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.<ref name="QF">Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Litchfield.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

History

Template:Book 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Upham, Warren. Minnesota Geographic Names (1920), pp. 338-340 (accessed April 26, 2019)</ref>

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,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Dakota attacked Forest City shortly thereafter, and numerous monuments to people killed in the conflict can be found in the county.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name=MCM>Meeker County MN Google Maps (accessed April 26, 2019)</ref> The terrain slopes to the south and east,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with its highest point just southwest of Lake Hope, Template:Convert west-southwest of Litchfield, at Template:Convert ASL.<ref>Meeker County High Point, PeakBagger.com (accessed April 26, 2019)</ref> The county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (5.7%) is water.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Meeker Co Pie Chart No Text Version.pdf

Soils of Meeker County<ref>Nelson, Steven (2011). Savanna Soils of Minnesota. Minnesota: Self. pp. 49-52. Template:ISBN.</ref>

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Major highways

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Adjacent counties

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Stearns County - north
Wright County - east
McLeod County - southeast
Renville County - southwest
Kandiyohi County - west

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Protected areas

Source:<ref name=MCM/> Template:Div col

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

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Demographics

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2020 census

**Meeker County, Minnesota - Demographic Profile**
(*NH = Non-Hispanic*)
Race / Ethnicity	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	22,233	21,618	95.42%	92.39%
Black or African American alone (NH)	68	93	0.29%	0.40%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	33	37	0.14%	0.16%
Asian alone (NH)	59	59	0.25%	0.25%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	9	2	0.04%	0.01%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	8	49	0.03%	0.21%
Mixed Race/Multi-Racial (NH)	123	592	0.53%	2.53%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	767	950	3.29%	4.06%
Total	23,300	23,400	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: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 Template:Convert. There were 9,821 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. 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.