Brown County, Minnesota facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Brown County
U.S. county
Brown County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
Founded	February 20, 1855 (created) 1856 (organized)
Named for	Joseph Renshaw Brown
Seat	New Ulm
Largest city	New Ulm
Area
• Total	618 sq mi (1,600 km2)
• Land	611 sq mi (1,580 km2)
• Water	7.4 sq mi (19 km2)  1.2%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	25,912
• Estimate  (2023)	25,628
• Density	41.9/sq mi (16.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st

1862 Johnson Map showing Brown County was much bigger at the time of the Sioux Uprising and would be later broken up into several other counties

Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,912. Its county seat is New Ulm. The county was formed in 1855 and organized in 1856.

Brown County comprises the New Ulm, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Mankato-New Ulm-North Mankato, MN Combined Statistical Area.

History

Brown County was founded in 1855 in the southwest corner of what was Minnesota Territory. It was named for Joseph Renshaw Brown, a member of the Governor's Council of the Territory in 1855. In 1857, Brown County was divided, creating Cottonwood, Jackson, Martin, Murry, Nobles, Pipestone, and Rock counties. Watonwan was broken off in 1860. Redwood was created from a large portion of Brown County in 1862. Redwood was further divided into Lac qui Parle, Lincoln, Lyon and Yellow Medicine Counties in the 1870s.

In 1862, the county's 150-mile northern border was the boundary line of the Upper and Lower Sioux reservations when the 1862 Dakota War broke out. New Ulm, the county seat, came under heavy attack twice by a superior Mdewakanton Dacotah force that was repulsed. Most of the town was torched and most of the population fled to St. Peter and Mankato. The town took many casualties, with the dead buried in the streets. In 1863, when the treaties with the eastern Dacotah were annulled and the two reservations were dissolved, the county border was moved north 10 miles to the Minnesota River.

Geography

The Minnesota River flows east-southeast along the county's northern border. The Cottonwood River flows east-northeast through the county's central and upper area, discharging into the Minnesota at the northern border. The Little Cottonwood River flows east through the lower portion of the county, on its way to discharge into the Minnesota in neighboring Blue Earth County. The terrain consists of rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture, and generally slopes to the east, tending to drop into the river valleys. Its highest point is at its southwestern corner, at 1,263 ft (385 m) ASL.

The county has an area of 618 square miles (1,600 km²), of which 611 square miles (1,580 km²) is land and 7.4 square miles (19 km²) (1.2%) is water.

Transit

• Hermann Express

Major highways

Adjacent counties

Lakes

Climate and weather

In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of New Ulm have ranged from a low of 6 °F (−14 °C) in January to a high of 83 °F (28 °C) in July, although a record low of −37 °F (−38 °C) was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of 105 °F (41 °C) was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from 0.64 inches (16 mm) in January to 4.82 inches (122 mm) in June.

Demographics

2020 Census

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

• Searles

Unincorporated communities

• Essig
• Godahl (partial)
• Leavenworth

Townships

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Brown (Minnesota) para niños