Houston County, Minnesota

Houston County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 23, 1854 [1]
Named for	Samuel Houston
Seat	Caledonia
Largest city	La Crescent
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	568.91 sq mi (1,473 km²) 558.41 sq mi (1,446 km²) 10.50 sq mi (27 km²), 1.85%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	19,027 35/sq mi (14/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.houstoncounty.govoffice2.com/

Houston County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 19,027. Its county seat is Caledonia. The United States Census Bureau's La Crosse Metropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Houston County (as well as La Crosse County, Wisconsin, to the east).

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 568.91 square miles (1,473.5 km²), of which 558.41 square miles (1,446.3 km²) (or 98.15%) is land and 10.50 square miles (27.2 km²) (or 1.85%) is water.

Major highways

• Minnesota State Highway 16
• Minnesota State Highway 26
• Minnesota State Highway 44
• Minnesota State Highway 76

Public airports

• Houston County Airport

Lakes

The following lakes are located within the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.

• Blue Lake
• Hayshore Lake
• Lawrence Lake
• Target Lake

Adjacent counties

• Winona County, Minnesota (north)
• La Crosse County, Wisconsin (northeast)
• Vernon County, Wisconsin (east)
• Allamakee County, Iowa (south)
• Winneshiek County, Iowa (southwest)
• Fillmore County, Minnesota (west)

National protected area

• Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	6,645		—
1870	14,936		124.8%
1880	16,332		9.3%
1890	14,653		−10.3%
1900	15,400		5.1%
1910	14,297		−7.2%
1920	14,013		−2.0%
1930	13,845		−1.2%
1940	14,735		6.4%
1950	14,435		−2.0%
1960	16,588		14.9%
1970	17,556		5.8%
1980	18,382		4.7%
1990	18,497		0.6%
2000	19,718		6.6%
2010	19,027		−3.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,718 people, 7,633 households, and 5,411 families residing in the county. The population density was 35 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 8,168 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 98.47% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 43.1% were of German, 29.6% Norwegian and 7.5% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

There were 7,633 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% 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 3.05.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 97.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.1 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $40,680, and the median income for a family was $49,196. Males had a median income of $32,557 versus $22,158 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,826. About 4.2% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.4% of those under age 18 and 11.2% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Houston County Courthouse in Caledonia, Minnesota

Cities	Townships		Unincorporated
Brownsville Caledonia Eitzen Hokah Houston La Crescent † Spring Grove	Black Hammer Township Brownsville Township Caledonia Township Crooked Creek Township Hokah Township Houston Township Jefferson Township La Crescent Township	Mayville Township Money Creek Township Mound Prairie Township Sheldon Township Spring Grove Township Union Township Wilmington Township Winnebago Township Yucatan Township	Bee Black Hammer Jefferson Money Creek Pine Creek (partial) Reno River Junction Willington Grove Wilmington Yucatan

† a small part of La Crescent's area extends into Winona County

Sheriffs

1. Matthew Williams 1854–1858 5 years
2. Edmund Kelly 1859–1860 2 years
3. W.W. Willis 1861–1864 4 years
4. J.G. Prentise 1865–1866 2 years
5. R.F. Judd 1867–1870 4 years
6. John Phelps 1871–1872 2 years
7. S.W. Walker 1873–1874 2 years
8. Mark Hargreaves 1875–1878 4 years
9. Walter Goergen 1879–1886 8 years
10. George C. Drawley 1887–1892 6 years
11. George N. Blexrud 1893–1900 8 years
12. F.H. Evens 1901–1902 2 years
13. Jacob Johnson 1903–1906 4 years
14. C.K. Blexrud 1907–1912 6 years
15. H.J.Blexrud 1913-died in office after 6 months
16. George N.Blexrud 1913–1918 5½ years
17. W.E. Abbots 1919–1926 8 years
18. Arthur Brown 1927–1938 12 years
19. Walter Goergen 1939-died in office after 1 month
20. George V. Kelly 1939–1946 7 years 11 months
21. Beryl Kerrigan 1947–1958 12 years
22. Byron Whitehouse 1959–1970 12 years
23. Jerry T. Olson 1971–1978 8 years
24. Dennis L. Swedberg 1979–1994 16 years
25. Michael C. Lee 1995-Oct 31,2005 10 years 10 months
26. Darryl Peterson Nov 1,2005–2006 14 months
27. Douglas Ely 2007-?

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Houston County, Minnesota
• Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge

External links

• Houston County
• Houston County Health and Demographic Data
• KNEI 103.5 FM-Real Country