Fort Snelling (unorganized territory), Minnesota

View of the Round Tower. The flag is at half-staff because former American President Ronald Reagan had died just prior to the day the photograph was taken.

The unorganized territory of Fort Snelling is a division of Hennepin County lying just east of the city of Richfield. Historic Fort Snelling is located at the eastern end of the territory, near the confluence of the Mississippi River with the Minnesota River. Within Hennepin County it also borders Minneapolis to the north and Bloomington to the southwest, while across the Mississippi River is Saint Paul in Ramsey County, and across the Minnesota River are Mendota and Mendota Heights in Dakota County. For postal purposes, the eastern portion addresses in the unorganized territory (including Terminal 1 of the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport and the Fort Snelling historic site) are in zip code 55111 with a Saint Paul mailing address, while addresses in the western part of the territory (including the airport's Terminal 2 and the Metropolitan Airports Commission offices) are in zip code 55450 and have a Minneapolis mailing address.[1] According to the United States Census Bureau, this unorganized territory has a total area of 17.2 km² (6.7 mi²). 16.5 km² (6.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.8 km² (0.3 mi²) of it is water.

Fort Snelling's territory contains numerous military and other federal facilities. These facilities include the current National Guard base at Fort Snelling, Fort Snelling National Cemetery, and the Minneapolis Veterans Health Administration Medical Center. Several facilities belonging to Minnesota state government agencies such as the Minnesota Department of Transportation are also located in the territory, as are the headquarters and portions of Fort Snelling State Park and the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, however, includes most of the land area of the unorganized territory.

Fort Snelling was listed as an incorporated village during the 1890 Census.[2]

Most people resident in the unorganized territory are service members stationed at the barracks at Fort Snelling. The number of troops stationed there has declined over the years; between the 2000 and 2010 censuses the population dropped from 442 to 149. Since then, however, a small amount of private housing in the old fort's Upper Post area has been developed or planned, so the population will likely increase again.

As of the census[3] of 2000, 442 people resided in the unorganized territory. The population density was 26.8/km² (69.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the unorganized territory was 94.57% White, 3.62% Black or African American, 1.36% Native American, 0.00% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, and 0.23% of other races. 0.45% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. The population is spread out in age with 4.5% from 25 to 44, 33.0% from 45 to 64, and 62.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 69 years. Males had a median income of $43,558 versus $0 for females. The per capita income was $24,328. None of the population was below the poverty line.

Delta Air Lines Building C at Minneapolis−Saint Paul International Airport

Delta Air Lines Building C is located on the property of Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport and in Fort Snelling.[4][5][6][7] Delta uses it for northern and regional operations.[8]

In 2009, as Northwest Airlines and Delta Airlines merged, Delta removed all employees from Building A, the previous headquarters of Northwest in Eagan, and all employees who remained in Minneapolis were moved to Building C, which was renovated.[9] Facilities within the building include the Compass Airlines corporate headquarters, which moved there on December 16, 2009,[10] the Regional Elite Airline Services headquarters,[11] and Delta SkyBonus offices.[12]