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Pipestone County, Minnesota facts for kids

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Pipestone County
Pipestone County Courthouse
Pipestone County Courthouse
Map of Minnesota highlighting Pipestone County
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Map of the United States highlighting Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Minnesota
Founded May 23, 1857 (created)
1879 (organized)
Named for Pipestone
Seat Pipestone
Largest city Pipestone
Area
 • Total 466 sq mi (1,210 km2)
 • Land 465 sq mi (1,200 km2)
 • Water 0.9 sq mi (2 km2)  0.2%%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 9,424
 • Estimate 
(2023)
9,245 Decrease
 • Density 20.3/sq mi (7.8/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district 7th

Pipestone County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,424. Its county seat is Pipestone.

History

The county was formed on May 23, 1857, by act of the territorial legislature, but was not organized at that time. The area was first designated Rock County while the name Pipestone County was attached to neighboring Rock County. An act of the Minnesota state legislature on February 20, 1862, swapped the designations, attaching the present names to the present counties, due to the pipestone quarry in this county.

Pipestone County organization was effected by a state act on January 27, 1879, with Pipestone City (which had been platted in 1876) as the county seat (the name of the county seat was later shortened to Pipestone). The pipestones are from deposits of red pipestone Native Americans used to make pipes.

Pipestone National Monument is in the county, just north of the town of Pipestone.

Geography

Pipestone County lies on Minnesota's border with South Dakota. The Rock River rises in the county and flows southward into Rock County, being augmented by the East Branch of the Rock River near the southern border. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved by drainages. The area is devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the west and south, with its highest point on the upper part of its eastern border, at 1,883 ft (574 m) ASL. The county has an area of 466 square miles (1,210 km2), of which 465 square miles (1,200 km2) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2) (0.2%) is water. The highest point in the eastern part of the county may be as stated but the highest summit is 1995 ft at 44.1927°, -96.2033°

Major highways

  • US 75.svg U.S. Highway 75
  • MN-23.svg Minnesota State Highway 23
  • MN-30.svg Minnesota State Highway 30
  • MN-269.svg Minnesota State Highway 269

Adjacent counties

Protected areas

  • Altona State Wildlife Management Area
  • Burke State Wildlife Management Area
  • Holland State Wildlife Management Area
  • Pheasant Terrace State Wildlife Management Area
  • Pipestone Indian State Wildlife Management Area (within Pipestone Natl Monument)
  • Pipestone National Monument
  • Prairie Coteau Scientific and Natural Area
  • Split Rock Creek State Park
  • Troy State Wildlife Management Area
  • Van Beek State Wildlife Management Area
  • Woodstock State Wildlife Management Area

Lakes

Pipestone County is one of only four Minnesota counties without a natural lake, the other three being Mower, Olmsted and Rock. It does contain manmade reservoirs:

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1880 2,092
1890 5,132 145.3%
1900 9,264 80.5%
1910 9,553 3.1%
1920 12,050 26.1%
1930 12,238 1.6%
1940 13,794 12.7%
1950 14,003 1.5%
1960 13,605 −2.8%
1970 12,791 −6.0%
1980 11,690 −8.6%
1990 10,491 −10.3%
2000 9,895 −5.7%
2010 9,596 −3.0%
2020 9,424 −1.8%
2023 (est.) 9,245 −3.7%
U.S. Decennial Census
1790-1960 1900-1990
1990-2000 2010-2020

2020 Census

Pipestone County Racial Composition
Race Num. Perc.
White (NH) 8,057 85.5%
Black or African American (NH) 107 1.14%
Native American (NH) 100 1.1%
Asian (NH) 66 0.7%
Pacific Islander (NH) 0 0%
Other/Mixed (NH) 290 3.1%
Hispanic or Latino 804 8.53%

Communities

Pipestone County Administrative map
Pipestone County Administrative map

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

  • Aetna Township
  • Altona Township
  • Burke Township
  • Eden Township
  • Elmer Township
  • Fountain Prairie Township
  • Grange Township
  • Gray Township
  • Osborne Township
  • Rock Township
  • Sweet Township
  • Troy Township

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Condado de Pipestone para niños

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