Wabasha 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 21,387. 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 Wabasha. Wabasha County is part of the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The recently organized

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Minnesota and the w ...

legislature created Wabasha County on October 27, 1849, one of nine original counties in the territory. An area on 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 ...

's west bank, originally called Cratte's Landing, had grown into a town named Wabasha, then a city, and when the legislature created the county west of the river around this city, Wabasha was designated the county seat. The city had been named for three successive chiefs of Mississippi bands of Dakota Indians. Wabasha County's area was reduced in 1853 when sections were partitioned off to create Fillmore, Goodhue, and

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

counties. More area was partitioned off in 1854 to create Winona County, and another part in 1855 to create Olmsted County. The county boundaries have remained the same since 1855.

Geography

Wabasha County lies on Minnesota's border with

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 ...

(across the

. The Mississippi flows southeast along the county's eastern line. The North Fork of the Whitewater River flows east through the southern part of the county, then discharges into the

Whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

in Olmsted County. The combined Whitewater then enters the southeastern part of Wabasha County, flowing northeast to its discharge point into the Mississippi. The Zumbro River flows east-northeast through the county to its discharge point into the Mississippi. East Indian Creek and Miller Creek drain the northern part of the county into the Mississippi. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, considerably rutted by drainages, with all available area devoted to agriculture.Wabasha County MN Google Maps (accessed April 20, 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east and south, with its highest point on its upper west border at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (4.8%) is water. Wabasha is one of 17 Minnesota counties with more savanna soils than either forest or prairie soils.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 61 * U.S. Highway 63 * Minnesota State Highway 42 *

Minnesota State Highway 60 Trunk Highway 60 (MN 60) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line (at Bigelow) and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (at Wabasha), where the ro ...

Minnesota State Highway 74 Minnesota State Highway 74 (MN 74) is a highway in southeast Minnesota that runs from its Intersection (road), intersection with U.S. Route 52 in Minnesota, U.S. Highway 52 and Minnesota State Highway 30, State Highway 30 in Chatfield, Min ...

* Minnesota State Highway 247

Adjacent counties

* Pepin County, Wisconsin - northeast *

Buffalo County, Wisconsin Buffalo County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13,317. Its county seat is Alma, Wisconsin, Alma. The county was created in 1853 and ...

- east * Winona County - southeast * Olmsted County - south * Goodhue County - west, northwest

Protected areas

* Carley State Park * Kellogg-Weaver Dunes Scientific and Natural Area * Mazeppa State Wildlife Management Area * McCarthy Lake State Wildlife Management Area * Miller Creek Aquatic Management Area * Zumbro Falls Woods Scientific and Natural Area

Lakes

* Lake Pepin (part) * Robinson Lake * Zumbro Lake (part) * These lakes are located within the

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is a , See also * Izaak Walton League * List of National Wildlife Refuges *Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge ...

** Cross Lake ** Half Moon Lake ** Maloney Lake ** McCarthy Lake ** Peterson Lake ** Robinson Lake

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 21,610 people, 8,277 households, and 5,876 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 9,066 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.97%

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 ...

, 0.25%

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 ...

, 0.27% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.62% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 1.68% 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. 53.3% 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 ...

, 11.1% Norwegian, 7.3% Irish and 5.0% American ancestry. There were 8,277 households, out of which 33.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% 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, 6.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.00% were non-families. 24.30% 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 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07. The county population contained 27.10% under the age of 18, 7.20% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.90 males. The median income for a household in the county was $42,117, and the median income for a family was $50,480. Males had a median income of $33,053 versus $24,316 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 $19,664. About 4.10% of families and 6.00% 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 6.00% of those under age 18 and 9.30% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Bellechester (partly in Goodhue County) *

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

* Hammond * Kellogg * Lake City (partly in Goodhue County) * Mazeppa * Millville * Minneiska (partly in Winona County) * Plainview * Wabasha (county seat) * Zumbro Falls

Unincorporated communities

* Bear Valley * Camp Lacupolis * Conception *

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...

* Jarrett * Maple Springs * Oak Center * Reads Landing * South Troy * Theilman *

Weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

* West Albany * West Newton

Townships

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

* Gillford *

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

* Greenfield *

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 ...

* Hyde Park *

Lake A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land and are separate from ...

* Mazeppa * Minneiska * Mount Pleasant * Oakwood * Pepin * Plainview * Watopa * West Albany * Zumbro

Politics

Wabasha County voters have traditionally voted Republican. In only two national elections since 1964 has the county selected the Democratic Party candidate (as of 2024).

References

External links

Wabasha-Kellogg (Minnesota) Convention and Visitors Bureau

Wabasha County government's website

Wabasha County Health and Demographic Data
{{authority control Rochester metropolitan area, Minnesota Minnesota counties on the Mississippi River Minnesota placenames of Native American origin Dakota toponyms 1849 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1849