Facts & Profile

The City of Braham is a progressive, growing community offering small town living within one hour of the Twin Cities. Braham is a Statutory Plan A City.  The council consists of a mayor and four council members. Regular meetings are held the first Tuesday of the month. The Mayor serves a two-year term, and each councilor serves a four-year term. According to the 2020 census, Braham's population is 1,769 with a total of 768 housing units.

Many of our residents are commuters, but Braham is working to become a hub for business and industry. The City is currently home to several small manufacturing operations and the headquarters for East Central Energy. Braham is business friendly and willing to work with developing business and industry in our community.  

Braham is a great central location for business operations as it is only an hour’s drive from Minneapolis/St. Paul, an hour and a half from Duluth, and 40 minutes from St. Cloud. It is situated on Hwy 107 with access to both Hwy 65 and Interstate 35.  

If you host meetings and/or events, the Braham Event Center is a gorgeous, modern facility completed in 2014. They offer a banquet hall, along with meeting spaces and onsite catering. They also house the City’s library and food pantry. 

The City started working with a new engineering firm in October of 2019.  With the new firm, Moore Engineering, the City has started to repair damaged streets, started to upgrade their water and wastewater facilities, do GIS mapping, and began developing a parks and trails system. The City currently has 6 municipal parks but wants to expand and develop them further. Moving forward, beautifying the community, and attracting new business has been met with excitement by staff, the business community, and residents. 

Braham Area Schools serves approximately 750 students in Kindergarten through 12^th grade from the communities of Braham, Stanchfield, Grasston, and surrounding area.  Students at Braham can participate many arts and athletics activities throughout the year. The Braham Area Elementary School was named a 2017-2018 Minnesota School of Excellence by the Minnesota Elementary School Principal’s Association. Thanks to the Frandsen Foundation, all graduating seniors for the past several years have been offered a Frandsen Family Scholarship, which allows students to attend Pine Technical and Community College completely free for 2 years, as well as provides a $1,000 stipend for books and/or supplies. 

The City has several annual events, with the biggest of which is Pie Day held on the first Friday in August. Every summer the Chamber of Commerce holds their Appreciation Day in June, and there is an annual craft fair in the fall. 

The Braham Fire Department has an annual Smelt Fry in May, they set off a spectacular firework display just after dark on the Fourth of July and host an Open House and Chili Feed in the Fall.

Whether you are just visiting, or looking to call Braham your home, Braham welcomes you.

1847 – East Central Minnesota region was first explored by Daniel Stanchfield. Prior to this, the area was occupied by the Dakota (Sioux), Isanti, and Chippewa.

1899 – Braham was founded.

1899 – Braham’s first church, The Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church, was built.

1902 – Braham’s first school was built.

1908 – St. Patrick’s Day fire destroyed much of Braham.

1913 – The first electrical lights were turned on in Braham.

1935 – PICK Electric Coop began. It later became East Central Electric in 1945.

1967 – Braham’s Municipal Liquor established.

1982 – Braham’s Marlene Johnson was elected the first woman Lt. Governor of Minnesota.

1990 – Braham was declared the Homemade Pie Capital of Minnesota by Governor Rudy Perpich.