Olmsted County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Olmsted County
U.S. county
Olmsted County Government Center (pre-expansion)
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 20, 1855
Named for	David Olmsted
Seat	Rochester
Largest city	Rochester
Area
• Total	655 sq mi (1,700 km2)
• Land	653 sq mi (1,690 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (4 km2)  0.2%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	162,847
• Estimate  (2023)	164,784
• Density	249/sq mi (96/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

Olmsted County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population is 162,847. Its county seat and most populous city is Rochester.

Olmsted County is part of the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The Wisconsin Territory was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as Wisconsin) in 1848. Therefore, the federal government set up the Minnesota Territory effective March 3, 1849. The newly organized territorial legislature created nine counties across the territory in October of that year. One of those original counties, Wabasha, had portions partitioned off in 1853 to create Fillmore and Rice counties. Then on February 20, 1855, portions of Rice, Wabasha, and Fillmore counties were partitioned off to create the present county, with Rochester (which was also platted that year) as county seat. The county name recognized David Olmsted (1822-1861), a member of the first territorial council and the fourth mayor of St. Paul.

The county boundaries have remained unchanged since 1855.

Geography

Olmsted County is a fairly unusual mix of urban and rural areas in that there's no transition or buffer between the two environments. Rochester, Minnesota's third largest city of roughly 118,000 people, sits in the Zumbro River valley at the center of the county. Outside the valley however, with the exception of a small amount of urban growth in the last few years, remains farmland with small agricultural based communities and no directly adjacent suburbs. Stewartville, the county's second largest city, is slightly over 1/20th the size at roughly 6,000 people, an unusually large gap for a metropolitan area.

Olmsted County is drained by three rivers, all flowing to the Mississippi. The Zumbro River flows northward through the west central part of the county, into Wabasha County. The Whitewater flows northeast from the northeast part of the county into Winona County, and the Root flows east-southeastward through the lower part of the county into Fillmore County. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, etched by drainage gullies and marked by occasional buttes. The available area is devoted to agriculture or is developed for other productive uses. The county terrain slopes to the east and north, and its highest point is a hill 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Stewartville, at 1,380 ft (420 m) ASL. The county has a total area of 655 square miles (1,700 km²), of which 653 square miles (1,690 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (0.2%) is water. It is one of four counties in Minnesota that does not have any natural lakes (the other three being Mower, Pipestone, and Rock).

Transit

• Jefferson Lines
• Rochester Public Transit

Major highways

Airports

• Mid-Continent Airport
• Rochester International Airport (RST)

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

Lakes

Though Olmsted County does not have any natural lakes, it does have six reservoirs created by dams:

• Chester Lake: Eyota Township
• Lake Florence: High Forest Township
• Lake George: Rochester Township
• Mayowood Lake: Rochester Township
• Silver Lake: Haverhill Township and Cascade Township
• Lake Zumbro (part): Oronoco Township

Demographics

2020 census

As of the census of 2020, the population was 162,847. The population density was 249.2 inhabitants per square mile (96.2/km²). There were 69,270 housing units at an average density of 106.0 per square mile (40.9/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 77.8% White, 6.8% Black or African American, 6.3% Asian, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.5% from other races, and 6.1% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 5.6% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Communities

The Helleckson Homestead, built about 1850, preserved in Olmsted County Oxbow Park (Destroyed in 2019 floods)

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Olmsted para niños