rather quickly changed to the Station name of the Soo Line.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²), of which, 1.5 square miles (3.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (2.01%) is water.

Vergas is located at the junction of State Highways 4 and 17 at the west end of Long Lake. Loon Lake is southwest of the community.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 311 people, 143 households, and 78 families residing in the city. The population density was 213.9 people per square mile (82.8/km²). There were 165 housing units at an average density of 113.5/sq mi (43.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 97.75% White, 0.32% African American, 0.32% Native American, and 1.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.

There were 143 households out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.8% were non-families. 38.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 25.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 107.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $27,344, and the median income for a family was $37,250. Males had a median income of $23,214 versus $17,222 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,461. About 4.7% of families and 7.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 19.7% of those age 65 or over.

The Loon

The loon statue overlooks Long Lake.

References

External links

* [http://www.vergasmn.com Vergas web page]
* [http://www.govergas.com/History.html Brief Vergas history]