Meeker County, Minnesota

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Meeker County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,400.[1] Its county seat is Litchfield.[2]

History

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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. One of those original counties, Dakota, had portions partitioned off to create Cass (1851), Nicollet (1853), Pierce (1853), and Sibley (1853) counties. In 1855 portions of those counties were carved out to create Davis, and on February 23, 1856, the territorial legislature created Meeker County from a portion of Davis. It was named for Bradley B. Meeker (1813-1873), who served on the Minnesota Territorial Supreme Court from 1849 to 1853.[3] The area of Forest City was first settled in the 1850s, and the village was named the county seat in 1856. It was platted as Forest City in 1857.

In 1856 the first settlers moved into the future Litchfield; the resulting settlement was named Ness. The area grew, and with the arrival of a spur from the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, the vote was taken to move the county seat to this area in the fall of 1869. Upon being platted in 1869, the city was renamed Litchfield.[4]

On March 20, 1858, the western portion of Meeker County was partitioned off to create Kandiyohi County. Meeker County's boundaries have remained unchanged since then.

The murder of five white homesteaders in Acton on August 17, 1862, by four young Dakota men sparked the 1862 Dakota War,[5] and the battle of Acton on September 3 saw the 75 men of Company B, 9th Minnesota ambushed by a superior force of Dakota and forced to retreat to Hutchinson.[6] The Dakota attacked Forest City shortly thereafter, and numerous monuments to people killed in the conflict can be found in the county.[7]

Geography

Meeker County's terrain consists of low rolling hills, lightly wooded and heavily dotted with lakes and ponds. The available area is devoted to agriculture.[8] The terrain slopes to the south and east,[9] with its highest point just southwest of Lake Hope, 7.9 miles (12.7 km) west-southwest of Litchfield, at 1,261 ft (384 m) ASL.[10] The county has a total area of 645 square miles (1,670 km2), of which 608 square miles (1,570 km2) is land and 37 square miles (96 km2) (5.7%) is water.[11]

File:Meeker Co Pie Chart No Text Version.pdf
Soils of Meeker County[12]

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Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Protected areas

Source:[8]

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  • Acton State Wildlife Management Area
  • Greenleaf Lake State Recreation Area
  • Greenleaf State Wildlife Management Area
  • Knapp State Wildlife Management Area (part)
  • Madsen State Wildlife Management Area
  • Popular State Wildlife Management Area
  • Wieker State Wildlife Management Area

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Template:Sronly%±
1860928—
18706,090556.3%
188011,73992.8%
189015,45631.7%
190017,75314.9%
191017,022−4.1%
192018,1036.4%
193017,914−1.0%
194019,2777.6%
195018,966−1.6%
196018,887−0.4%
197018,387−2.6%
198020,59412.0%
199020,8461.2%
200022,6448.6%
201023,3002.9%
202023,4000.4%
2025 (est.)23,603[13] Increase0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]
1790-1960[15] 1900-1990[16]
1990-2000[17] 2010-2020[1]

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 23,400. The median age was 42.5 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.8% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 103.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 102.9 males age 18 and over.[18][19]

The racial makeup of the county was 93.4% White, 0.4% Black or African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.7% from some other race, and 4.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.1% of the population.[19]

28.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 71.9% lived in rural areas.[20]

There were 9,263 households in the county, of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 55.7% were married-couple households, 18.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 19.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[18]

There were 10,576 housing units, of which 12.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 80.6% were owner-occupied and 19.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 7.1%.[18]

Racial and ethnic composition

Meeker County, Minnesota – Racial and ethnic composition
Page Template:Nobold/styles.css has no content.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 may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) Pop 1980[21] Pop 1990[22] Pop 2000[23] Pop 2010[24] Pop 2020[25] % 1980 % 1990 % 2000 % 2010 % 2020
White alone (NH) 20,345 20,467 21,907 22,233 21,618 98.79% 98.18% 96.75% 95.42% 92.38%
Black or African American alone (NH) 8 23 39 68 93 0.04% 0.11% 0.17% 0.29% 0.40%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) 19 29 36 33 37 0.09% 0.14% 0.16% 0.14% 0.16%
Asian alone (NH) 40 91 84 59 59 0.19% 0.44% 0.37% 0.25% 0.25%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) x [26] x [27] 1 9 2 x x 0.00% 0.04% 0.01%
Other race alone (NH) 9 5 9 8 49 0.04% 0.02% 0.04% 0.03% 0.21%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) x [28] x [29] 81 123 592 x x 0.36% 0.53% 2.53%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 173 231 487 767 950 0.84% 1.11% 2.15% 3.29% 4.06%
Total 20,594 20,846 22,644 23,300 23,400 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

2000 census

File:MeekerCountyMn2022PopPyr.png
2022 US Census population pyramid for Meeker County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,644 people, 8,590 households, and 6,133 families in the county. The population density was 37.2 per square mile (14.4/km2). There were 9,821 housing units at an average density of 16.2 per square mile (6.3/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.35% White, 0.19% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 1.40% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. 2.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 45.8% were of German, 12.2% Swedish and 11.3% Norwegian ancestry.

There were 8,590 households, out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.50% were married couples living together, 6.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.60% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.07.

The county population contained 27.00% under the age of 18, 7.40% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 101.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,908, and the median income for a family was $47,923. Males had a median income of $33,157 versus $22,743 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,628. About 4.70% of families and 7.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.40% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

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Unincorporated communities

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Townships

There were, as of 1888, 17 Townships in Meeker County.

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Politics

Meeker County usually votes Republican. In 78% of national elections since 1980 the county selected the Republican Party candidate (as of 2020). Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Notable people

  • Magnus Johnson (1871-1936) - local farmer and United States Senator (1923-1925)

See also


References

  1. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  2. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 204.
  4. ^ Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names (1920), pp. 338-340 (accessed April 26, 2019)
  5. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."The Acton Incident". The U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. February 27, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Battle of Acton Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  7. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Historical Markers and War Memorials in Meeker County, Minnesota". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Meeker County MN Google Maps (accessed April 26, 2019)
  9. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.""Find an Altitude/Meeker County MN" Google Maps (accessed April 26, 2019)". Archived from the original on May 21, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  10. ^ Meeker County High Point, PeakBagger.com (accessed April 26, 2019)
  11. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 21, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  12. ^ Nelson, Steven (2011). Savanna Soils of Minnesota. Minnesota: Self. pp. 49-52. Template:ISBN.
  13. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2025". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
  14. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  15. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  16. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  17. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
  18. ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  19. ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)". United States Census Bureau. 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  20. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)". United States Census Bureau. 2023. Retrieved December 30, 2025.
  21. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."1980 Census of Population - General Social and Economic Characteristics - Minnesota - Tables 15 and 16 – Race by Sex: 1980 and Tables 16 and 17 – Persons by Spanish Origin, Race, and Sex: 1980" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 13-24. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2022 – via Wayback Machine.
  22. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Minnesota: Table 4-6 - Race and Hispanic Origin" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 17-79. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2026 – via Wayback Machine.
  23. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Meeker County, Minnesota". United States Census Bureau.
  24. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Meeker County, Minnesota". United States Census Bureau.
  25. ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Meeker County, Minnesota". United States Census Bureau.
  26. ^ included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
  27. ^ included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
  28. ^ not an option in the 1980 Census
  29. ^ not an option in the 1990 Census

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