Olmsted County, Minnesota
Olmsted County, Minnesota
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Olmsted County, Minnesota

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Olmsted County, Minnesota

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.

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.

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 with roughly 123,000 people, sits in the Zumbro River valley at the center of the county. Outside the valley, with the exception of a small amount of urban growth in the last few years, is farmland with small agricultural communities and no directly adjacent suburbs. Stewartville, the county's second-largest city, has about 6,000 people.

Olmsted County is drained by three rivers, all flowing to the Mississippi. The Zumbro 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 developed for other uses. The 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 an 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 Minnesota counties that have no natural lakes (the other three are Mower, Pipestone, and Rock).

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