Fillmore County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,228. Its county seat is Preston. Fillmore County is included in the Rochester metropolitan area.

History

Fillmore County was created on March 5, 1853. It is named for Millard Fillmore, the 13th president of the United States. Fillmore County was an early destination for Euro-American settlement following the United States' 1851 treaties with the Dakota nations. Norwegian immigrants were particularly numerous. In 1860 Fillmore was Minnesota's most populous county.

Geography

Fillmore County is on Minnesota's border with Iowa. The Root River drains the county, flowing eastward. The North Branch and the Middle Branch combine east of Shady Creek, while the South Branch meets their combined flow at Preston. Bear Creek drains the lower part of the county, discharging into the Root in the eastern part of the county. Willow Creek also drains a portion of the lower county, discharging into the Root at Preston. The Upper Iowa River flows eastward, mostly in adjoining Iowa counties, but briefly enters Fillmore County near the midpoint of its southern border.

The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, carved by gullies and drainages, with the available area dedicated to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east; its highest point is on the lower western border, at ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.09%) is water.

The county is part of the Driftless Area or Paleozoic plateau. This part of Minnesota was ice-free during the last ice age. Fillmore County also displays a karst topography. thumb|right|Soils of Fillmore County

Major highways

  • 20px U.S. Highway 52
  • 20px U.S. Highway 63
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 16
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 30
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 43
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 44
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 56
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 74
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 80
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 139
  • 20px Minnesota State Highway 250
  • List of county roads

Adjacent counties

  • Winona County - northeast
  • Houston County - east
  • Winneshiek County, Iowa - southeast
  • Howard County, Iowa - southwest
  • Mower County - west
  • Olmsted County - northwest

Protected areas

Source:

|align-fn=center

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<br/>1790-1960 1900-90<br/>1990-2000 2010-20 2025

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|-

|White alone (NH)

|21,747

|20,618

|20,823

|20,375

|style='background: #ffffe6; |20,173

|99.17%

|99.23%

|98.58%

|97.65%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |95.03%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|10

|7

|34

|48

|style='background: #ffffe6; |98

|0.05%

|0.03%

|0.16%

|0.23%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.46%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|27

|32

|21

|20

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7

|0.12%

|0.15%

|0.10%

|0.10%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|44

|49

|31

|71

|style='background: #ffffe6; |71

|0.20%

|0.24%

|0.15%

|0.34%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.33%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|0

|0

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2

|x

|x

|0.00%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|37

|0

|2

|3

|style='background: #ffffe6; |65

|0.17%

|0.00%

|0.01%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|98

|142

|style='background: #ffffe6; |471

|x

|x

|0.46%

|0.68%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.22%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|65

|71

|113

|207

|style='background: #ffffe6; |341

|0.30%

|0.34%

|0.53%

|0.99%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.61%

|-

|Total

|21,930

|20,777

|21,122

|20,866

|style='background: #ffffe6; |21,228

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 21,228. The median age was 43.0 years. 24.1% of residents were under the age of 18 and 22.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 101.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.6 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 95.5% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.8% from some other race, and 2.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.6% of the population.

There were 8,605 households in the county, of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.7% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 20.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Communities

thumb|County landscape in autumn

Cities

  • Canton
  • Chatfield (part)
  • Fountain
  • Harmony
  • Lanesboro
  • Mabel
  • Ostrander
  • Peterson
  • Preston (county seat)
  • Rushford
  • Rushford Village
  • Spring Valley
  • Whalan
  • Wykoff

Unincorporated communities

  • Bratsberg
  • Carimona

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!District

!Next Election

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Mitch Lentz

|District 1

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Randy Dahl

|District 2

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Larry Hindt

|District 3

|2024

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Duane Bakke

|District 4

|2026

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Marc Prestby

|District 5

|2024

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2021-2023)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Jeremy Miller

|Republican

|District 28

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Greg Davids

|Republican

|District 28B

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2021-2023)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Brad Finstad

|Republican

|1st

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Amy Klobuchar

|Democrat

|N/A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Tina Smith

|Democrat

|N/A

|}

Education

School districts include:

  • Chatfield Public Schools
  • Fillmore Central School District (Minnesota)
  • Kingsland Public School District
  • Lanesboro Public School District
  • LeRoy-Ostrander Public Schools
  • Mabel-Canton Public Schools
  • Rushford-Peterson Public Schools
  • St. Charles Public School District
  • Stewartville Public School District

See also

  • Commonweal Theatre Company
  • Dream Acres
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Fillmore County, Minnesota

References

  • Fillmore County government's website
  • Fillmore County Health and Demographic Data