Stearns County, Minnesota

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Stearns County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,292.[1] Its county seat and largest city is St. Cloud.[2]

Included within the Minnesota Territory since 1849, the county was founded by European Americans in 1855. It was originally named for Isaac Ingalls Stevens, then renamed for Charles Thomas Stearns. Stearns County is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Combined Statistical Area.

History

The Stearns County area was formerly occupied by numerous indigenous tribes, such as the Sioux (Dakota), Chippewa (Ojibwe) and Winnebago (Ho-chunk). The first large immigration was of German Catholics in the 1850s. Early arrivals also came from eastern states. 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.

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. The original counties had portions partitioned off in 1851 to create Cass County and in 1853 to create Sibley, Pierce, and Nicollet counties. In 1855 parts of those counties were partitioned off to create Stearns County. It was to be named Stevens County for territorial governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens, who had conducted an expedition through the area in 1853, but due to a clerical error, the county was named Stearns for Charles Thomas Stearns, a member of the Territorial Council. (To compensate for this error the area two counties west was later named Stevens County.)

The February 20, 1855, act[3] that created the county directed the naming of three county commissioners and specified St. Cloud as the county seat.

Writing in 1997, Jewish-American historian of America's religious architecture Marilyn J. Chiat commented, "Father Francis X. Pierz, a missionary to Indians in central Minnesota, published a series of articles in 1851 in German Catholic newspapers advocating Catholic settlement in central Minnesota. Large numbers of immigrants, mainly German, but also Slovenian and Polish, responded. Over 20 parishes were formed in what is now Stearns County, each centered on a church-oriented hamlet. As the farmers prospered, the small frame churches were replaced by more substantial buildings of brick or stone such as St. Mary, Help of Christians, a Gothic Revival stone structure built in 1873. Stearns County retains in its German character and is still home to one of the largest rural Catholic populations in Anglo-America."[4]

Furthermore, according to Kathleen Neils Conzen, "Stearns County Germans early established daughter settlements at West Union in Todd County, Millerville in Douglas County, and Pierz in Morrison County, later flooded into North Dakota (where 'Stearns County German' remains a recognized ethnicity today), and in 1905 negotiated with the Canadian authorities to establish the St. Peter Colony in north-central Saskatchewan."[5]

The first courthouse was put into service on July 12, 1864, and it remained in use until the present courthouse was dedicated in 1922. In 1913 a campaign was mounted to shift the county seat to Albany, due to its more central location. The effort was not successful.[6]

Stearns County was also founded off of farmers' markets and crop trades, making it one of the top grossing crop producing counties in the state of Minnesota.

Geography

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File:Padua Savannas 2016 Wiki Stearns County.jpg
Soils of Padua area
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Soils of St. John's University area

Stearns County borders nine counties. The Mississippi River flows southeast along its northeast border, and the Sauk River drains the central part of the county into the Mississippi at St. Cloud. The county terrain consists of low rolling hills, lightly wooded, dotted with lakes and ponds, and carved with drainages. All available area is devoted to agriculture or has been developed.[8] The terrain slopes to the east and south,[9] with its highest point a local protuberance at Script error: No such module "convert". west and Script error: No such module "convert". south of St. Joseph, at Script error: No such module "convert". ASL.[10] The county's total area is Script error: No such module "convert"., of which Script error: No such module "convert". is land and Script error: No such module "convert". (3.4%) is water.[11]

The northeastern border of Stearns County is formed by the Mississippi River. The land consists of rolling hills, scenic lakes, prairies, savannas and woodlands of a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees. Stearns is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils. The county has 166 lakes.

Major highways

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Airports

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Adjacent counties

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Protected areas

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  • Avon Hills Forest Scientific and Natural Area
  • Birch Lakes State Forest
  • Christopher Kurilla Wildlife Management Area
  • Cold Spring Heron Colony Scientific and Natural Area
  • Crow River Wildlife Management Area
  • Edward Raymond Mohs Wildlife Management Area
  • Follies Wildlife Management Area (part)
  • Lake Koronis Regional Park
  • Legacy Marsh Wildlife Management Area
  • Miller Wildlife Management Area
  • Milton Kjedahl Wildlife Management Area
  • Norman T. Dahlman Wildlife Management Area
  • Oxcart Crossing Wildlife Management Area
  • Padua State Wildlife Management Area
  • Patch Woods Scientific and Natural Area
  • Quarry Park and Nature Preserve
  • Quarry Park Scientific and Natural Area
  • Rockville County Park and Nature Preserve
  • Roscoe Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
  • Saint Wendel Tamarack Bog Scientific and Natural Area
  • Sauk River Wildlife Management Area
  • Sedan Brook Prairie Scientific and Natural Area
  • Stearns Prairie Heritage Wildlife Management Area
  • Tamarack State Wildlife Management Area
  • Tower State Wildlife Management Area
  • Tribute Wildlife Management Area
  • Victor Winder Wildlife Management Area
  • Warner Lake County Park
  • Zion State Wildlife Management Area

