Zemple, Minnesota

Zemple is a city in Itasca County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 93 at the 2010 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 0.80 square miles (2.07 km²), all of it land.

U.S. Highway 2 and Minnesota State Highway 6 are in close proximity to Zemple. The city of Deer River is adjacent to Zemple.

History

Zemple was officially organized in 1911, with the first village council meeting held in June.

Early Zemple was a place where the former Minneapolis and Rainy River Railway had a roundhouse with 12 engines. Zemple had a store, a school (which closed in 1928), and a church.

The town was named for R. T. Zempel, who owned most of the land and was elected the first village president. The Zempels had a farm on the south end of the village. Other early residents included Martindales, Mayos, Simons, Nordahls, Dahls, Spragues, Johtonens, Nellis, Robertson, Blum, Reed, Folsom, Newkirks, Wrights and Berghs.

Lumber was the main industry in Zemple. There was a big sawmill on White Oak Point (a part of the Mississippi River), where logs where floated down to the sawmill. There was a planing mill, a veneer mill and a box mill, all of which burned down in later years.