Blue Earth County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is the county seat of Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The population was 44,488 at the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Mi ...

. The county is named for the

Blue Earth River The Blue Earth River () is a tributary of the Minnesota River, long, in southern Minnesota in the United States. Two of its headwaters tributaries, the Middle Branch Blue Earth River and the West Branch Blue Earth River, also flow for short di ...

and for the deposits of blue-green clay once evident along the banks of the Blue Earth River. Blue Earth County is part of the Mankato-North Mankato metropolitan area.

History

Dakota people The Dakota (pronounced , or ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribe (Native American), tribe and First Nations in Canada, First Nations band government in North America. They compose two of the three main subcultur ...

lived and hunted in the area of Blue Earth County, particularly the Sisseton. French explorer

Pierre-Charles Le Sueur Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (; c. 1657, Artois, France – 17 July 1704, Havana, Cuba) was a French fur trader and explorer in North America, recognized as the first known European to explore the Minnesota River valley. Le Sueur came to Canada w ...

was an early European explorer in this area, arriving where the Minnesota and Blue Earth rivers meet. He made an unsuccessful attempt to mine copper from the blue-green clay the Dakota used as paint. The area remained under French control until 1803 when it passed to the United States in the

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase () was the acquisition of the Louisiana (New France), territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. This consisted of most of the land in the Mississippi River#Watershed, Mississipp ...

. When Minnesota became a territory in 1849, the territorial government became interested in settling the river valley. In 1850 the first steamboat trip, starting in St. Paul, traveled on the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River () is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It rises in southwestern ...

and came to the Blue Earth River. The first Euro-American settlers, P. K. Johnson and Henry Jackson, debarked and settled in present-day

. The ratification of the Mendota and Traverse des Sioux treaties in 1851 effectively forced the eastern Dakota to move to nearby reservations. The county of Blue Earth was created after a division of the Minnesota Territory on March 5, 1853, from portions of Dakota County and free territory. It was named for the Blue Earth River. The first government officials were appointed by

Alexander Ramsey Alexander Ramsey (September 8, 1815 April 22, 1903) was an American politician, who became the first Minnesota Territorial Governor and later became a U.S. Senator. He served as a Whig and Republican over a variety of offices between the 18 ...

, the territorial governor. That October the first election was held, with 22 ballots being taken. On February 27, 1855, the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) ceded of their reservation near Long Prairie in exchange for on the Blue Earth River. On May 24, 1855, they relocated and became so successful at farming that neighboring American settlers coveted their land. Blue Earth County is near the Lower Sioux reservation, which was created in 1858. Starvation on the reservation and the lack of timely arrival of government

annuities In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals based on a contract with a lump sum of money. Insurance companies are common annuity providers and are used by clients for things like retirement or death benefits. Examples ...

led to the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

, followed by removal of all Native Americans from the county. In 1868 the railroad's arrival promoted the county's growth and development by bringing immigrants and goods to the area.

Geography

The

flows southeasterly along the western part of the county's northern boundary line. It is joined by the Blue Earth River, which flows northerly through the western central part of the county. The Watonwan River flows northwesterly through the northeastern part of the county, discharging into the Blue Earth. The Little Cobb River flows northwesterly through the southeastern part of the county, meeting with the Cobb River which flows northerly through the lower part of the county into the Blue Earth River. The Le Sueur River also flows west-northwesterly through the SE part of the county, discharging into the Blue Earth River. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, with the area (except around built-up zones, and in areas carved by runoff) devoted to agriculture.''Blue Earth County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 5, 2019)
/ref> It slopes generally to the north. Its southwest corner is above sea level. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.3%) is water. The Blue Earth River and Le Sueur River flow through a part of the county. The land surface is relatively flat with over 30 lakes in the county. There are many "closed forest savannas" that some call the big woods in the county's northeast. The rivers that flow out of the northeast are surrounded by these big woods. Most of the county is grassland prairie but scattered parts are wet prairie. Some spots that surround the rivers are oak openings and barren brushland.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 14 * U.S. Highway 169 * Minnesota State Highway 22 *

Minnesota State Highway 30 Minnesota State Highway 30 (MN 30) is a highway in southwest and southeast Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 34 at the South Dakota state line near Airlie, west of Pipestone, and continues to its eastern terminus at its in ...

Minnesota State Highway 60 Trunk Highway 60 (MN 60) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line (at Bigelow) and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (at Wabasha), where the ro ...

* Minnesota State Highway 68 * Minnesota State Highway 83

Lakes

* Crystal Lake * Albert Lake * Alice Lake * Armstrong Lake * Ballantyne Lake * Born Lake * Cottonwood Lake * Duck Lake * Eagle Lake * George Lake * Gilfillin Lake * Ida Lake * Indian Lake * Knights Lake * Lake Crystal * Lieberg Lake * Lily Lake * Long Lake * Loon Lake * Lura Lake (part) * Madison Lake * Mennenga Lake * Mills Lake * Minnesota Lake (part) * Mud Lake * Perch Lake * Porter Lake * Rice Lake * Severson Lake * Strom Lake * Wita Lake

Adjacent counties

* Nicollet County - north * Le Sueur County - northeast * Waseca County - east * Faribault County - south * Martin County - southwest * Watonwan County - west * Brown County - northwest

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Mankato have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in February 1996 and a record high of was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in February to in June.

Demographics

2020 Census

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, the county had 55,941 people, 21,062 households, and 12,616 families. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 21,971 housing units at an average density of . The county's racial makeup was 94.96%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.19% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.79% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.69% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. 1.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 47.6% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 13.6% Norwegian and 6.5% Irish ancestry. There were 21,062 households, of which 29.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.60% were married couples living together, 7.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.10% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.99. 21.40% of the county's population was under the age of 18, 22.10% were from age 18 to 24, 25.60% were from age 25 to 44, 18.80% were from age 45 to 64, and 12.10% were age 65 or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males. The county's median household income was $38,940, and the median family income was $50,257. Males had a median income of $32,087 versus $22,527 for females. The county's

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

was $18,712. About 6.10% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 9.40% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Amboy * Eagle Lake * Good Thunder * Lake Crystal * Madison Lake *

* Mapleton * Minnesota Lake (partial) * North Mankato (partial) * Pemberton * Saint Clair *

Skyline A skyline is the wikt:outline, outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city's overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural area, rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the ...

* Vernon Center

Census-designated place

* Garden City

Unincorporated communities

Cambria Cambria is a name for Wales, being the Latinised form of the Welsh name for the country, . The term was not in use during the Roman period (when Wales had not come into existence as a distinct entity) or the early medieval period. After the ...

* Marysburg *

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

* Smiths Mill

Townships

* Beauford Township * Butternut Valley Township * Cambria Township * Ceresco Township * Danville Township * Decoria Township * Garden City Township * Jamestown Township * Judson Township * Le Ray Township * Lime Township * Lincoln Township * Lyra Township * Mankato Township * Mapleton Township * McPherson Township * Medo Township * Pleasant Mound Township * Rapidan Township * Shelby Township * South Bend Township * Sterling Township * Vernon Center Township

Government and politics

Since 1952, Blue Earth County has voted for the winning presidential candidate in 16 of the last 19 elections, the exceptions being 1960, 1988 and 2004. Blue Earth County is considered a

college town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

due to the presence of Minnesota State University in Mankato.

References

External links

Blue Earth County Government’s website
{{Coord, 44.03, -94.06, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties Mankato – North Mankato metropolitan area 1853 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1853 Welsh-American culture in Minnesota Minnesota placenames of Native American origin