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Blaine, Minnesota

Blaine, Minnesota
City
January-2008 sunset in Blaine
January-2008 sunset in Blaine
Location of the city of Blainewithin Anoka County, Minnesota
Location of the city of Blaine
within Anoka County, Minnesota
Coordinates: 45°09′39″N 93°14′05″W / 45.16083°N 93.23472°W / 45.16083; -93.23472
Country United States
State Minnesota
Counties Anoka
Founded 1877
Government
 • Mayor Tom Ryan
Area
 • City 34.05 sq mi (88.19 km2)
 • Land 33.85 sq mi (87.67 km2)
 • Water 0.20 sq mi (0.52 km2)
 • Urban 0.6 sq mi (2 km2)
Elevation 902 ft (275 m)
Population (2010)
 • City 57,186
 • Estimate (2015) 62,124
 • Rank US: 584th MN: 14th
 • Density 1,689.4/sq mi (652.3/km2)
 • Metro 3,524,583 (US: 16th)
Time zone Central (CST) (UTC-6)
 • Summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 55014, 55434, 55449
Area code(s) 763
FIPS code 27-06382
GNIS feature ID 0640245
Website www.ci.blaine.mn.us

Blaine is a city in Anoka county in the State of Minnesota. The population was 57,186 at the 2010 census. The city is located mainly in Anoka County, and is part of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area.

Interstate Highway 35W, U.S. Highway 10, and Minnesota State Highway 65 are three of the main routes in the city.

Until 1877, Blaine was part of the city of Anoka, Minnesota. Phillip Laddy, a native of Ireland, is recognized as the first settler in Blaine and settled near a lake that now bears his name, Laddie Lake, in 1862. Laddy died shortly after his arrival and his survivors moved on to Minneapolis. Another early settler was the Englishman George Townsend, who lived for a short time near what would today be Lever St. and 103rd Ave.

It was not until 1865 that Blaine's first permanent resident, Greenberry Chambers, settled on the old Townsend claim. Chambers was a former slave who moved north from Barren County, Kentucky, following the Civil War. In 1870, George Wall, Joseph Gagner, and soon others settled in the area and it began to grow.

In 1877, Blaine separated from Anoka and organized as a township of its own. That year the first election was held and Moses Ripley was elected as the first Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. Ripley, who had come to Minnesota from Maine, persuaded his fellow board members to name the new Township in honor of James G. Blaine, a Republican senator, Speaker of the House and three-time presidential candidate from Maine. By 1880, Blaine’s population had reached 128.


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