Cottonwood County, Minnesota

County in Minnesota, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cottonwood County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,517.[2] Its county seat is Windom.[3]

Country United States
FoundedMay 23, 1857 (created)
July 29, 1870 (organized)
SeatWindom
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
Quick facts Country, State ...
Cottonwood County, Minnesota
County
Cottonwood County Courthouse
Cottonwood County Courthouse
Map of Minnesota highlighting Cottonwood County
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Coordinates: 44°01′N 95°11′W
Country United States
State Minnesota
FoundedMay 23, 1857 (created)
July 29, 1870 (organized)
Named afterCottonwood River
SeatWindom
Largest cityWindom
Area
 • Total
649 sq mi (1,680 km2)
 • Land639 sq mi (1,660 km2)
 • Water10 sq mi (26 km2)  1.5%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
11,517
 • Estimate 
(2025)[1]
11,405 Decrease
 • Density17.8/sq mi (6.9/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts1st, 7th
Websitewww.cottonwoodcountymn.gov
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History

The county was created on May 23, 1857, named for the river in Germantown Township ("cottonwood" is the English meaning of the Dakota Sioux word "Waraju").[4][5] Minnesota Governor Horace Austin appointed three county commissioners when the county was established. They met at a home about six miles northwest of Windom on the Des Moines River at Big Bend. During this meeting, they designated the commissioners' districts and changed various county officers. The county organization was completed on July 29, 1870. The first general election was held in the county that November. The first deed of record was filed on January 10, 1870. The first land assessments were made in 1871, and the first taxes were paid in 1872.[6]

Until May 1965, when county option was eliminated, Cottonwood was a dry county; no beverages with over 3.2% alcohol could be sold.[7]

County NRHP listings

Soils of Cottonwood County[11]

Geography

The Heron Lake Outflow flows east through the lower part of Cottonwood County. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, devoted to agriculture.[12] The terrain generally slopes to the east, with the northern portion also sloping north and the lower portion sloping south. The highest point is on the midpoint of the west border, at 1,535 ft (468 m) ASL.[13] The county has an area of 649 square miles (1,680 km2), of which 639 square miles (1,660 km2) is land and 10 square miles (26 km2) (1.5%) is water.[14]

Watersheds

The northeastern part of the county drains north to the Minnesota River through numerous small creeks, the Cottonwood River and Watonwan River. The southwestern part drains south through the Des Moines River. These two watersheds come together at the Mississippi River near Keokuk, Iowa. Most wetlands in the county have been drained for agricultural use.

Lakes

Source:[15]

More information Des Moines River Watershed, Minnesota River Watershed ...
Des Moines River WatershedMinnesota River Watershed
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Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Source:[16]

  • Arnolds Lake WMA
  • Banks WMA
  • Bennett WMA
  • Blixseth WPA
  • Budolfson WMA
  • Carpenter WMA
  • Clear Lake WPA
  • Cottonwood Lake WPA
  • Delft State Wildlife Management Area
  • Des Moines River WPA
  • Dynamite Park
  • Expandere WMA
  • Farhagen WMA
  • Harder Lake WPA
  • Hurricane Lake WMA
  • Lady Bird County Park
  • Lake Augusta WPA
  • Little Swan Lake State Wildlife Management Area
  • Long Lake WPA
  • Mound Creek County Park
  • Mountain County Park
  • Mountain Lake WMA
  • Mountain Lake WPA
  • Pats Grove County Park
  • Pats Pasture WMA
  • Pennington Prairie SNA
  • Regehr State Wildlife Management Area
  • Red Rock Falls County Park
  • Rock Ridge Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
  • Rock Ridge WMA
  • South Dutch Charlie County Park[17]
  • String Lakes WMA
  • Storden WPA
  • Talcot County Park
  • Talcot Lake WMA
  • Typhoon WMA
  • Voit WMA
  • Watonwan WPA
  • Wolf Lake WPA

[12]

Demographics

More information Census, Pop. ...
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
186012—
18705344,350.0%
18805,533936.1%
18907,41234.0%
190012,06962.8%
191012,6514.8%
192014,57015.2%
193014,7821.5%
194016,1439.2%
195015,763−2.4%
196016,1662.6%
197014,887−7.9%
198014,854−0.2%
199012,694−14.5%
200012,167−4.2%
201011,687−3.9%
202011,517−1.5%
2025 (est.)11,405[18] Decrease−1.0%
U.S. Decennial Census:[19][20][21]
[22][2]
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Racial and ethnic composition

More information Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic), Pop 1980 ...
Cottonwood County, Minnesota – Racial and ethnic composition
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 may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1980[23] Pop 1990[24] Pop 2000[25] Pop 2010[26] Pop 2020[27] % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 14,756 12,520 11,509 10,432 9,418 99.34% 98.63% 94.59% 89.26% 81.77%
Black or African American alone (NH) 8 8 39 82 135 0.05% 0.06% 0.32% 0.70% 1.17%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 12 10 26 23 25 0.08% 0.08% 0.21% 0.20% 0.22%
Asian alone (NH) 35 88 197 302 361 0.24% 0.69% 1.62% 2.58% 3.13%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x [28] x [29] 7 17 80 x x 0.06% 0.15% 0.69%
Other race alone (NH) 2 5 12 6 53 0.01% 0.04% 0.10% 0.05% 0.46%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x [30] x [31] 110 105 330 x x 0.90% 0.90% 2.87%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 41 63 267 720 1,115 0.28% 0.50% 2.19% 6.16% 9.68%
Total 14,854 12,694 12,167 11,687 11,517 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%
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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 11,517. The median age was 42.5 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 23.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.7 males age 18 and over.[32][33]

