Stearns 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 158,292. 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 ...

and largest city is St. Cloud. Included within the Minnesota Territory since 1849, the county was founded by European Americans in 1855. It was originally named for Isaac Ingalls Stevens, then renamed for Charles Thomas Stearns. Stearns County is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in 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 Combined Statistical Area.

History

The Stearns County area was formerly occupied by numerous indigenous tribes, such as the Sioux ( Dakota), Chippewa (

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

) and Winnebago (

Ho-chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hocąk, Hoocągra, or Winnebago are a Siouan languages, Siouan-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois ...

). The first large immigration was of German Catholics in the 1850s. Early arrivals also came from eastern states. The

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized and incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belm ...

was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

) in 1848. The federal government set up the Minnesota Territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. The original counties had portions partitioned off in 1851 to create Cass County and in 1853 to create Sibley, Pierce, and Nicollet counties. In 1855 parts of those counties were partitioned off to create Stearns County. It was to be named Stevens County for territorial governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens, who had conducted an expedition through the area in 1853, but due to a clerical error, the county was named Stearns for Charles Thomas Stearns, a member of the Territorial Council. (To compensate for this error the area two counties west was later named Stevens County.) The February 20, 1855, act that created the county directed the naming of three county commissioners and specified St. Cloud as the county seat. Writing in 1997,

Jewish-American American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are Americans, American citizens who are Jews, Jewish, whether by Jewish culture, culture, ethnicity, or Judaism, religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of Am ...

historian of America's religious architecture Marilyn J. Chiat commented, "Father Francis X. Pierz, a missionary to Indians in central Minnesota, published a series of articles in 1851 in German Catholic newspapers advocating Catholic settlement in central Minnesota. Large numbers of immigrants, mainly German, but also Slovenian and Polish, responded. Over 20 parishes were formed in what is now Stearns County, each centered on a church-oriented hamlet. As the farmers prospered, the small frame churches were replaced by more substantial buildings of brick or stone such as St. Mary, Help of Christians, a

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

stone structure built in 1873. Stearns County retains in its German character and is still home to one of the largest rural Catholic populations in Anglo-America." Furthermore, according to Kathleen Neils Conzen, "Stearns County Germans early established daughter settlements at West Union in Todd County, Millerville in Douglas County, and Pierz in Morrison County, later flooded into

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

(where 'Stearns County German' remains a recognized ethnicity today), and in 1905 negotiated with the Canadian authorities to establish the St. Peter Colony in north-central

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

." The first courthouse was put into service on July 12, 1864, and it remained in use until the present courthouse was dedicated in 1922. In 1913 a campaign was mounted to shift the county seat to Albany, due to its more central location. The effort was not successful. Stearns County was also founded off of farmers' markets and crop trades, making it one of the top grossing crop producing counties in the state of Minnesota.

Geography

Stearns County borders nine counties. The

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

flows southeast along its northeast border, and the Sauk River drains the central part of the county into the Mississippi at St. Cloud. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, lightly wooded, dotted with lakes and ponds, and carved with drainages. All available area is devoted to agriculture or has been developed.Stearns County MN Google Maps (accessed 3 May 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east and south,
/ref> with its highest point a local protuberance at west and south of St. Joseph, at ASL. The county's total area is , of which is land and (3.4%) is water. The northeastern border of Stearns County is formed by the Mississippi River. The land consists of rolling hills, scenic lakes, prairies, savannas and woodlands of a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees. Stearns is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils. The county has 166 lakes.

Major highways

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

* U.S. Highway 52 * U.S. Highway 71 *

Minnesota State Highway 4 Minnesota State Highway 4 (MN 4) is a highway in southwest and west-central 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 O ...

* Minnesota State Highway 15 * Minnesota State Highway 22 *

Minnesota State Highway 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs roug ...

* Minnesota State Highway 24 * Minnesota State Highway 28 *

Minnesota State Highway 55 Minnesota State Highway 55 (MN 55) is a state highway that runs across the central part of state taking a diagonal route from its western most at the North Dakota state line near Tenney to its easternmost point at the intersection with U.S. H ...

* Minnesota State Highway 237 * Minnesota State Highway 238 * '' List of county roads''

Airports

Source: * Brooten Municipal Airport (6D1) - east of Brooten * Paynesville Municipal Airport (PEX) - west of Paynesville * Sauk Centre Municipal Airport (D39) - south-southeast of Sauk Centre * St. Cloud Regional Airport (STC) - east-southeast of St. Cloud

Adjacent counties

* Todd County - north * Morrison County - northeast * Benton County - northeast * Sherburne County - east * Wright County - southeast * Meeker County - south * Kandiyohi County - southwest * Pope County - west * Douglas County - northwest

