Pipestone 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 9,424. 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 Pipestone.

History

The county was formed on May 23, 1857, by act of the territorial legislature, but was not organized at that time. The area was first designated ''Rock County'' while the name ''Pipestone County'' was attached to neighboring Rock County. An act of the

state legislature on February 20, 1862, swapped the designations, attaching the present names to the present counties, due to the pipestone quarry in this county. Pipestone County organization was effected by a state act on January 27, 1879, with Pipestone City (which had been platted in 1876) as the county seat (the name of the county seat was later shortened to Pipestone). The pipestones are from deposits of red pipestone Native Americans used to make pipes.

Pipestone National Monument Pipestone National Monument is located in southwestern Minnesota, just north of the city of Pipestone, Minnesota. It is located along the highways of U.S. Route 75, Minnesota State Highway 23 and Minnesota State Highway 30. The quarries are sac ...

is in the county, just north of the town of Pipestone.

Geography

Pipestone County lies on Minnesota's border with

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...

. The Rock River rises in the county and flows southward into Rock County, being augmented by the East Branch of the Rock River near the southern border. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved by drainages. The area is devoted to agriculture.''Pipestone County MN'' Google Maps (accessed April 13, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the west and south, with its highest point on the upper part of its eastern border, at 1,883' (574m) ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. The highest point in the eastern part of the county may be as stated but the highest summit is 1995 ft at 44.1927°, -96.2033°

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 75 * Minnesota State Highway 23 *

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 inters ...

Minnesota State Highway 269 Minnesota State Highway 269 (MN 269) is a short highway in southwest Minnesota, which runs from South Dakota Highway 11 (SD 11) at the South Dakota state line to an intersection with State Highway 23 (MN 23) in the city of Jasper. Route descript ...

Adjacent counties

* Lincoln County - north * Lyon County - northeast * Murray County - east * Rock County - south *

Minnehaha County, South Dakota Minnehaha County is a County (United States), county on the eastern border of the U.S. state, state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 197,214, making it the state's most populous county. It con ...

- southwest *

Moody County, South Dakota Moody County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,336 at the 2020 census. Its county seat is Flandreau. The county is named for Gideon C. Moody. Geography Moody County lies on the east side of So ...

- west *

Brookings County, South Dakota Brookings County is a county in the U.S. state of South Dakota. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 34,375, making it the fifth-most populous county in South Dakota. Its county seat is Brookings. The county was created in 18 ...

- northwest

Protected areas

* Altona State Wildlife Management Area * Burke State Wildlife Management Area * Holland State Wildlife Management Area * Pheasant Terrace State Wildlife Management Area * Pipestone Indian State Wildlife Management Area (within Pipestone Natl Monument) *

* Prairie Coteau Scientific and Natural Area * Split Rock Creek State Park * Troy State Wildlife Management Area * Van Beek State Wildlife Management Area * Woodstock State Wildlife Management Area

Lakes

Pipestone County is one of only four Minnesota counties without a natural lake, the other three being Mower, Olmsted and Rock. It does contain manmade

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s: * Indian Lake * Split Rock Lake: in Split Rock Creek State Park

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 9,895 people, 4,069 households, and 2,726 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 21.3/sqmi (8.22/km²). There were 4,434 housing units at an average density of 9.54/sqmi (3.68/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 96.68%

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 ...

, 0.17%

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 ...

, 1.48% Native American, 0.46% 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 ...

, 0.26% 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 0.93% from two or more races. 0.70% 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. 35.7% were of German, 24.8%

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and 14.3%

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 4,069 households, of which 31.0% had children under age 18 living with them, 57.6% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 30.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.2% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.96. The county population contained 25.8% under age 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 24.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 40. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 89.4 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,909, and the median income for a family was $40,133. Males had a median income of $27,642 versus $20,759 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 $16,450. About 7.8% of families and 9.5% 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 11.2% of those under 18 and 11.1% of those 65 or older.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

* Edgerton * Hatfield *

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

* Ihlen *

Jasper Jasper, an aggregate of microgranular quartz and/or cryptocrystalline chalcedony and other mineral phases,Kostov, R. I. 2010. Review on the mineralogical systematics of jasper and related rocks. – Archaeometry Workshop, 7, 3, 209-213PDF/ref> ...

(partly in Rock County) * Pipestone (county seat) * Ruthton * Trosky *

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

Unincorporated communities

* Airlie * Cazenovia * Cresson * Diamond Corner

Townships

* Aetna Township * Altona Township * Burke Township * Eden Township * Elmer Township * Fountain Prairie Township * Grange Township * Gray Township * Osborne Township * Rock Township * Sweet Township * Troy Township

Government and politics

In recent decades Pipestone County has trended Republican. In no presidential election since 1976 has the county selected the Democratic nominee (as of 2020). In 2012 it was one of only two counties not to vote for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar.

References

External links

Pipestone County government’s website
{{authority control Minnesota counties 1879 establishments in Minnesota Populated places established in 1879