Todd 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 central part of 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 25,262. 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 Long Prairie.

History

The county was created by the Minnesota Territorial legislature on February 20, 1855, although the county government was not organized until January 1, 1867, with Long Prairie as the county seat. It was named for

John Blair Smith Todd John Blair Smith Todd (April 4, 1814 – January 5, 1872) was a Delegate from Dakota Territory to the United States House of Representatives and a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life, education, and family ...

, who was a delegate from

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, and general in the Union Army during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In 1976 the Todd County Bicentennial Commission compiled an extensive history of the County in a 316 page spiral bound book. The book includes histories of Todd County Villages, townships, and forgotten post offices, among other items.

Geography

The

Crow Wing River The Crow Wing River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed November 29, 2012 tributary of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, United States. The river rises at an elevation ...

flows southeastward along the northeastern border of Todd County. The

Long Prairie River The Long Prairie River is a tributary of the Crow Wing River, long, in central Minnesota in the United States. Via the Crow Wing River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of in a generally rural region. Hi ...

flows east-northeast through the central part of the county, discharging into the Crow Wing on the county's northeastern border. The Wing River, northwest of the Long Prairie River, also flows into the Crow Wing. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, dotted with lakes and etched with drainages. The area is devoted to agriculture.''Todd County MN'' Google Maps (accessed March 14, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east and south, with its highest point on the west border at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.5%) is water.

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 10 *

U.S. Highway 52 U.S. Route 52 (US 52) is a major U.S. Highway in the Central United States that extends from the northern to southeastern region of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S. Highways, US 52 primarily follows a north ...

* U.S. Highway 71 *

Minnesota State Highway 27 Minnesota State Highway 27 (MN 27) is a state highway in west-central and east-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with MN 28 in Browns Valley and continues east to its interchange with Interstate 35 (I-35) in ...

Minnesota State Highway 28 Minnesota State Highway 28 (MN 28) is a state highway in west-central and central Minnesota, which travels from South Dakota Highway 10 at the South Dakota state line near Browns Valley and continues east to its intersection wi ...

Minnesota State Highway 210 Minnesota State Highway 210 (MN 210) is a state highway in west-central, central, and northeast Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 210 (ND 210) at the North Dakota state line (at Breckenridge), and continues east to its e ...

Minnesota State Highway 287 Minnesota State Highway 287 (MN 287) is a highway in west-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 28 in Grey Eagle and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with U.S. 71 / State Hig ...

Adjacent counties

* Wadena County (north) * Cass County (northeast) * Morrison County (east) *

Stearns County Stearns County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,292. Its county seat and largest city is St. Cloud. Included within the Minnesota Territory since 1849, the county was founded by Europe ...

(south) * Douglas County (west) * Otter Tail County (northwest)

Lakes

* Bass Lake * Beauty Lake * Big Birch Lake (part) * Big Lake * Big Swan Lake * Buckhorn Lake * Bunker Lake * Cedar Lake * Charlotte Lake * Coal Lake * Fairly Lake * Fawn Lake * Felix Lake * Goose Lake * Guernsey Lake * Hayden Lake * Horseshoe Lake * Juergens Lake * Keller Lake * Lady Lake * Lake Osakis (part) * Latimer Lake * Lawrence Lake * Little Birch Lake (part) * Little Sauk Lake * Long Lake (Birchdale Twp.) * Long Lake (Burnhamville Twp.) * Maple Lake * Mary Lake (part) * McCarrahan Lake * Mill Lake * Mound Lake * Mud Lake * Pauley Lake * Pendergast Lake * Pine Island Lake * Rice Lake * Sauk Lake (part) * Schreiers Lake * Sheet Lake * Trace Lake * Twin Lakes (part) * West Union Lake

Protected areas

* Aurzada Wildlife Management Area * Buckhorn Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Burleene State Wildlife Management Area * Dower State Wildlife Management Area * Elgin Woods Wildlife Management Area * Iona Wildlife Management Area * Ireland State Wildlife Management Area * Long Prairie River Wildlife Management Area * Oak Ridge State Wildlife Management Area * Osakis Wildlife Management Area (part) * Owen-Hinz Wildlife Management Area * Quistorff Wildlife Management Area * Randall State Wildlife Management Area * Santer Wildlife Management Area * Sheet Lake Wildlife Management Area * West Union Wildlife Management Area

Demographics

2020 Census

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 24,426 people, 9,342 households, and 6,511 families in Todd 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 11,900 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.54%

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 ...

