Freeborn was platted in 1857. The city of Freeborn, like its namesake county, was named in honor of William Freeborn. A post office has been in operation at Freeborn since 1857.
As of the census of 2010, there were 297 people, 120 households, and 84 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 130 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 98.3% White, 0.3% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.7% of the population. There were 120 households, of which 35.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couplesliving together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 30.0% were non-families. 25.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.95. The median age in the city was 38.9 years. 25.3% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.6% were from 25 to 44; 28% were from 45 to 64; and 15.5% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 50.8% male and 49.2% female.
As of the census of 2000, there were 305 people, 131 households, and 88 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,706.2 people per square mile. There were 136 housing units at an average density of 760.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 99.02% White, 0.33% Native American, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.33% of the population. There were 131 households, out of which 23.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.81. In the city, the population was spread out, with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.3 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,500, and the median income for a family was $47,031. Males had a median income of $32,321 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,149. About 2.4% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 6.5% of those 65 or over.
Town newspaper
Freeborn has a small town newspaper called the Freeborn Frisbee. The paper contains stories of local events, the residents and history of Freeborn. It is produced and edited by Bonnie Schuster and appears quarterly.
FFA Corn Drive
FFA Corn Drives for Camp Courage originated with the Freeborn Chapter of the FFA in 1964. During the first corn drive FFA students walked the fields picking up corn. The corn was sold and the proceeds were given to Camp Courage. The first corn drive raised $87. Many FFA chapters around the state of Minnesota now raise money through corn drives with donations of corn or cash from farmers.
