Swift 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
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
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 9,838.
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 ...
is
Benson.
History
Swift County is in west central Minnesota and consists of with three tiers of seven townships each. It was established on February 18, 1870, and named for
Henry Adoniram Swift, the third governor of Minnesota (1863–64).
The Indians had grievances against the government, including delays in sending annuities that caused near starvation several times. In August 1862, an Indian rebellion broke out in Minnesota. The warfare reached the settlements just getting started in northeastern Swift County. By late September 1862, the Indian War was almost over but the settlers hesitated to venture back to Swift County until 1865, when all danger was apparently over. Scandinavians and Germans were in decided majority among the early settlers. A number of them came with the honor and privileges of Civil War veterans.
In 1869, the
St. Paul & Pacific Railroad reached Willmar, and the next year it arrived in Benson. The railroad company determined the number of future trading centers (Kerkhoven, DeGraff, Benson, Randall) in the county by locating sites at intervals of approximately . The Swift County Courthouse was built in 1897 and was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1976. Benson is the county seat. Railroad tracks run through Benson's downtown business district with parks on each side.
Historic buildings
Historic buildings in Swift County include:
*
Gethsemane Episcopal Church in
Appleton built in 1879 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
Geography
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 ...
flows southeast along the county's lower western border. The
Pomme de Terre River flows south-southwest through the county's western part, discharging into the Minnesota. The
Chippewa River flows south-southwest through the county's central part, discharging into the Minnesota south of the county. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture.
[''Swift County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 13, 2019)](_blank)
/ref> It slopes to south and the west, with its highest point near its northeast corner at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water.
Swift County is primarily agricultural, but also hosts agriculture equipment manufacturers and an ethanol plant. It has 24 lakes and nine rivers and streams. Lake Oliver is one of the county's biggest, at . Caltopo shows the true highpoint to be 1300 ft in elevation about 1/3 of a mile southwest of the Monson State Wildlife Management Area:latitude 45.3046&longitude=-95.3031
Major highways
* U.S. Highway 12
* U.S. Highway 59
* Minnesota State Highway 7
* Minnesota State Highway 9
State Highway 9 or Trunk Highway 9 (MN 9, TH 9) is a state highway in west-central and northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with Minnesota State Highway 23, MN 23 in New London, Minnesota, New London a ...
* Minnesota State Highway 29
* Minnesota State Highway 104
* Minnesota State Highway 119
Adjacent counties
* Stevens County - northwest
* Pope County - northeast
* Kandiyohi County - east
* Chippewa County - south
* Lac qui Parle County - southwest
* Big Stone County - west
Airport
Appleton Municipal Airport provides general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
service for Swift County.
Protected areas
* Bench State Wildlife Management Area
* Camp Kerk State Wildlife Management Area
* Danvers State Wildlife Management Area
* Ehrenburg State Wildlife Management Area
* Hayes-Myhre State Wildlife Management Area
* Henry X State Wildlife Management Area
* Hollerberg Lake State Wildlife Management Area
* Monson Lake State Park
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, there were 11,956 people, 4,353 households, and 2,881 families in the county. 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 4,821 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.67% 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 ...
, 2.69% Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.50% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 1.52% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1.40% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. 2.68% of the population were Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race. Swift County has the highest percentage of Pacific Islander natives out of any U.S. county outside Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
. 34.4% 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 ...
, 30.5% Norwegian, 5.2% Swedish and 5.1% Irish ancestry.
There were 4,353 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.90% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% were non-families. 30.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00.
The county population contained 23.00% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 120.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 124.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,820, and the median income for a family was $44,208. Males had a median income of $29,362 versus $21,667 for females. The 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 ...
for the county was $16,360. About 5.30% of families and 8.40% 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 6.90% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
Cities
* Appleton
* Benson (county seat)
* Clontarf
* Danvers
* De Graff
* Holloway
* Kerkhoven
* Murdock
Unincorporated communities
* Fairfield
* Swift Falls
Townships
* Appleton Township
* Benson Township
* Camp Lake Township
* Cashel Township
* Clontarf Township
* Dublin Township
* Edison Township
* Fairfield Township
* Hayes Township
* Hegbert Township
* Kerkhoven Township
* Kildare Township
* Marysland Township
* Moyer Township
* Pillsbury Township
* Shible Township
* Six Mile Grove Township
* Swenoda Township
* Tara Township
* Torning Township
* West Bank Township
Politics
Swift County was traditionally a Democratic stronghold, as it voted Democratic in every election from 1932 to 2012 with the exception of the 1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, ...
landslide victory of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
. In 2016, a dramatic swing against the Democrats in the Rust Belt
The Rust Belt, formerly the Steel Belt or Factory Belt, is an area of the United States that underwent substantial Deindustrialization, industrial decline in the late 20th century. The region is centered in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (Uni ...
saw Swift County shifting a massive 36% toward the Republican Party, with Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
winning it over Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
by 26%, and further increasing his margin of victory to nearly 30% against Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
in 2020, and to over 34% against Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
in 2024. Each of these were the best Republican performances in the county since 1920.[https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/]
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Swift County, Minnesota
References
External links
Swift County official website
Swift County Monitor website
{{Coord, 45.29, -95.68, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990
Minnesota counties
1870 establishments in Minnesota
Populated places established in 1870