Swift County, Minnesota

Swift County
Swift County
County
	Swift County Courthouse, Benson
	Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
	Minnesota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 45°17′N 95°41′W / 45.29°N 95.68°W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 18, 1870
Named for	Henry Adoniram Swift
Seat	Benson
Largest city	Benson
Area
• Total	752 sq mi (1,950 km2)
• Land	742 sq mi (1,920 km2)
• Water	8.82 sq mi (22.8 km2) 1.3%
Population (2020)
• Total	9,838
• Estimate (2023)	9,719
• Density	13.3/sq mi (5.1/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	7th
Website	www.swiftcounty.com

Swift County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,838.^[3] Its county seat is Benson.^[4]

History

Swift County is in west central Minnesota and consists of 757 square miles (2,000 km²) with three tiers of seven townships each. It was established on February 18, 1870, and named for Henry Adoniram Swift, the third governor of Minnesota (1863–64).

The Indians had grievances against the government, including delays in sending annuities that caused near starvation several times. In August 1862, an Indian rebellion broke out in Minnesota. The warfare reached the settlements just getting started in northeastern Swift County. By late September 1862, the Indian War was almost over but the settlers hesitated to venture back to Swift County until 1865, when all danger was apparently over. Scandinavians and Germans were in decided majority among the early settlers. A number of them came with the honor and privileges of Civil War veterans.

In 1869, the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad reached Willmar, and the next year it arrived in Benson. The railroad company determined the number of future trading centers (Kerkhoven, DeGraff, Benson, Randall) in the county by locating sites at intervals of approximately 8 miles (13 km). The Swift County Courthouse was built in 1897 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Benson is the county seat. Railroad tracks run through Benson's downtown business district with parks on each side.

Historic buildings

Historic buildings in Swift County include:

Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Appleton built in 1879 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

Politics

Swift County was traditionally a Democratic stronghold, as it voted Democratic in every election from 1932 to 2012 with the exception of the 1952 landslide victory of Dwight D. Eisenhower.^[5] In 2016, a dramatic swing against the Democrats in the Rust Belt saw Swift County shifting a massive 36% toward the Republican Party, with Donald Trump winning it over Hillary Clinton by 26%, and further increasing his margin of victory to nearly 30% against Joe Biden in 2020.

United States presidential election results for Swift County, Minnesota^[6]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,316	63.86%	1,784	34.35%	93	1.79%
2016	2,963	59.33%	1,686	33.76%	345	6.91%
2012	2,248	43.91%	2,751	53.74%	120	2.34%
2008	2,184	41.65%	2,907	55.43%	153	2.92%
2004	2,481	43.26%	3,165	55.19%	89	1.55%
2000	2,376	43.70%	2,698	49.62%	363	6.68%
1996	1,541	28.91%	3,054	57.30%	735	13.79%
1992	1,603	26.76%	2,980	49.74%	1,408	23.50%
1988	2,156	37.19%	3,579	61.73%	63	1.09%
1984	2,893	44.59%	3,531	54.42%	64	0.99%
1980	2,943	43.13%	3,245	47.56%	635	9.31%
1976	2,190	32.39%	4,428	65.48%	144	2.13%
1972	2,673	40.40%	3,823	57.78%	121	1.83%
1968	2,476	38.38%	3,716	57.60%	259	4.01%
1964	2,132	32.68%	4,380	67.14%	12	0.18%
1960	2,848	41.11%	4,062	58.63%	18	0.26%
1956	2,637	41.43%	3,720	58.44%	8	0.13%
1952	3,532	51.40%	3,291	47.90%	48	0.70%
1948	2,109	32.61%	4,082	63.11%	277	4.28%
1944	2,519	42.87%	3,310	56.33%	47	0.80%
1940	2,815	41.59%	3,899	57.61%	54	0.80%
1936	1,618	27.03%	3,749	62.63%	619	10.34%
1932	1,308	22.62%	4,339	75.04%	135	2.33%
1928	2,791	49.72%	2,733	48.69%	89	1.59%
1924	1,654	33.60%	334	6.79%	2,934	59.61%
1920	3,553	70.22%	985	19.47%	522	10.32%
1916	1,335	50.21%	1,181	44.42%	143	5.38%
1912	442	16.92%	937	35.86%	1,234	47.23%
1908	1,343	56.17%	921	38.52%	127	5.31%
1904	1,784	76.37%	462	19.78%	90	3.85%
1900	1,378	55.25%	1,028	41.22%	88	3.53%
1896	1,273	49.78%	1,222	47.79%	62	2.42%
1892	762	37.39%	712	34.94%	564	27.67%

