Watonwan County, Minnesota

Watonwan County
Watonwan County
County
	Watonwan County Courthouse
	Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
	Minnesota's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 43°59′N 94°37′W / 43.98°N 94.61°W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 25, 1860
Named for	Watonwan River
Seat	St. James
Largest city	St. James
Area
• Total	440 sq mi (1,100 km2)
• Land	435 sq mi (1,130 km2)
• Water	4.8 sq mi (12 km2) 1.1%
Population (2020)
• Total	11,253
• Estimate (2023)	11,077
• Density	25.9/sq mi (10.0/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	www.co.watonwan.mn.us

Watonwan County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 11,253.^[2] Its county seat is St. James.^[3]

History

In 1849, the recently organized Minnesota Territory legislature authorized the creation of nine large counties across the territory. In 1853, one of those original counties, Dakota, had a large area partitioned off to create Blue Earth County. In 1855 the western part of Blue Earth was partitioned to create Brown County. On February 25, 1860, the southern part of Brown was partitioned to create this county, with Madelia as the designated county seat. The county was named for its eponymous river, whose name reflects the Dakota word "watanwan," meaning "fish bait" or "plenty of fish."^[4] The word first appears in the written record on an 1843 map of the area so naming the river.

In 1869 the first settlers arrived in the area of the future Saint James, and the area began growing. In 1870 an extension of the St. Paul and Sioux City Railway was terminated at the village, and railway officials decided to name the terminus Saint James. By 1878 the town had grown to the extent that a vote was taken to move the county seat there.^[5]

Geography

The terrain of Watonwan County consists of low rolling hills, carved by drainages and dotted with lakes and ponds. The area is completely devoted to agriculture where possible.^[7] The terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point near its southwest corner, at 1,293 ft (394 m) ASL.^[8] The county has an area of 440 square miles (1,100 km²), of which 435 square miles (1,130 km²) is land and 4.8 square miles (12 km²) (1.1%) is water.^[9] The county is drained by the Watonwan River and its tributaries; the river flows eastward through the northern part of the county.^[10]

Major highways

Airports

St. James Municipal Airport (JYG, LID) - 3 miles (4.8 km) east of St. James

Adjacent counties

Brown County - north
Blue Earth County - east
Martin County - south
Jackson County - southwest
Cottonwood County - west

Protected areas

Bergdahl State Wildlife Management Area
Lewisville State Wildlife Management Area
Turtle Marsh State Wildlife Management Area
Wilson State Wildlife Management Area
Woodlake State Wildlife Management Area

^[7]

Lakes

Bergdahl Lake
Bullhead Lake
Butterfield Lake
Case Lake
Cottonwood Lake
Ewy Lake
Fedji Lake
Irish Lake
Long Lake
Mary Lake
Mud Lake
Kansas Lake
Saint James Lake
School Lake
Sulem Lake
Wilson Lake ("School Lake" in some records)
Wood Lake (part)

^[7]

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	2,426		—
1880	5,104		110.4%
1890	7,746		51.8%
1900	11,496		48.4%
1910	11,332		−1.4%
1920	12,457		9.9%
1930	12,802		2.8%
1940	13,902		8.6%
1950	13,881		−0.2%
1960	14,460		4.2%
1970	13,298		−8.0%
1980	12,361		−7.0%
1990	11,682		−5.5%
2000	11,876		1.7%
2010	11,211		−5.6%
2020	11,253		0.4%
2023 (est.)	11,077	^[11]	−1.6%
U.S. Decennial Census^[12] 1790-1960^[13] 1900-1990^[14] 1990-2000^[15] 2010-2020^[2]

2020 Census

Watonwan County Racial Composition^[16]
Race	Num.	Perc.
White (NH)	7,689	68.33%
Black or African American (NH)	42	0.37%
Native American (NH)	13	0.12%
Asian (NH)	86	0.76%
Pacific Islander (NH)	0	0%
Other/Mixed (NH)	196	1.74%
Hispanic or Latino	3,227	28.7%

2000 census

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,876 people, 4,627 households, and 3,141 families in the county. The population density was 27.3 per square mile (10.5/km²). There were 5,036 housing units at an average density of 11.6 per square mile (4.5/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.54% White, 0.37% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.87% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 8.78% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 15.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 40.9% were of German, 17.3% Norwegian and 5.8% Swedish ancestry.