Protected areas

Sources: * Avon Hills Forest Scientific and Natural Area * Birch Lakes State Forest * Christopher Kurilla Wildlife Management Area * Cold Spring Heron Colony Scientific and Natural Area * Crow River Wildlife Management Area * Edward Raymond Mohs Wildlife Management Area * Follies Wildlife Management Area (part) * Lake Koronis Regional Park * Legacy Marsh Wildlife Management Area * Miller Wildlife Management Area * Milton Kjedahl Wildlife Management Area * Norman T. Dahlman Wildlife Management Area * Oxcart Crossing Wildlife Management Area * Padua State Wildlife Management Area * Patch Woods Scientific and Natural Area * Quarry Park and Nature Preserve * Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area * Rockville County Park and Nature Preserve * Roscoe Prairie Scientific and Natural Area * Saint Wendel Tamarack Bog Scientific and Natural Area * Sauk River Wildlife Management Area * Sedan Brook Prairie Scientific and Natural Area * Stearns Prairie Heritage Wildlife Management Area * Tamarack State Wildlife Management Area * Tower State Wildlife Management Area * Tribute Wildlife Management Area * Victor Winder Wildlife Management Area * Warner Lake County Park * Zion State Wildlife Management Area

Lakes and streams

* Adley Creek * Crow 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

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 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 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 50,291 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.99%

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 ...

, 0.83%

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 ...

, 0.26% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.03%

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 ...

, 0.47% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.37% 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. 56.9% 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 9.4% Norwegian ancestry. There were 47,604 households, out of which 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% 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, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15. The county population contained 25.70% under the age of 18, 16.10% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,426, and the median income for a family was $51,553. Males had a median income of $34,268 versus $23,393 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 $19,211. About 4.30% of families and 8.70% 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 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Albany * Avon *

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

* Brooten (part) * Clearwater (part) * Cold Spring * Eden Valley (part) * Elrosa * Freeport * Greenwald * Holdingford * Kimball * Lake Henry * Meire Grove * Melrose * New Munich * Paynesville * Richmond * Rockville * Roscoe * Saint Anthony * Saint Augusta * Saint Cloud (county seat; partial) *

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

* Saint Martin * Saint Rosa *

Saint Stephen Stephen (; ) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first martyr of Christianity."St ...

* Sartell (part) * Sauk Centre * Spring Hill * Waite Park

Census-designated place

* Fairhaven * St. John's University

Unincorporated communities

* Collegeville *

Farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

* Five Points * Georgeville * Jacobs Prairie * Marty *

Opole Opole (; ; ; ) is a city located in southern Poland on the Oder River and the historical capital of Upper Silesia. With a population of approximately 127,387 as of the 2021 census, it is the capital of Opole Voivodeship (province) and the seat of ...

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

* Saint Anna * Saint Francis *

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greeks, Greek descent from the maritime city of Patara (Lycia), Patara in Anatolia (in modern-day Antalya ...

* Saint Wendel

Townships

* Albany Township * Ashley Township * Avon Township * Brockway Township * Collegeville Township * Crow Lake Township * Crow River Township * Eden Lake Township * Fair Haven Township * Farming Township * Getty Township * Grove Township * Holding Township * Krain Township * Lake George Township * Lake Henry Township * Le Sauk Township * Luxemburg Township * Lynden Township * Maine Prairie Township * Melrose Township * Millwood Township * Munson Township * North Fork Township * Oak Township * Paynesville Township * Raymond Township * Saint Joseph Township * Saint Martin Township * Saint Wendel Township * Sauk Centre Township * Spring Hill Township * Wakefield Township * Zion Township

Politics and government

In its early history, Stearns County was heavily Democratic due to being largely German Catholic and opposed to the pietistic Scandinavian Lutheran Republican Party of that era. It did not vote Republican until

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

swept every Minnesota county in 1904. Anti-

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

feeling from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

caused the county to shift overwhelmingly to Warren G. Harding in 1920 before swinging to Robert M. La Follette, coreligionist

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was the 42nd governor of New York, serving from 1919 to 1920 and again from 1923 to 1928. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party's presidential nominee in the 1 ...

and fellow “wet” Democrat

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. In 1936, the county's isolationism gave strong support to William Lemke’s Union Party.Phillips, Kevin P.; ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', pp. 428-430 Stearns County turned Republican until another Catholic nominee, John F. Kennedy, returned it to the Democratic ranks after being one of only 130 counties nationwide to back

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American politician, diplomat, and historian who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator from South Dakota, and the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

in 1972. Since the “Reagan Revolution”, Stearns County has voted reliably Republican, with no Democrat gaining a majority since

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1976, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1996 the only one to manage a plurality. The county's growing social conservative bent has fueled the Republican trend. In 2016,

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 ...

won the county with 59.8% of the vote, the highest percentage any presidential candidate has received since President Eisenhower in 1956. He improved on that in 2020 with 60.1% of the vote. As of 2024, one city in the county leans Democratic: St. Cloud, the largest city.

References

External links

Stearns County official website

Sartell Historical Society
- Sartell, MN
Stearns History Museum official website
{{Coord, 45.55, -94.61, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 St. Cloud, Minnesota metropolitan area Minnesota counties on the Mississippi River 1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1855