Le Sueur County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Le Sueur County
U.S. county
Le Sueur County Courthouse and Jail
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	Pierre-Charles Le Sueur
Seat	Le Center
Largest city	Le Sueur
Area
• Total	474 sq mi (1,230 km2)
• Land	449 sq mi (1,160 km2)
• Water	25 sq mi (60 km2)  5.3%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	28,674
• Estimate  (2023)	29,255
• Density	63.9/sq mi (24.7/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Le Sueur County (/ləsʊər/ LƏ-soor) is a county located in the south central portion of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,674. Its county seat is Le Center.

Le Sueur County is part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The Minnesota Territory legislature established several counties in 1853. This county was created on March 5 of that year. It was named for French explorer Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, who visited the area in 1700.

The settlement of Le Sueur (actually two competing settlements, Le Sueur and Le Sueur City) had sprung up on the east bank of the Minnesota River, both being platted in 1852. The legislature named the combined area as the first county seat. However, its remoteness from most of the county meant hardship for most of the area's residents since the county was covered with dense hardwood forest and existing roads were impassable when wet.

Several efforts were made to acquire a more central location. In the early 1870s, Cleveland (established in 1857, inland from the river in the SW part of the county) held a referendum to become the county seat. The referendum passed, but was challenged due to voting irregularities. In 1875 another referendum made Cleveland the county seat (1875-1876). In 1876, another referendum approved moving the seat to the newly created town of Le Sueur Center; the seat was promptly moved there. In the 1870s, businessmen from Waterville gained ownership of a quarter-section of land near the county's center, cleared the timber, and platted the city of Le Sueur Center (1876). The seat was moved there after a county referendum approved it. The county seat has remained in Le Sueur Center (renamed Le Center in 1930) since 1876.

The first railroad entered the county in 1867. This began the era of greater access and mobility. The first purpose-built courthouse in Le Sueur Center was constructed in 1896–7. It has been extensively remodeled and enlarged two times since.

Geography

The Minnesota River flows northeastward along the west border of Le Sueur County, on its way to discharge into the Mississippi. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, dotted with lakes and ponds. The soil is rich and black. The terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point near the midpoint of its east border, at 1,145 ft (349 m) ASL. The county has an area of 474 square miles (1,230 km²), of which 449 square miles (1,160 km²) is land and 25 square miles (65 km²) (5.3%) is water. Le Sueur is one of seven Minnesota savanna region counties where no forest soils exist and one of 17 counties where savanna soils dominate.

Lakes

The following lakes are partially or completely within Le Sueur County:

Protected areas

The following protected areas are within Le Sueur County:

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Demographics

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Former communities

• Okaman

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Le Sueur para niños