There were 4,627 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.60% were married couples living together, 7.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.10% were non-families. 28.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.10.

The county population contained 27.60% under the age of 18, 7.80% from 18 to 24, 24.30% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 18.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $35,441, and the median income for a family was $42,321. Males had a median income of $29,242 versus $19,788 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,413. About 7.80% of families and 9.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.50% of those under age 18 and 8.80% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Cities

Unincorporated communities

Townships

Government and politics

Watonwan County voters tend to vote Republican. In two-thirds of presidential elections since 1980, the county has selected the Republican nominee (as of 2020).

United States presidential election results for Watonwan County, Minnesota^[17]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	3,103	59.66%	1,987	38.20%	111	2.13%
2016	2,768	55.38%	1,814	36.29%	416	8.32%
2012	2,517	48.93%	2,494	48.48%	133	2.59%
2008	2,526	48.04%	2,562	48.73%	170	3.23%
2004	2,970	53.20%	2,514	45.03%	99	1.77%
2000	2,562	49.90%	2,258	43.98%	314	6.12%
1996	1,997	37.74%	2,534	47.89%	760	14.36%
1992	1,871	33.54%	2,100	37.65%	1,607	28.81%
1988	2,821	52.10%	2,544	46.98%	50	0.92%
1984	3,526	58.98%	2,425	40.57%	27	0.45%
1980	3,629	55.09%	2,442	37.07%	516	7.83%
1976	3,351	50.30%	3,177	47.69%	134	2.01%
1972	3,960	63.35%	2,229	35.66%	62	0.99%
1968	3,446	53.57%	2,701	41.99%	286	4.45%
1964	2,823	43.80%	3,615	56.09%	7	0.11%
1960	4,173	63.28%	2,412	36.57%	10	0.15%
1956	3,963	67.62%	1,886	32.18%	12	0.20%
1952	4,549	72.02%	1,752	27.74%	15	0.24%
1948	2,581	45.30%	3,039	53.33%	78	1.37%
1944	3,146	57.27%	2,324	42.31%	23	0.42%
1940	3,478	55.30%	2,783	44.25%	28	0.45%
1936	1,930	33.44%	3,668	63.55%	174	3.01%
1932	1,919	39.62%	2,795	57.71%	129	2.66%
1928	3,306	69.69%	1,412	29.76%	26	0.55%
1924	2,297	53.57%	279	6.51%	1,712	39.93%
1920	3,510	81.40%	647	15.00%	155	3.59%
1916	1,300	59.94%	801	36.93%	68	3.14%
1912	254	12.22%	618	29.74%	1,206	58.04%
1908	1,411	70.44%	537	26.81%	55	2.75%
1904	1,455	79.95%	307	16.87%	58	3.19%
1900	1,509	71.93%	509	24.26%	80	3.81%
1896	1,622	71.99%	586	26.01%	45	2.00%
1892	934	62.68%	388	26.04%	168	11.28%

County Board of Commissioners^[18]
	Name	District	Next election
Commissioner	Jim Pettersen	District 1	2024
Commissioner	Bill Miller	District 2	2026
Commissioner	Jim Branstad	District 3	2024
Commissioner	Scott Westerman	District 4	2026
Commissioner	Dillon Melheim	District 5	2024

State Legislature (2021-2023)
	Name	Affiliation	District
Senate	Julie Rosen^[19]	Republican	District 23
House of Representatives	Bjorn Olson^[20]	Republican	District 23A
House of Representatives	Jeremy Munson^[21]	Republican	District 23B