Stearns County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,292. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

and largest city is St. Cloud. The county was founded in 1855. It was originally named for

Isaac Ingalls Stevens Isaac Ingalls Stevens (March 25, 1818 – September 1, 1862) was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Represe ...

, then renamed for

Charles Thomas Stearns Charles Thomas Stearns (January 9, 1807 – May 22, 1898) was an American politician, mayor of Peoria, Illinois (1846),member of the Minnesota Territorial Council (1849–1858) representing the 3rd District from 1854–55, and had taken an active ...

. Stearns County is part of the St. Cloud

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

, which is also included in the

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

- St. Paul

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

History

The Stearns County area was formerly occupied by numerous indigenous tribes, such as the Sioux (

Dakota Dakota may refer to: * Dakota people, a sub-tribe of the Sioux ** Dakota language, their language Dakota may also refer to: Places United States * Dakota, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Dakota, Illinois, a town * Dakota, Minnesota ...

), Chippewa (

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

) and Winnebago (

Ho-chunk The Ho-Chunk, also known as Hoocągra or Winnebago (referred to as ''Hotúŋe'' in the neighboring indigenous Iowa-Otoe language), are a Siouan-speaking Native American people whose historic territory includes parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, Io ...

). The first large immigration was of German Catholics in the 1850s. Early arrivals also came from eastern states. The

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and existed until its eastern portion was granted statehood (as

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

) in 1848. The federal government set up the

Minnesota Territory The Territory of Minnesota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 3, 1849, until May 11, 1858, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Minnesota and west ...

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

, 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 that created the county directed the naming of three county commissioners and specified St. Cloud as the county seat. 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.

Geography

Stearns County abuts nine counties. The

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it ...

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.Stearns County MN Google Maps (accessed 3 May 2019)
/ref> The terrain slopes to the east and south,
/ref> with its highest point a local protuberance at 7.6 miles (12.2 km) west and 1.6 mile (2.6 km) south of St. Joseph, at 1,461' (445m) ASL. The county's total area is , of which is land and (3.4%) is water. 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

Interstate 94 Interstate 94 (I-94) is an east–west Interstate Highway connecting the Great Lakes and northern Great Plains regions of the United States. Its western terminus is just east of Billings, Montana, at a junction with I-90; its eastern ter ...

* U.S. Highway 52 * U.S. Highway 71 * Minnesota State Highway 4 * Minnesota State Highway 15 *

Minnesota State Highway 22 Minnesota State Highway 22 (MN 22) is a highway in south-central and central Minnesota, which runs from Winnebago County Road R50 at the Iowa state line near Kiester and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection with St ...

Minnesota State Highway 23 Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1. This route, signed east–west, runs rough ...

* Minnesota State Highway 24 * Minnesota State Highway 28 *

Minnesota State Highway 55 Minnesota State Highway 55 (MN 55) is a highway in west-central, central, and east-central Minnesota, which runs from the North Dakota state line near Tenney and continues east and southeast to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. H ...

Minnesota State Highway 237 Minnesota State Highway 237 (MN 237) is a short highway in central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with Stearns County State-Aid Highways 12 and 30 in New Munich and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange w ...

Minnesota State Highway 238 Minnesota State Highway 238 (MN 238) is a highway in central Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 94 and Stearns County State-Aid Highway 10 in Albany and continues north to its northern terminus at its intersection ...

* '' List of county roads''

Airports

Source: * Brooten Municipal Airport (6D1) - east of Brooten * Paynesville Municipal Airport (PEX) - west of Paynesville * Sauk Centre Municipal Airport (D39) - south-southeast of Sauk Centre *

St. Cloud Regional Airport St. Cloud Regional Airport is a public-use airport in Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States, and owned by the St. Cloud Regional Airport Authority. It is located four nautical miles (5 mi, 7 km) east of the central business ...

(STC) - east-southeast of St. Cloud

Adjacent counties

* Todd County - north * Morrison County - northeast * Benton County - northeast * Sherburne County - east * Wright County - southeast *

Meeker County Meeker County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 23,400. Its county seat is Litchfield. History The Wisconsin Territory was established by the federal government effective July 3, 1836, and e ...

- south *

Kandiyohi County Kandiyohi County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, its population is 43,732. As of November 20, 1871, its county seat is Willmar. Kandiyohi County comprises the US Census Bureau's "Willmar, MN Micropolit ...

- southwest * Pope County - west * Douglas County - northwest

Protected areas

Sources: * Aron 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

Demographics

2020 census

''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

As of the 2000 United States census, there were 133,166 people, 47,604 households, and 32,132 families in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 99.2/sqmi (38.3/km²). There were 50,291 housing units at an average density of 37.4/sqmi (14.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.99%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 0.83%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.26% Native American, 1.58% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 0.47% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.37% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. 56.9% were of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

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 Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $19,211. About 4.30% of families and 8.70% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 6.70% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

* Albany *

Avon Avon may refer to: * River Avon (disambiguation), several rivers Organisations *Avon Buses, a bus operating company in Wirral, England *Avon Coachworks, a car body builder established in 1919 at Warwick, England, relaunched in 1922, following ...

* Belgrade * Brooten (part) * Clearwater (part) * Cold Spring * Eden Valley (part) * Elrosa *

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Places United States *Freeport, California *Freeport, Florida *Freeport, Illinois *Freeport, Indiana *Freeport, Iowa *Freeport, Kansas *Freeport, Maine, a New England town **Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...

