Swift 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 9,838. 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 Benson.

History

Swift County is in west central Minnesota and consists of with three tiers of seven townships each. It was established on February 18, 1870, and named for Henry Adoniram Swift, the third governor of Minnesota (1863–64). The Indians had grievances against the government, including delays in sending annuities that caused near starvation several times. In August 1862, an Indian rebellion broke out in Minnesota. The warfare reached the settlements just getting started in northeastern Swift County. By late September 1862, the Indian War was almost over but the settlers hesitated to venture back to Swift County until 1865, when all danger was apparently over. Scandinavians and Germans were in decided majority among the early settlers. A number of them came with the honor and privileges of Civil War veterans. In 1869, the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad reached Willmar, and the next year it arrived in Benson. The railroad company determined the number of future trading centers (Kerkhoven, DeGraff, Benson, Randall) in the county by locating sites at intervals of approximately . The Swift County Courthouse was built in 1897 and was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1976. Benson is the county seat. Railroad tracks run through Benson's downtown business district with parks on each side.

Historic buildings

Historic buildings in Swift County include: * Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Appleton built in 1879 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Politics

Swift County was traditionally a Democratic stronghold, with the last Republican to win it before 2016 being

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. A dramatic swing against the Democrats in the

Rust Belt The Rust Belt is a region of the United States that experienced industrial decline starting in the 1950s. The U.S. manufacturing sector as a percentage of the U.S. GDP peaked in 1953 and has been in decline since, impacting certain regions an ...

saw

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

win the county over

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

by 26%.

Geography

The Minnesota River flows southeast along the county's lower western border. The Pomme de Terre River flows south-southwest through the county's western part, discharging into the Minnesota. The Chippewa River flows south-southwest through the county's central part, discharging into the Minnesota south of the county. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture.''Swift County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 13, 2019)
/ref> It slopes to south and the west, with its highest point near its northeast corner at 1,240' (378m) ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. Swift County is primarily agricultural, but also hosts agriculture equipment manufacturers and an ethanol plant. It has 24 lakes and nine rivers and streams. Lake Oliver is one of the county's biggest, at . Caltopo shows the true highpoint to be 1300 ft in elevation about 1/3 of a mile southwest of the Monson State Wildlife Management Area:latitude 45.3046&longitude=-95.3031

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 12 * U.S. Highway 59 *

Minnesota State Highway 7 Minnesota State Highway 7, or Trunk Highway 7, (MN 7, TH 7) is a state highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 28 near Beardsley and continues east to its terminus with MN 100 and County Road&nb ...

* Minnesota State Highway 9 *

Minnesota State Highway 29 Minnesota State Highway 29 (MN 29) is a highway in west-central Minnesota, which runs from its junction with U.S. Highways 59 and 212 in Montevideo and continues north to its terminus at U.S. Highway 71 in Wadena. Route description Hi ...

* Minnesota State Highway 104 *

Minnesota State Highway 119 Minnesota State Highway 119 (MN 119) is a state highway in west-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 212 (US 212) in Dawson and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 1 ...

Adjacent counties

* Stevens County - northwest * Pope County - northeast * Kandiyohi County - east * Chippewa County - south * Lac qui Parle County - southwest * Big Stone County - west

Airport

Appleton Municipal Airport provides

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

service for Swift County.

Protected areas

* Bench State Wildlife Management Area * Camp Kerk State Wildlife Management Area * Danvers State Wildlife Management Area * Ehrenburg State Wildlife Management Area * Hayes-Myhre State Wildlife Management Area * Henry X State Wildlife Management Area * Hollerberg Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Monson Lake State Park

Demographics

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, there were 11,956 people, 4,353 households, and 2,881 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 16.1/sqmi (6.22/km²). There were 4,821 housing units at an average density of 6.50/sqmi (2.51/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.67%

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 ...

, 2.69%

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 ...

, 0.50% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 1.52%

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 ...

, 1.40% 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 1.79% from two or more races. 2.68% 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. Swift County has the highest percentage of Pacific Islander natives out of any U.S. county outside

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. 34.4% 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 ...

, 30.5%

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 ...

, 5.2%

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

and 5.1%

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestry. There were 4,353 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.90% were married couples living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% were non-families. 30.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00. The county population contained 23.00% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 120.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 124.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,820, and the median income for a family was $44,208. Males had a median income of $29,362 versus $21,667 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 $16,360. About 5.30% of families and 8.40% 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 6.90% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

* Appleton * Benson (county seat) * Clontarf * Danvers * De Graff * Holloway * Kerkhoven * Murdock

Unincorporated communities

* Fairfield * Swift Falls

Townships

* Appleton Township * Benson Township * Camp Lake Township * Cashel Township * Clontarf Township * Dublin Township * Edison Township * Fairfield Township * Hayes Township * Hegbert Township * Kerkhoven Township * Kildare Township * Marysland Township * Moyer Township * Pillsbury Township * Shible Township * Six Mile Grove Township * Swenoda Township * Tara Township * Torning Township * West Bank Township

References

External links

Swift County official website

Swift County Monitor website
{{Coord, 45.29, -95.68, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1870 establishments in Minnesota Populated places established in 1870