1862 Johnson Map of Minnesota and Dakota - Geographicus - MNDK-johnson-1862

Brown 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

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 sove ...

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 census, the population was 25,912. 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 ...

is New Ulm. The county was formed in 1855 and organized in 1856. Brown County comprises the New Ulm, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the

Mankato Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 census, making it the 21st-largest city in Minnesota, and the 5th-largest outside of the Minnea ...

-New Ulm- North Mankato, MN

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

History

Brown County was founded in 1855 in the southwest corner of what was

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and west ...

. It was named for

Joseph Renshaw Brown Joseph Renshaw Brown (1805–1870) was an American politician, pioneer, fur trader, newspaper editor, businessman, inventor, speculator, and Indian agent who was prominent in Minnesota and Wisconsin territorial and state politics for over 50 ye ...

, a member of the Governor's Council of the Territory in 1855. In 1857, Brown County was divided, creating Cottonwood,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

Martin Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austr ...

, Murry,

Nobles Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...

, Pipestone, and

Rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

counties. Watonwan was broken off in 1860. Redwood was created from a large portion of Brown County in 1862. Redwood was further divided into

Lac qui Parle Lac qui Parle is a lake located in western Minnesota, United States, which was widened by the damming of the Minnesota River. The dam was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1939. It was reconstructed in 1996. Lac qui Parle is a ...

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

and Yellow Medicine Counties in the 1870s. In 1862, the county's 150-mile northern border was the boundary line of the Upper and Lower Sioux reservations when hostilities broke out. New Ulm, the

, came under heavy attack twice by a superior Mdewakanton Dacotah force that was repulsed. Most of the town was torched and most of the population fled to St. Peter and

. The town took many casualties, with the dead buried in the streets. In 1863, when the treaties with the eastern Dacotah were annulled and the two reservations were dissolved, the county border was moved north 10 miles to the Minnesota River.

Geography

The Minnesota River flows east-southeast along the county's northern border. The Cottonwood River flows east-northeast through the county's central and upper area, discharging into the Minnesota at the northern border. The

Little Cottonwood River The Little Cottonwood River is a tributary of the Minnesota River, 83 miles (133 km) long, in southwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Minnesota River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of 230 ...

flows east through the lower portion of the county, on its way to discharge into the Minnesota in neighboring

Blue Earth County Blue Earth County is a county in the State of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,112. Its county seat is Mankato. The county is named for the Blue Earth River and for the deposits of blue-green clay once evident along the ...

. The terrain consists of rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture,''Brown County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 5, 2019)
/ref> and generally slopes to the east, tending to drop into the river valleys. Its highest point is at its southwestern corner, at 1,263' (385m) ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 14 *

Minnesota State Highway 4 Minnesota State Highway 4 (MN 4) is a highway in southwest and west-central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 4 at the Iowa state line (near Dunnell, MN and Estherville, IA), and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange ...

Minnesota State Highway 15 Minnesota State Highway 15 (MN 15) is a highway in south-central and central Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 15 at the Iowa state line and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with U.S. Highway 10 outside of Sart ...

Minnesota State Highway 68 Minnesota State Highway 68 (MN 68) is a highway in southwest and south-central Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 22 at the South Dakota state line near Canby, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with ...

* Minnesota State Highway 257

Adjacent counties

* Nicollet County - northeast *

- southeast * Watonwan County - south * Cottonwood County - southwest * Redwood County - west * Renville County - northwest

Lakes

Most of the county is an area of rich

farm land Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

; most of its wetlands were drained for use in agriculture, leaving a number of lakes. The county has at least 32 lakes, some of which are deemed to be "protected waters" of the State of Minnesota; these are designated with "(p)" below. The lakes occupy "hollows in the driftsheet"; many have neither an inflow nor an outflow. Lakes in the county include: * Altermatt Lake (p) * Bachelor Lake (p), in Stark township * Boise Lake (p) * Clear Lake (p) * Gilman Lake (p) * Horseshoe Lake * Juni Lake (p), named for Benedict Juni, a Swiss settler. * Lake Cottonwood (p) * Lake Hanska (p) * Linden Lake (p) * Lone Tree Lake (p) * Omsrud Lake (p) * School Lake (p), named for its location in school section 16. * Sleepy Eye Lake (p) * Zanders Lake (p)

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of New Ulm have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June.

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 26,911 people, 10,598 households, and 7,164 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 44.0/sqmi (17.0/km²). There were 11,163 housing units at an average density of 18.3/sqmi (7.05/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82%

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 ...

, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.12% Native American, 0.41%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.91% 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 0.63% from two or more races. 2.03% 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 ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. 67.1% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and 9.6%

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 ...

ancestry. There were 10,598 households, out of which 31.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 29.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.00. The county population contained 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 17.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,800, and the median income for a family was $49,811. Males had a median income of $32,347 versus $23,918 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 $19,535. About 4.40% of families and 6.40% 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 t ...

, including 7.00% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

* Cobden *

Comfrey ''Symphytum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common name comfrey (pronounced ). There are 59 recognized species.WFO (2022): Symphytum L. Published on the Internet; http://www.worldfloraonline.org/ ...

(partial) *

Evan Evan is both an English and Welsh male given name derived from "Iefan", a Welsh form for the name John. In other languages it could be compared to " Ivan", " Ian", and " Juan"; the name John itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name Yəhô� ...

* Hanska * New Ulm (county seat) * Sleepy Eye * Springfield

Census-designated place

* Searles

Unincorporated communities

* Essig * Godahl (partial) * Leavenworth

Townships

* Albin Township * Bashaw Township * Burnstown Township * Cottonwood Township * Eden Township * Home Township * Lake Hanska Township * Leavenworth Township * Linden Township * Milford Township * Mulligan Township * North Star Township * Prairieville Township * Sigel Township * Stark Township * Stately Township

Government and politics

Brown County has traditionally voted Republican. As of 2020, the county has not supported the Democratic nominee for president since 1964.

Footnotes

Works cited

External links

Brown County official website

City of New Ulm (County Seat)
{{Coord, 44.23, -94.72, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1856 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1856