Greenwald Greenwald is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alex Greenwald (born 1979), American musician and actor * Andy Greenwald (born 1977), social commentator, specifically about popular music * Bruce Greenwald (born 1946), American ec ...

* Holdingford *

Kimball Kimball may refer to: People *Kimball (surname) * Kimball (given name) Places Canada * Kimball, Alberta United States * Kellogg, Iowa, formerly known as Kimball * Kimball, Kansas * Kimball, Minnesota * Kimball, Nebraska, a city * Kimball, South ...

* Lake Henry * Meire Grove *

Melrose Melrose may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Melrose, Scottish Borders, a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland ** Melrose Abbey, ruined monastery ** Melrose RFC, rugby club Australia * Melrose, Queensland, a locality in the South Burnet ...

* New Munich * Paynesville * Richmond * Rockville * Roscoe * Saint Anthony * Saint Augusta * Saint Cloud (county seat; partial) *

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

Saint Martin Saint Martin may refer to: People * Saint Martin of Tours (c. 316–397), Bishop of Tours, France * Saint Martin of Braga (c. 520–580), archbishop of Bracara Augusta in Gallaecia (now Braga in Portugal) * Pope Martin I (598–655) * Saint Mart ...

* Saint Rosa *

Saint Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

Sartell Sartell is a city in Benton and Stearns Counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota that straddles the Mississippi River. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 19,351 at the 2020 census, making it St. Clo ...

(part) * Sauk Centre * Spring Hill * Waite Park

Census-designated place

* Fairhaven *

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

Unincorporated communities

* Collegeville *

Farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

* Five Points * Georgeville * Jacobs Prairie * Marty *

Opole Opole (; german: Oppeln ; szl, Ôpole) ; * Silesian: ** Silesian PLS alphabet: ''Ôpole'' ** Steuer's Silesian alphabet: ''Uopole'' * Silesian German: ''Uppeln'' * Czech: ''Opolí'' * Latin: ''Oppelia'', ''Oppolia'', ''Opulia'' is a city lo ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of t ...

Saint Anna According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim com ...

Saint Francis St. Francis or Saint Francis may refer to: Roman Catholic saints *Francis of Assisi (1181–1226), Italian founder of the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) *Francis of Paola (1416–1507), Italian (Calabrian) founder of the Order of the Minims * ...

Saint Nicholas Saint Nicholas of Myra, ; la, Sanctus Nicolaus (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (; modern-day De ...

* Saint Wendel

Townships

* Albany Township * Ashley Township * Avon Township * Brockway Township * Collegeville Township * Crow Lake Township * Crow River Township * Eden Lake Township * Fair Haven Township * Farming Township * Getty Township * Grove Township * Holding Township * Krain Township * Lake George Township * Lake Henry Township * Le Sauk Township * Luxemburg Township * Lynden Township * Maine Prairie Township * Melrose Township * Millwood Township * Munson Township * North Fork Township * Oak Township * Paynesville Township * Raymond Township * Saint Joseph Township * Saint Martin Township * Saint Wendel Township * Sauk Centre Township * Spring Hill Township * Wakefield Township * Zion Township

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 Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

swept every Minnesota county in 1904. Anti-

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of P ...

feeling from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

caused the county to shift overwhelmingly to Warren G. Harding in 1920 before swinging to Robert M. La Follette, coreligionist

Al Smith Alfred Emanuel Smith (December 30, 1873 – October 4, 1944) was an American politician who served four terms as Governor of New York and was the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 1928. The son of an Irish-American mother and a ...

and fellow “wet” Democrat

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. In 1936 the county's isolationism gave strong support to

William Lemke William Frederick Lemke (August 13, 1878 – May 30, 1950) was an American politician who represented North Dakota in the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Republican Party. He was also the Union Party's presidential candi ...

’s Union Party.Phillips, Kevin P.; ''The Emerging Republican Majority'', pp. 428-430 Stearns County turned Republican until another Catholic nominee, John F. Kennedy, returned it to the Democratic ranks sufficiently to be one of only 130 counties nationwide to back

George McGovern George Stanley McGovern (July 19, 1922 – October 21, 2012) was an American historian and South Dakota politician who was a U.S. representative and three-term U.S. senator, and the Democratic Party presidential nominee in the 1972 pre ...

in 1972. Since the “Reagan Revolution”, Stearns County has voted reliably Republican, with no Democrat gaining a majority since

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...

in 1976, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (Birth name, né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 ...

in 1996 the only one to manage a plurality. The county's growing social conservative bent has fueled the Republican trend. In 2016

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

won the county with 59.8% of the vote, the highest percentage any presidential candidate has received since President

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

in 1956. He improved on that in 2020 with 60.3% of the vote. As of 2020, two cities in the county lean Democratic: St. Cloud, the largest city, and neighboring Waite Park.

References

External links

Stearns County official website

Sartell Historical Society
- Sartell, MN
Stearns History Museum official website
{{Coord, 45.55, -94.61, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-MN_source:UScensus1990 St. Cloud, Minnesota metropolitan area Minnesota counties on the Mississippi River 1855 establishments in Minnesota Territory Populated places established in 1855