Lakes and streams

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Demographics

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Historical population
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18604,505—
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190044,464Script error: No such module "String".%
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192055,741Script error: No such module "String".%
193062,121Script error: No such module "String".%
194067,200Script error: No such module "String".%
195070,681Script error: No such module "String".%
196080,345Script error: No such module "String".%
197095,400Script error: No such module "String".%
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2000133,166Script error: No such module "String".%
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2020158,292Script error: No such module "String".%
2024 (est.)163,997[12]Script error: No such module "String".%
U.S. Decennial Census[13]
1790-1960[14] 1900-1990[15]
1990-2000[16] 2010-2020[1]

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 158,292. The median age was 36.5 years. 23.6% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 100.7 males age 18 and over.[17][18]

The racial makeup of the county was 82.7% White, 8.4% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.2% from some other race, and 4.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.4% of the population.[18]

62.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 38.0% lived in rural areas.[19]

There were 60,448 households in the county, of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.3% were married-couple households, 19.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[17]

There were 65,684 housing units, of which 8.0% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 68.8% were owner-occupied and 31.2% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.0% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%.[17]

Racial and ethnic composition

Stearns County, Minnesota - Demographic Profile
(NH = Non-Hispanic)
Race / Ethnicity Pop 2010[20] Pop 2020[21] % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 136,414 129,276 90.56% 81.67%
Black or African American alone (NH) 4,595 13,224 3.05% 8.35%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 392 439 0.26% 0.28%
Asian alone (NH) 2,949 3,159 1.96% 2.00%
Pacific Islander alone (NH) 38 61 0.03% 0.04%
Some Other Race alone (NH) 107 435 0.07% 0.28%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH) 1,957 4,747 1.30% 3.00%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 4,190 6,951 2.78% 4.39%
Total 150,642 158,292 100.00% 100.00%

Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.

2000 census

File:StearnsCountyMn2022PopPyr.png
2022 US Census population pyramid for Stearns County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families in the county. The population density was Script error: No such module "convert".. There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of Script error: No such module "convert".. The racial makeup of the county was 95.99% White, 0.83% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.47% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.37% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 56.9% were of German and 9.4% Norwegian ancestry.

There were 47,604 households, out of which 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.30% were married couples living together, 7.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.50% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.15.

The county population contained 25.70% under the age of 18, 16.10% from 18 to 24, 28.00% from 25 to 44, 19.10% from 45 to 64, and 11.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $42,426, and the median income for a family was $51,553. Males had a median income of $34,268 versus $23,393 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,211. About 4.30% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

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Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

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Townships

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Politics and government

In its early history, Stearns County was heavily Democratic due to being largely German Catholic and opposed to the pietistic Scandinavian Lutheran Republican Party of that era. It did not vote Republican until Theodore Roosevelt swept every Minnesota county in 1904.[22] Anti-Woodrow Wilson feeling from World War I caused the county to shift overwhelmingly to Warren G. Harding in 1920 before swinging to Robert M. La Follette, coreligionist Al Smith and fellow “wet” Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

In 1936, the county's isolationism gave strong support to William Lemke’s Union Party.[23] Stearns County turned Republican until another Catholic nominee, John F. Kennedy, returned it to the Democratic ranks after being one of only 130 counties nationwide to back George McGovern in 1972.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Since the “Reagan Revolution”, Stearns County has voted reliably Republican, with no Democrat gaining a majority since Jimmy Carter in 1976, and Bill Clinton in 1996 the only one to manage a plurality.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The county's growing social conservative bent has fueled the Republican trend.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

In 2016, Donald Trump won the county with 59.8% of the vote, the highest percentage any presidential candidate has received since President Eisenhower in 1956.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". He improved on that in 2020 with 60.1% of the vote.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

As of 2024, one city in the county leans Democratic: St. Cloud, the largest city.[24]

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See also

References

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  1. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Marilyn J. Chiat (1997), America's Religious Architecture: Sacred Places for Every Community, Preservation Press. Page 146.
  5. ↑ Kathleen Neils Conzen (2003), Germans in Minnesota, Minnesota Historical Society Press. Pages 26-27.
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Nelson, Steven (2011). Savanna Soils of Minnesota. Minnesota: Self. pp. 49-52. Template:ISBN.
  8. ↑ a b c Stearns County MN Google Maps (accessed 3 May 2019)
  9. ↑ a b "Find an Altitude/Stearns County MN" Google Maps (accessed May 3, 2019)
  10. ↑ Stearns County High Point, Minnesota. PeakBaggers.com (accessed May 3, 2019)
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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  21. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  22. ↑ Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 228-233 Template:ISBN
  23. ↑ Phillips, Kevin P.; The Emerging Republican Majority, pp. 428-430 Template:ISBN
  24. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".

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Further reading

External links

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