Freeborn County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. As of the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, the population was 30,895. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. * Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with th ...

. Freeborn County comprises the Albert Lea Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Freeborn County was created on February 20, 1855, the territory being separated from Blue Earth and Rice Counties. Twelve other Minnesota counties were created the same day by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature. Freeborn County was named for

William Freeborn William Freeborn (December 13, 1816 – June 3, 1900) was a pioneer in Minnesota, Montana, and California. Freeborn County, Minnesota is named in his honor. Pioneer Born in Richland County, Ohio, in 1816, Freeborn moved to Saint Paul, Minne ...

, an early Minnesota pioneer, merchant, and territorial legislator.

Geography

Freeborn County lies on Minnesota's border with

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. The

Shell Rock River The Shell Rock River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 tributary of the West Fork Cedar River in southern Minnesota and northern Iowa in the United States ...

flows southward from Albert Lea Lake in central Freeborn County, crossing into Iowa. Turtle Creek flows eastward through the upper eastern part of the county, crossing into

Mower County Mower County () is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,029. The county seat is Austin. Mower County comprises the Austin Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Rochester-Austin Co ...

. The terrain is hilly and etched with drainages and gullies. The Le Sueur River, a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the Minnesota River, begins in the northern part of the county and flows northward into Waseca County. The Cobb River and the Maple River, two other small rivers, begin in the extreme northwest corner of the county, the Cobb from Freeborn Lake and the Maple from Penny Lake. Both run generally northwest, emptying into the LeSueur River, just upstream from where the LeSueur empties into the Minnesota River, on the western edge of Mankato. Most of the available land is devoted to agriculture.''Freeborn County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 8, 2019)
/ref> The terrain generally slopes to the south and east, although the highest point is near the northeast corner, at 1,296' (395m) ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.

Lakes

* Albert Lea Lake * Bear Lake * Church Lake * Everhart Lake * Fountain Lake * Freeborn Lake * Geneva Lake * Goose Lake * Halls Lake * Hickory Lake * Lower Twin Lake * Penny Lake * Pickerel Lake * School Section Lake * State Line Lake * Sugar Lake * Trenton Lake (part) * Upper Twin Lake * White Lake

Protected areas

* Bear Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Carex State Wildlife Management Area * Halls Lake State Wildlife Area * Moscow State Game Refuge * Myre-Big Island State Park * White Woods County Park

Major highways

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican border ...

* Interstate 90 * U.S. Highway 65 * U.S. Highway 69 *

Minnesota State Highway 13 Minnesota State Highway 13 (MN 13) is a highway in Minnesota that runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 65 in Albert Lea to its northern terminus at its intersection with State Highway 149 at the West St. Paul / Saint Paul city boundar ...

* Minnesota State Highway 109 * Minnesota State Highway 251

Adjacent counties

* Steele County - northeast *

- east *

Worth County, Iowa Worth County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,443. The county seat is Northwood. The county was founded in 1851 and named for Major General William Jenkins Worth (1794–1849), an off ...

- south *

Winnebago County, Iowa Winnebago County is a county in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,679. The county seat is Forest City. The county was founded in 1847 and named after the Native American tribe. It is the location of the motor ...

- southwest * Faribault County - west * Waseca County - northwest

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 32,584 people, 13,356 households, and 9,015 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was 46.1/sqmi (17.8/km²). There were 13,996 housing units at an average density of 19.8/sqmi (7.64/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.22%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.24%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.55% Asian, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 2.92% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.85% from two or more races. 6.29% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race. 34.8% were of

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, 26.2% German and 5.8% Danish ancestry. There were 13,356 households, of which 29.1% had children under age 18 living with them, 56.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.5% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.92. The county population contained 24.0% under 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and older, there were 95.0 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,964, and the median income for a family was $45,142. Males had a median income of $31,491 versus $21,799 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $18,325. About 5.6% of families and 8.4% 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 t ...

, including 9.0% of those under 18 and 9.1% of those over 64.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

(county seat) *

Alden Alden may refer to: Places United States * Alden, California, a former settlement * Alden, Colorado * Alden, Illinois *Alden, Iowa * Alden, Kansas * Alden, Michigan *Alden, Minnesota * Alden, Oklahoma *Alden, Pennsylvania *Alden, New York ** Alde ...

* Clarks Grove *

Conger ''Conger'' ( ) is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 2 m (6 ft) or more in length, in the case of the European conger. Large congers have often been observed by divers during t ...

* Emmons *

Freeborn "Freeborn" is a term associated with political agitator John Lilburne (1614–1657), a member of the Levellers, a 17th-century English political party. As a word, "freeborn" means born free, rather than in slavery or bondage or vassalage. Lilbur ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

* Glenville * Hartland * Hayward * Hollandale *

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

* Myrtle * Twin Lakes

Unincorporated communities

Armstrong Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong ...

* Corning (partial) * Gordonsville *

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

* Maple Island *

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Petran Petran is a village and a former municipality in the Gjirokastër County, southern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Përmet. The population at the 2011 census was 1,622.< ...

Townships

* Albert Lea Township * Alden Township * Bancroft Township * Bath Township * Carlston Township * Freeborn Township * Freeman Township * Geneva Township * Hartland Township * Hayward Township * London Township * Manchester Township * Mansfield Township * Moscow Township * Newry Township * Nunda Township * Oakland Township * Pickerel Lake Township * Riceland Township * Shell Rock Township

Government and politics

References

External links

Freeborn County website
{{Coord, 43.67, -93.35, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory