McLeod 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 ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 36,771. 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 Glencoe. McLeod County comprises the Hutchinson, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area and is part of the

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

- St. Paul, MN- WI Combined Statistical Area.

History

For thousands of years the area was inhabited by

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

. At the time of European contact, it was the territory of the Dakota Sioux. The county was created by the Minnesota Territorial legislature on March 1, 1856.Upham, Warren. ''Minnesota Geographic Names, pp. 316-17'' (1920). Accessed March 14, 2019
/ref> It was named for Martin McLeod, a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

-born adventurer who became a

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

and later was elected a territorial representative (1849–1856) in Minnesota. As a young man, he was part of James Dickson's 1836 expedition to the

Red River of the North The Red River (), also called the Red River of the North () to differentiate it from the Red River of the South, Red River in the south of the continent, is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confl ...

, a journey recounted in his ''Diary of Martin McLeod'', a manuscript held by the Minnesota Historical Society. "In 1859 the three Czech families already living in McLeod County were joined by those of Josef Vosmek, Josef Zicha, Antonin Nunvar, and Jan Vanous, all acquaintances from Caledonia, where they had resided for several years after their arrival from Bohemia. Other settlers followed, taking homesteads close by in the present township of Rich Valley". The county seat was sited at Glencoe as part of the original act; it had been founded (June 11, 1855) by Martin McLeod, who was a member of the townsite company when the county was founded. The county was the site of several events during the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

, including the siege of Hutchinson and the killing of the White family near Brownton. It was also the first place to use the Geier Hitch, a kind of

animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...

that some characterize as

animal abuse Cruelty to animals, also called animal abuse, animal neglect or animal cruelty, is the infliction of suffering or harm by humans upon animals, either by omission (neglect) or by commission. More narrowly, it can be the causing of harm or suffe ...

Geography

The South Fork of the Crow River flows easterly through the upper central part of McLeod County, thence into Wright County. Buffalo Creek also flows eastward through the lower central part of the county, thence into Wright. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with lakes and lightly etched by drainages and gullies. The area is mostly devoted to agriculture.''McLeod County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 14, 2019)
/ref> The terrain is sloped to the east, with its highest point on the upper west border at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.8%) is water. Only savanna and prairie soils exist in McLeod County. Northeast McLeod County once had significant areas of Maple-Basswood or "Big Woods" forests. https://mn.gov/admin/assets/2012-Investigating-Poorly-Known-Areas-of-Minnesota--An-Archaeological-Survey-of-McLeod-County_tcm36-187391.pdf

Major highways

* US Highway 212 * Minnesota State Highway 7 * Minnesota State Highway 15 * Minnesota State Highway 22 * '' List of county roads''

Adjacent counties

* Wright County - northeast * Carver County - east * Sibley County - south * Renville County - west * Meeker County - northwest

Lakes

Source: * Baker's Lake * Bear Lake * Belle Lake (part) * Bremers Lake * Butternut Lake (part) * Campbell Lake (Acoma Township) * Campbell Lake (part in Winsted Township, part in Carver County) * Campbells Lake * Cedar Lake (part) * Clear Lake (Acoma Township) * Clear Lake (Sumter Township) * Coon Lakes (par) * Dettman Lake * Eagle Lake * Echo Lake * French Lake * Grass Lake * Kings Lake * Kujas Lake * Lake Addie * Lake Allen * Lake Barber * Lake Byron (part) * Lake Clara * Lake Emily * Lake Harrington * Lake Hook * Lake Marion * Lake Mary * Lake Todd * Lewis Lake * Little Bear Lake * Loughman Lake * Mud Lake (Hale and Rich Valley townships) * Mud Lake: (Lynn Township) * O'Mera Lake * Otter Lake * Pierce Lake * Piker Lake * Popp Lake * Round Grove Lake (part) * Ryan Lake * Shakopee Lake (part) * Silver Lake * South Lake * Stahl Lake * Sustacek Lake * Swan Lake * Tomlinson Lake * Ward Lake (part) * Whitney Lake * Winsted Lake

Demographics

2020 census

''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.''

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 34,898 people, 13,449 households and 9,427 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 14,087 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.62%

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 ...

, 0.22%

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 ...

, 0.18% Native American, 0.56% Asian, 0.07%

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 ...

, 1.79% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. 3.63% 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. 57.5% 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 ...

and 8.5% Norwegian ancestry. There were 13,449 households, of which 34.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.20% 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, 7.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.08. The county population contained 27.70% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 98.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.10 males. The

median household income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of und ...

was $45,953 and the median family income was $55,003. Males had a median income of $35,709 compared with $25,253 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 $20,137. About 2.80% of families and 4.80% 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 4.80% of those under age 18 and 8.10% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Biscay Biscay ( ; ; ), is a province of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Autonomous Community, heir of the ancient Lordship of Biscay, lying on the south shore of the Bay of Biscay, eponymous bay. The capital and largest city is Bilb ...

* Brownton * Glencoe (county seat) * Hutchinson * Lester Prairie *

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

* Silver Lake * Stewart * Winsted

Unincorporated communities

Fernando Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

* Heatwole * Komensky * Lake Addie * Sherman * South Silver Lake *

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumt ...

Townships

* Acoma Township * Bergen Township * Collins Township * Glencoe Township * Hale Township * Hassan Valley Township * Helen Township * Hutchinson Township * Lynn Township * Penn Township * Rich Valley Township * Round Grove Township * Sumter Township * Winsted Township

Politics

McLeod County voters have traditionally been Republican. In only one national election since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

References

External links

McLeod County government’s website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcleod County, Minnesota Minnesota counties 1856 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1856