Watonwan County, Minnesota

Watonwan County, Minnesota
Map of Minnesota highlighting Watonwan County
Location in the U.S. state of Minnesota
Map of the United States highlighting Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded February 25, 1860[1]
Named for Dakota word "watanwan," meaning "fish bait," or "plenty of fish."[2]
Seat St. James
Largest city St. James
Area
 • Total 440 sq mi (1,140 km2)
 • Land 435 sq mi (1,127 km2)
 • Water 4.8 sq mi (12 km2), 1.1%
Population (est.)
 • (2016) 10,908
 • Density 26/sq mi (10/km2)
Congressional district 1st
Time zone Central: UTC−6/−5
Website www.co.watonwan.mn.us

Watonwan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,211.[3] Its county seat is St. James.[4] The county was organized in 1860, two years after Minnesota was granted statehood.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 440 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 435 square miles (1,130 km2) is land and 4.8 square miles (12 km2) (1.1%) is water.[5] The county is drained by the Watonwan River and its tributaries; the river flows eastwardly through the northern part of the county.[6]

Soils of Watonwan County[7]

Major highways

Lakes

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18702,426—
18805,104110.4%
18907,74651.8%
190011,49648.4%
191011,332−1.4%
192012,4579.9%
193012,8022.8%
194013,9028.6%
195013,881−0.2%
196014,4604.2%
197013,298−8.0%
198012,361−7.0%
199011,682−5.5%
200011,8761.7%
201011,211−5.6%
Est. 201610,908[8]−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[9]
1790-1960[10] 1900-1990[11]
1990-2000[12] 2010-2016[3]
Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data

As of the 2000 census,[13] there were 11,876 people, 4,627 households, and 3,141 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 5,036 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.54% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 8.78% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 15.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.9% were of German, 17.3% Norwegian and 5.8% Swedish ancestry.

There were 4,627 households out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 7.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the county, the population was spread out with 27.60% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 24.30% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 18.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,441, and the median income for a family was $42,321. Males had a median income of $29,242 versus $19,788 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,413. About 7.80% of families and 9.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.50% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Townships

Unincorporated communities

Politics

Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[14]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 55.4% 2,768 36.3% 1,814 8.3% 416
2012 48.9% 2,517 48.5% 2,494 2.6% 133
2008 48.0% 2,526 48.7% 2,562 3.2% 170
2004 53.2% 2,970 45.0% 2,514 1.8% 99
2000 49.9% 2,562 44.0% 2,258 6.1% 314
1996 37.7% 1,997 47.9% 2,534 14.4% 760
1992 33.5% 1,871 37.7% 2,100 28.8% 1,607
1988 52.1% 2,821 47.0% 2,544 0.9% 50
1984 59.0% 3,526 40.6% 2,425 0.5% 27
1980 55.1% 3,629 37.1% 2,442 7.8% 516
1976 50.3% 3,351 47.7% 3,177 2.0% 134
1972 63.4% 3,960 35.7% 2,229 1.0% 62
1968 53.6% 3,446 42.0% 2,701 4.4% 286
1964 43.8% 2,823 56.1% 3,615 0.1% 7
1960 63.3% 4,173 36.6% 2,412 0.2% 10
1956 67.6% 3,963 32.2% 1,886 0.2% 12
1952 72.0% 4,549 27.7% 1,752 0.2% 15
1948 45.3% 2,581 53.3% 3,039 1.4% 78
1944 57.3% 3,146 42.3% 2,324 0.4% 23
1940 55.3% 3,478 44.3% 2,783 0.5% 28
1936 33.4% 1,930 63.6% 3,668 3.0% 174
1932 39.6% 1,919 57.7% 2,795 2.7% 129
1928 69.7% 3,306 29.8% 1,412 0.6% 26
1924 53.6% 2,297 6.5% 279 39.9% 1,712
1920 81.4% 3,510 15.0% 647 3.6% 155
1916 59.9% 1,300 36.9% 801 3.1% 68
1912 12.2% 254 29.7% 618 58.0% 1,206
1908 70.4% 1,411 26.8% 537 2.8% 55
1904 80.0% 1,455 16.9% 307 3.2% 58
1900 71.9% 1,509 24.3% 509 3.8% 80
1896 72.0% 1,622 26.0% 586 2.0% 45
1892 62.7% 934 26.0% 388 11.3% 168

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ "Minnesota Place Names". Minnesota Historical Society. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
  2. ↑ Chicago and North Western Railway Company (1908). A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways. p. 165.
  3. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  5. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  6. ↑ Minnesota Atlas & Gazetteer. Yarmouth, Me.: DeLorme. 1994. pp. 21–22. ISBN 0-89933-222-6.
  7. ↑ Nelson, Steven (2011). Savanna Soils of Minnesota. Minnesota: Self. pp. 65 - 67. ISBN 978-0-615-50320-2.
  8. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 25, 2014.
  13. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  14. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 10 October 2018.

Further reading

  • John A. Brown (ed.), History of Cottonwood and Watonwan counties, Minnesota: Their People, Industries, and Institutions: With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families. In Two Volumes. Indianapolis, IN: B.F. Bowen and Company, 1916. Volume 1 | Volume 2

Coordinates: 43°59′N 94°37′W / 43.98°N 94.61°W / 43.98; -94.61

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.