Goodhue County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Goodhue County
U.S. county
Goodhue County Courthouse in Red Wing, Minnesota
Flag Seal Logo
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	March 5, 1853
Named for	James M. Goodhue
Seat	Red Wing
Largest city	Red Wing
Area
• Total	780 sq mi (2,000 km2)
• Land	757 sq mi (1,960 km2)
• Water	24 sq mi (60 km2)  3.0%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	47,582
• Estimate  (2023)	48,035
• Density	62.9/sq mi (24.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Goodhue County (/ˈɡʊdhjuː/ GUUD-hew) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,582. Its county seat is Red Wing. Nearly all of Prairie Island Indian Community is within the county.

Goodhue County comprises the Red Wing, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

History

The county was created on March 5, 1853, with territory partitioned from Wabasha County. It was named for James Madison Goodhue (1810–1852), who published the first newspaper in the territory, The Minnesota Pioneer.

The county was originally settled exclusively by "Yankee" settlers, meaning that they both came to Goodhue County either directly from the six New England states or from upstate New York, where they were born to parents who had moved to that region from the six New England states in the immediate aftermath of the American Revolution, and that they were descended from the English Puritans who emigrated to North America during the early 1600s. Because of the prevalence of New Englanders and New England transplants from upstate New York the county was said to have a "distinctly New England character". While this was true of many neighboring counties it was considered exceptionally true of Goodhue County. The New Englanders brought with them many of their New England values, including a love of education and fervent support of the abolitionist movement. When the New Englanders arrived, they laid out farms, established post routes, and built schools and government buildings out of locally available materials. The New Englanders and their descendants made up the great majority of Goodhue County's inhabitants until the late 19th and early 20th century, when immigrants from Germany and Norway began arriving in the Minnesota-Wisconsin border region in large numbers. There were small numbers of immigrants from Germany, Norway and Sweden during the first several decades of Goodhue County's history as well.

Hamline University, Minnesota's first college of higher learning, was started in Red Wing in 1854. It closed during the Civil War, and reopened in 1869 in Saint Paul.

The county was a leading producer of wheat during the mid-19th century, and for several years the county boasted the highest wheat production in the country. Fires at two of Red Wing's mills in the 1880s and developing railroad routes across Minnesota encouraged farmers from neighboring counties to begin sending their wheat to Minneapolis mills, reducing the county's importance in the wheat trade around the start of the 20th century.

The first municipal swimming pool in the state was built in Goodhue County.

In October 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower visited the county for a bridge dedication ceremony. The Hiawatha Bridge had been built to replace the Old High Bridge that spanned the Mississippi River since 1895. This visit drew 20,000 people. Eisenhower hoped his visit would help in the elections, swaying Minnesota voters to vote for Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election in the coming month. But John F. Kennedy carried the state on his way to being elected the next president.

Soils of Warsaw WMA area

Geography

Rural Goodhue County from U.S. Route 61/63

Goodhue County lies on Minnesota's border with Wisconsin (across Lake Pepin). The Cannon River flows eastward through the northern part of the county on its way to discharge into Lake Pepin. The Little Cannon River flows northward through the west-central part of the county, discharging into the Cannon River at Cannon Falls. The North Fork of the Zumbro River flows eastward through the lower part of the county. The county terrain consists of rolling hills, etched with drainages and gullies, and with high bluffs against the river valleys. The terrain slopes to the east and north; its highest point is near its southwest corner at 1,260 ft (380 m) ASL. The county has an area of 780 square miles (2,000 km²), of which 757 square miles (1,960 km²) is land and 24 square miles (62 km²) (3.0%) is water. Goodhue is one of 17 Minnesota counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils.

Lakes

Source:

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Source:

Demographics

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

• Frontenac

Unincorporated communities

Ghost towns

• Central Point Township
• Fairpoint
• Florence
• Thoten/Belvidere

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Goodhue para niños