Located in Tofte, Minnesota, Birch Grove began in the 1960s as a school building. It was built to serve two hundred kids who primarily came from families working at a nearby taconite pellet plant. When the taconite plant shut down in the 1980s, so did Birch Grove for a period of time.

Nevertheless, there was a community effort to reopen Birch Grove, and after a couple of years the school was once again operational. The town of Tofte now owns the building and has partially converted it to a community center managed by the Birch Grove Foundation. The Birch Grove Community Center has grown over the years and currently houses a charter school, community center, senior center, and a hostel.

This growth combined with high fuel oil prices provided the impetus for utilizing a pellet boiler to heat the school.

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