The racial makeup of the county was 83.5% White, 1.2% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian, 0.7% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.9% from some other race, and 5.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 9.7% of the population.[33]

<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[34]

There were 4,671 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.7% were married-couple households, 19.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.4% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[32]

There were 5,152 housing units, of which 9.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 76.9% were owner-occupied and 23.1% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.1% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.9%.[32]

2000 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Cottonwood County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 12,167 people, 4,917 households, and 3,338 families in the county. The population density was 19.0 per square mile (7.3/km2). There were 5,376 housing units at an average density of 8.41 per square mile (3.25/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 95.23% White, 0.34% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 1.63% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.35% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 2.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 50.2% were of German and 18.6% Norwegian ancestry.

There were 4,917 households, out of which 28.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.10% were married couples living together, 6.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.90% 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 2.94.

The county population contained 25.00% under the age of 18, 6.50% from 18 to 24, 23.20% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 22.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $31,943, and the median income for a family was $40,237. Males had a median income of $28,993 versus $19,934 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,647. About 7.40% of families and 11.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.40% of those under age 18 and 8.70% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Cottonwood County reliably votes Republican. In only one presidential election since 1964 has it selected the Democratic candidate.

More information Year, Republican ...
United States presidential election results for Cottonwood County, Minnesota[35]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No. %No. %No. %
1892 727 52.38% 202 14.55% 459 33.07%
1896 1,242 58.72% 810 38.30% 63 2.98%
1900 1,368 68.50% 547 27.39% 82 4.11%
1904 1,536 84.44% 213 11.71% 70 3.85%
1908 1,240 65.82% 526 27.92% 118 6.26%
1912 325 16.11% 511 25.33% 1,181 58.55%
1916 1,425 60.23% 762 32.21% 179 7.57%
1920 3,882 86.27% 451 10.02% 167 3.71%
1924 2,722 56.99% 217 4.54% 1,837 38.46%
1928 3,405 67.45% 1,604 31.77% 39 0.77%
1932 1,921 39.40% 2,877 59.00% 78 1.60%
1936 2,509 37.88% 3,929 59.32% 185 2.79%
1940 4,228 58.28% 2,991 41.23% 36 0.50%
1944 3,916 62.08% 2,354 37.32% 38 0.60%
1948 3,222 48.58% 3,333 50.26% 77 1.16%
1952 5,488 71.51% 2,130 27.76% 56 0.73%
1956 4,619 66.29% 2,344 33.64% 5 0.07%
1960 5,087 64.62% 2,768 35.16% 17 0.22%
1964 3,423 45.47% 4,090 54.33% 15 0.20%
1968 4,050 54.80% 3,046 41.21% 295 3.99%
1972 4,396 60.19% 2,802 38.37% 105 1.44%
1976 3,906 49.70% 3,813 48.52% 140 1.78%
1980 4,258 54.26% 2,958 37.70% 631 8.04%
1984 4,275 57.89% 3,073 41.61% 37 0.50%
1988 3,390 51.80% 3,095 47.29% 60 0.92%
1992 2,481 37.30% 2,382 35.81% 1,788 26.88%
1996 2,633 42.66% 2,737 44.35% 802 12.99%
2000 3,369 54.51% 2,503 40.50% 309 5.00%
2004 3,557 55.85% 2,726 42.80% 86 1.35%
2008 3,157 52.30% 2,759 45.71% 120 1.99%
2012 3,316 56.57% 2,433 41.50% 113 1.93%
2016 3,679 64.31% 1,678 29.33% 364 6.36%
2020 4,165 68.20% 1,834 30.03% 108 1.77%
2024 4,157 69.42% 1,705 28.47% 126 2.10%
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More information Position, Name ...
County Board of Commissioners[36]
Position Name District
Commissioner Larry Anderson District 1
Commissioner and Chairperson Kevin Stevens District 2
Commissioner Donna Gravley District 3
Commissioner Norman Holven District 4
Commissioner Tom Appel District 5
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More information Position, Name ...
State Legislature (2018-2020)
Position Name Affiliation District
Senate Bill Weber[37] Republican District 22
House of Representatives Rod Hamilton[38] Republican District 22B
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More information Position, Name ...
U.S Congress (2021-2023)
Position Name Affiliation District
House of Representatives Brad Finstad[39] Republican 1st
House of Representatives Michelle Fischbach Republican 7th
Senate Amy Klobuchar[40] Democrat N/A
Senate Tina Smith[41] Democrat N/A
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Communities

Cities

Unincorporated community

Townships

See also

Footnotes

Further reading

External links

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