, 0.11%

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 ...

, 0.48% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.72% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.90% 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. 52.1% 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 ...

, 11.3% Norwegian and 5.6%

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

ancestry. There were 9,342 households, out of which 31.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.80% 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, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.30% were non-families. 26.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.14. The county population contained 27.40% under the age of 18, 8.10% from 18 to 24, 24.70% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 16.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $32,281, and the median income for a family was $39,920. Males had a median income of $28,630 versus $20,287 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 $15,658. About 9.60% of families and 12.90% 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 14.60% of those under age 18 and 13.50% of those age 65 or over.

Amish

Todd County has a large concentration of

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

, about the same population size as the Amish settlement at

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 ...

. It is home to five different Amish communities, with altogether seven church districts in 2013, which indicates a total population of about 1000 people.

Communities

Cities

Bertha Bertha is a female Germanic name, from Old High German ''berhta'' meaning "bright one". It was usually a short form of Anglo Saxon names ''Beorhtgifu'' meaning "bright gift" or ''Beorhtwynn'' meaning "bright joy". The name occurs as a theonym, s ...

* Browerville * Burtrum * Clarissa * Eagle Bend * Grey Eagle * Hewitt * Long Prairie (county seat) * Osakis (partly in Douglas County) * Staples (partly in Wadena County) * West Union

Unincorporated communities

Philbrook Philbrook is a locational surname of British origin. An alternative spelling is Philbrick. The surname spread to America when Thomas Philbrick emigrated to Massachusetts in 1633. Retrieved 25 January 2014. The name may refer to: * Frank Philbrook ( ...

* Pillsbury * Ward Springs

Townships

* Bartlett *

* Birchdale *

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

* Burleene * Burnhamville * Eagle Valley * Fawn Lake *

Germania Germania ( ; ), also more specifically called Magna Germania (English: ''Great Germania''), Germania Libera (English: ''Free Germania''), or Germanic Barbaricum to distinguish it from the Roman provinces of Germania Inferior and Germania Superio ...

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

* Grey Eagle *

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

* Kandota *

Leslie Leslie may refer to: * Leslie (name), a name and list of people with the given name or surname, including fictional characters Families * Clan Leslie, a Scottish clan with the motto "grip fast" * Leslie (Russian nobility), a Russian noble family ...

* Little Elk * Little Sauk * Long Prairie *

Moran Moran may refer to: Places Antarctica * Moran Bluff, Marie Byrd Land * Moran Buttress, Marie Byrd Land * Moran Glacier, Alexander Island Asia * Moran Town, Assam, India * Moran, Israel, a kibbutz * Moran Hill, North Korea * Moran Station, a s ...

* Reynolds * Round Prairie * Staples * Stowe Prairie * Turtle Creek *

Villard Villard may refer to: People *Villard (surname) Places France * Villard, Creuse *Villard, Haute-Savoie * Villard-Bonnot, in the Isère department *Villard-de-Lans, in the Isère department * Villard-d'Héry, in the Savoie department *Villard-Lé ...

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

* West Union * Wykeham

Government and politics

Todd County voters tend to vote Republican. In 76% of national elections since 1960, the county selected the Republican Party candidate (as of 2024). In 2016, 2020, and 2024, Todd County was

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 ...

's second strongest county in Minnesota behind neighboring Morrison County all three times.

References

External links

Todd County government’s website
{{Coord, 46.07, -94.90, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 Minnesota counties 1867 establishments in Minnesota Populated places established in 1867