Geography

The Minnesota River flows southeast along the county's lower western border. The Pomme de Terre River flows south-southwest through the county's western part, discharging into the Minnesota. The Chippewa River flows south-southwest through the county's central part, discharging into the Minnesota south of the county. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, largely devoted to agriculture.^[7] It slopes to south and the west, with its highest point near its northeast corner at 1,240 ft (380 m) ASL.^[8] The county has an area of 752 square miles (1,950 km²), of which 742 square miles (1,920 km²) is land and 10 square miles (26 km²) (1.3%) is water.^[9]

Swift County is primarily agricultural, but also hosts agriculture equipment manufacturers and an ethanol plant. It has 24 lakes and nine rivers and streams. Lake Oliver is one of the county's biggest, at 416 acres (1.7 km²). Caltopo shows the true highpoint to be 1300 ft in elevation about 1/3 of a mile southwest of the Monson State Wildlife Management Area:latitude 45.3046&longitude=-95.3031

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Stevens County - northwest
Pope County - northeast
Kandiyohi County - east
Chippewa County - south
Lac qui Parle County - southwest
Big Stone County - west

Airport

Appleton Municipal Airport provides general aviation service for Swift County.

Protected areas^[7]

Bench State Wildlife Management Area
Camp Kerk State Wildlife Management Area
Danvers State Wildlife Management Area
Ehrenburg State Wildlife Management Area
Hayes-Myhre State Wildlife Management Area
Henry X State Wildlife Management Area
Hollerberg Lake State Wildlife Management Area
Monson Lake State Park

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1880	7,473		—
1890	10,161		36.0%
1900	13,503		32.9%
1910	12,949		−4.1%
1920	15,093		16.6%
1930	14,735		−2.4%
1940	15,469		5.0%
1950	15,837		2.4%
1960	14,936		−5.7%
1970	13,177		−11.8%
1980	12,920		−2.0%
1990	10,724		−17.0%
2000	11,956		11.5%
2010	9,783		−18.2%
2020	9,838		0.6%
2023 (est.)	9,719	^[11]	−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census^[12] 1790-1960^[13] 1900-1990^[14] 1990-2000^[15] 2010-2020^[3]

2020 Census

Swift County Racial Composition^[16]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	8,618	87.6%
Black or African American (NH)	79	0.8%
Native American (NH)	26	0.26%
Asian (NH)	78	0.8%
Pacific Islander (NH)	133	1.35%
Other/Mixed (NH)	242	2.46%
Hispanic or Latino	662	6.73%

2000 census

2022 US Census population pyramid for Swift County, from ACS 5-year estimates

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,956 people, 4,353 households, and 2,881 families in the county. The population density was 16.1 per square mile (6.2/km²). There were 4,821 housing units at an average density of 6.50 per square mile (2.51/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.67% White, 2.69% Black or African American, 0.50% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 1.52% Pacific Islander, 1.40% from other races, and 1.79% from two or more races. 2.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Swift County has the highest percentage of Pacific Islander natives out of any U.S. county outside Hawaii. 34.4% were of German, 30.5% Norwegian, 5.2% Swedish and 5.1% Irish ancestry.

There were 4,353 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.90% were married couples living together, 6.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.80% were non-families. 30.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.00.

The county population contained 23.00% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 18.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 120.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 124.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $34,820, and the median income for a family was $44,208. Males had a median income of $29,362 versus $21,667 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,360. About 5.30% of families and 8.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.90% of those under age 18 and 13.80% of those age 65 or over.