Fillmore 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 ...

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 21,228. Its county seat is Preston. Fillmore County is included in the Rochester metropolitan area.

History

Fillmore County was created on March 5, 1853. It is named for

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853. He was the last president to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House, and the last to be neither a De ...

, the 13th president of the United States. Fillmore County was an early destination for Euro-American settlement following the United States' 1851 treaties with the Dakota nations. Norwegian immigrants were particularly numerous. In 1860 Fillmore was Minnesota's most populous county.

Geography

Fillmore County is on Minnesota's border with

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. The Root River drains the county, flowing eastward. The North Branch and the Middle Branch combine east of Shady Creek, while the South Branch meets their combined flow at Preston. Bear Creek drains the lower part of the county, discharging into the Root in the eastern part of the county. Willow Creek also drains a portion of the lower county, discharging into the Root at Preston. The Upper Iowa River flows eastward, mostly in adjoining Iowa counties, but briefly enters Fillmore County near the midpoint of its southern border. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, carved by gullies and drainages, with the available area dedicated to agriculture.''Fillmore County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 8, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east; its highest point is on the lower western border, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water. The county is part of the

Driftless Area The Driftless Area, also known as Bluff Country and the Paleozoic Plateau, is a topographic and cultural region in the Midwestern United States that comprises southwestern Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota, northeastern Iowa, and the extreme ...

or Paleozoic plateau. This part of Minnesota was ice-free during the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages, and g ...

. Fillmore County also displays a

karst topography Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 52 * U.S. Highway 63 * Minnesota State Highway 16 * Minnesota State Highway 30 * Minnesota State Highway 43 * Minnesota State Highway 44 * Minnesota State Highway 56 * Minnesota State Highway 74 * Minnesota State Highway 80 * Minnesota State Highway 139 * Minnesota State Highway 250 * '' List of county roads''

Adjacent counties

* Winona County - northeast * Houston County - east *

Winneshiek County, Iowa Winneshiek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,070. The county seat is Decorah. History A largely rural and agricultural county, Winneshiek County has a rich cultural history fr ...

- southeast *

Howard County, Iowa Howard County is a county located in the US state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,469. The county seat is Cresco. The county was founded in 1851; it was named for General Tilghman Ashurst Howard, a Representative of Indi ...

- southwest * Mower County - west * Olmsted County - northwest

Protected areas

Source: * Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park * Mystery Cave State Park * Pin Oak Prairie Scientific and Natural Area * Rushford Sand Barrens Scientific and Natural Area * Wycoff Balsam Fir Scientific and Natural Area

Demographics

2020 Census

2010 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 2010, there were 20,866 people, 8,545 households, and 5,763 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 9,732 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.2%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

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 ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. 1% 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. There were 8,545 households, out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.4% 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, 7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 32.60% were non-families. 28.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.32% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.94. The county population contained 24.3% under the age of 18, 6.5% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 28.20% from 45 to 64, and 17.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.80 males. In 2010, the median income for a household in the county was $45,888, and the median income for a family was $59,034. Males had a median income of $39,239 versus $33,571 for females. 2015 estimates state 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 $26,348. In 2015, about 7.4% of families and 11.10% 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 16.50% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Canton * Chatfield (part) *

Fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" ( genitive "fontis"), meaning source or spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. Fountains were o ...

Harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

* Lanesboro * Mabel * Ostrander * Peterson * Preston (county seat) * Rushford * Rushford Village * Spring Valley * Whalan * Wykoff

Unincorporated communities

* Bratsberg * Carimona * Cherry Grove * Clear Grit * Elliota * Etna * Fillmore * Forestville * Granger * Greenleafton *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

* Henrytown *

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

* Lenora * Newburg * Prosper * York

Townships

* Amherst Township * Arendahl Township * Beaver Township * Bloomfield Township * Bristol Township * Canton Township * Carimona Township * Carrolton Township * Chatfield Township * Fillmore Township * Forestville Township * Fountain Township * Harmony Township * Holt Township * Jordan Township * Newburg Township * Norway Township * Pilot Mound Township * Preble Township * Preston Township * Spring Valley Township * Sumner Township * York Township

Government and politics

Fillmore County was a swing county until the 2016 presidential election. From 1980 to 2016, the county predicted the president 67% of the time. Since 2016, Fillmore County has shifted rightward and has voted for the Republican nominee by more than 20% each time.

Education

School districts include:
Text list
/ref> * Chatfield Public Schools * Fillmore Central School District * Kingsland Public School District * Lanesboro Public School District * LeRoy-Ostrander Public Schools * Mabel-Canton Public School District * Rushford-Peterson Public Schools * St. Charles Public School District * Stewartville Public School District

References

External links

Fillmore County government's website

Fillmore County Health and Demographic Data
{{Coord, 43.68, -92.09, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties Driftless Area 1853 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1853