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James W. Loewen (1942-2021)

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.

Granite Falls

Minnesota

Basic Information

Type of Place
Independent City or Town
Metro Area
Politics c. 1860?
Don’t Know
Unions, Organized Labor?
Don’t Know

Sundown Town Status

Sundown Town in the Past?
Probable
Was there an ordinance?
Don't Know
Sign?
Don’t Know
Year of Greatest Interest
Still Sundown?
Probably

Census Information

The available census data from 1860 to the present
Total White Black Asian Native Hispanic Other BHshld
1860
1870
1880
1890
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990 3,083 3,018 1 33 0
2000 3,070 2,835 2 175 0
2010
2020

Method of Exclusion

  • Unknown

Main Ethnic Group(s)

  • Unknown

Group(s) Excluded

  • Black
  • Native American

Comments

According to a former resident: “While there were no blacks in western Minnesota, and probably few today, the rampant separtism enforced on the Native Americans was blatant and was apparently both de facto and de jure. In the 1950s that I witnessed (and probably long before and long after), no business, such as barber shops, that allowed Indians’ patronage had white customers. The separatism was evident in that any business that allowed Indians to patronize the facility was then shunned by whites. One example was when a new barber bought the tiny house next to my grandparents’ place, and he, desperate for new business, cut the Indians’ hair, so he had no white customers after that. The local customs were never posted but any sightings of Indians in the town were rare and during daylight only.”