America's Northern Heartland

Home Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Notes Book Index

AMERICA'S NORTHERN HEARTLAND
an economic and historical geography of the upper midwest

John R. Borchert

University of Minnesota Press
Minneapolis

The University of Minnesota Press
gratefully acknowledges publication assistance from the
Center for Urban and Regional Affairs of the University of Minnesota.
Copyright @1987 by the University of Minnesota.

Published by the University of Minnesota Press.
2037 University Avenue Southeast, Minneapolis, MN 55414.
Published simultaneously in Canada by Fitzhenry & Whiteside Limited, Markham.
Designed by Gwen M. Willems.
 Library of Congress CataIoging-in-Publication Data
Borchert, John R.
America's northern heartland.
ISBN 0-8166-1498-9

CONTENTS

Preface

 

vii

CHAPTER 1

One-Tenth of America's Land

3

CHAPTER 2

Dissolving the Wilderness

31

CHAPTER 3

Mature Settlement System 

51

CHAPTER 4

Turbulence and Continuity 

79

CHAPTER 5

Concentration of Nonfarm Growth

111

CHAPTER 6

Reorganizing the Cities 

139

CHAPTER 7 

Reorganizing the Region's Work

165

CHAPTER 8 

Income, Wealth, and Quality of Life 

227

Notes 

 

237 

Index

 

247

 

FIGURES

1

America's Northern Heartland 

4-5

2

Church Membership as a Percentage of Total U.S. Population, 1971

6

3

Seasonal Temperature Extremes

8

4

Frequency of Phone Calls to the Twin Cities

9

5

Professional Sports Radio Stations and Listening Area, 1983

10

6

Busiest U.S. Airports and High-Order Urban Areas, 1983  

11

7

College Students' Image of Livability   

12

8

National Image of Where Not To Retire, 1984

14

9

Upper Midwest Natural Environments 

15

10

The Upper Midwest's Position in the Flow of Air across North America      

25

11

 Flow of Water in the Upper Midwest   

26

12

Upper Midwest Mineral Resources 

29

13

The 1870 Map 

32

14

National Transportation System, 1869

40

15

The 1890 Map 

42

16

Changes in Farm and Nonfarm Populations, 1880-1980  

46

17

The 1920 Map       

52

18

National Origins of Foreign Born, 1910 Census

56-57

19

Density of Urban and Rural Development, 1920

58

20

 Flow of Railway Mail, 1924

64-65

21

Twin Cities Dominance of the Railway Mail Flow, 1924 

67

22

The Embryo Highway System, ca. 1925   

74

23

National Rail System, 1920

77

24a

Transformation of State Highway Networks in the Auto Era  

80

24b (continued) 81
24c (continued) 82
24d (continued) 83

25

Pipe Lines in the Upper Midwest, late 1970s

85

26a

Locations of the Twin Cities in the Busiest U.S. Air Corridors, 1983    

86-87

26b (continued)

27

Electric Power Transmission Lines, 1970s

89

28

Phone Traffic: Twin Cities Focus, 1975

90

29

Parcel Post: Twin Cities Focus, 1965

91

30

Regional Air Service to the Twin Cities Hub, 1983

92

31

Asian-Born Population, 1980

94

32

American Indian Population, 1980  

95

33

Black and Hispanic Populations, 1980 

96

34

The Demographic Stream, 1950-1980  

98

35

Changing Migration to and from Upper Midwest States, 1950s-1970s  

99

36a

Farm Enlargement, 1920-1978

100-101

36b (continued)

37a

Increase in Value of Farm Products Sold per Farm 1920-1978

104-105

37b (continued)

38

Part-Time Farming, 1978

106

39a

Growth in Farm Product Sales per Square Mile 1920-1978

108-109

39b (continued)

40

The Migration Field of the Twin Cities in the U.S. Setting, 1960 

110

41

Population Distribution, 1980

112

42

Concentration of Non-Farm Population 1940-1980 

113

43

Vacation Homes in the Upper Midwest 1980

116

44

 Changes in Farm and Nonfarm Population 1940-1980

136

45

 Land Use Change during the Auto Era: Fairmont Minnesota

141

46

Land Use Change during the Auto Era: Fargo-Moorhead

142

47

Land Use Change during the Auto Era: Sioux Falls

143

48

Land Use Change during the Auto Era: Bismarck-Mandan

144

49

Land Use Change during the Auto Era Billings

145

50

Land Use Change during the Auto Era: The Cop­per Range   

147

51

Land Use Change during the Auto Era: Duluth-Superior

150

52

Land Use in the Twin Cities, 1920

153

53

Land Use in the Twin Cities, 1980

154

54

Growth in U.S. Population and Number of Business Firms 1875-1980

167

55

Absorption of U.S. Labor Force Growth 1960-1980

168

56a

Change in Employment, 1929-1980

170-173

56b (continued)
56c (continued)
56d (continued)

57a

Employment in Transportation-Communications Public Utilities 1929-1980

176-177

57b (continued)

58

Minnesota Taconite Production, 1965 and 1980

180

59

Mesabi-Vermillion Ranges: Populations and Ore Shipments 

183

60

Manufacturing Employment, 1929-1980

186-187

60b (continued)

61

Change in Manufacturing Employment 1929-1980

188

62

Average Hourly Wages of Manufacturing Production Workers 1977

190

63

Change in Construction Employment 1929-1980

194-195

63b (continued)

64

Worldwide Locations of Major Upper Midwest Manufacturers 1984

196

65

Employment and Sales in Wholesaling 1929-1977

200-201

65b (continued)

66

Growth in Retail Sales, 1929-1977 

202

67

 National Expansion of the Upper Midwest's Largest Retailer 1950s-1984

204

68

Expansion of the Largest Upper Midwest Grocery Wholesaler 1940s-1982

205

69

Growth in Service Employment, 1929-1980

207

70

The Upper Midwest's Leading Car Rental Organization 1983

208

71

The Realm of Three Major Bank Holding Companies Headquartered in the Twin Cities, 1984

209

72

Dun and Bradstreet Listed Firms, 1978 

210

73

Homes of the Nation's Largest Business Corporations in the Mid-1970s

211

74

Routes of the Upper Midwest's Largest Airline, 1984

212

75

Leading Medium-Size Growth Corporations, 1980-1983

213

76

Mergers and Acquisitions, 1982-1983  

215

77

 Origins of the Upper Midwest's Business Leaders, 1983

216

78

Armed Forces Employment in the Upper Midwest 1980

219

79

Local Tax Effort, 1977/79 

220

80

Projected Percentage Change in Population, 1980-2000

224

81

Median Family Income by County, 1979

228

82

Growth in Family Income, 1949-1979  

229

 

TABLES

1

Changes in Migration into and out of Minnesota and North Dakota, 1950s-1970s 

102

2

Changes in Migration into and out of Montana, 1950s-1970s

102

3

Nonfarm Population in the Upper Midwest,        

117

4

Breakdown of Upper Midwest Employment by Industry Group, 1929-1980

166

5

Wholesale, Retail, and Service Employment in Trade Centers by Size Classes, 1980

198

6

Percentage Change in Wholesale, Retail, and Service Employment and Population in Trade

199

7

Revenue Sources for State and Local Governments in Upper Midwest States, 1977 

221

8

Major Expenditures of State and Local Governments in Upper Midwest States, 1981

222

9

Projected population in the Upper Midwest, 1980-2000 

225

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