Lincoln County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,640. Its county seat is Ivanhoe.

History

During and after the American Civil War, the Minnesota legislature wanted to name a county after President Abraham Lincoln. Acts were proposed to effect this change in 1861, in 1866, and in 1870, but each time the effort failed by vote or was ignored by the county's citizens. The final effort was an act passed on March 6, 1873, dividing Lyon County into approximately equal halves, with the western half to be named Lincoln. The county voters approved this act in the November 1873 election, and Governor Horace Austin proclaimed the county's existence on December 5, 1873, with Lake Benton as county seat. In 1900 a new town closer to the county's center was platted, and in 1902 the county seat was moved to that settlement, Ivanhoe.

Geography

Lincoln County lies on Minnesota's border with South Dakota. The Lac qui Parle River flows northeast through the upper eastern part of the county on its way to discharge into the Minnesota River. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills and is mostly devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the north and east, with its highest point on its lower west border, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.

thumb|right|Soils of Lincoln County

Lakes

Source:

| align-fn = center

| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<br>1790-1960 1900-1990<br>1990-2000 2010-2020

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

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

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

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

|-

|White alone (NH)

|8,162

|6,844

|6,329

|5,749

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,368

|99.45%

|99.33%

|98.44%

|97.51%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |95.18%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|1

|2

|3

|8

|style='background: #ffffe6; |10

|0.01%

|0.03%

|0.05%

|0.14%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.18%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|19

|9

|18

|8

|style='background: #ffffe6; |11

|0.23%

|0.13%

|0.28%

|0.14%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|11

|9

|13

|14

|style='background: #ffffe6; |22

|0.13%

|0.13%

|0.20%

|0.24%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.39%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|x

|x

|0

|0

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0

|x

|x

|0.00%

|0.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|3

|0

|1

|8

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3

|0.04%

|0.00%

|0.02%

|0.14%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.05%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|x

|x

|10

|37

|style='background: #ffffe6; |119

|x

|x

|0.16%

|0.63%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.11%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|11

|26

|55

|72

|style='background: #ffffe6; |107

|0.13%

|0.38%

|0.86%

|1.22%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.90%

|-

|Total

|8,207

|6,890

|6,429

|5,896

|style='background: #ffffe6; |5,640

|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 5,640. The median age was 45.8 years. 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 25.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 95.9% White, 0.2% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.6% from some other race, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 1.9% of the population.

There were 2,452 households in the county, of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 51.1% were married-couple households, 20.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

<!-- PresRow should be -->

{| class="wikitable"

|+County Board of Commissioners

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!District

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Corey Sik

|District 1

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Mic VanDeVere

|District 2

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Dean Nielsen

|District 3

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Joe Drietz

|District 4

|-

|

|Commissioner

|Steve Hauswedell

|District 5

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+State Legislature (2024-2026)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Bill Weber

|Republican

|District 21

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Joe Schomacker

|Republican

|District 21A

|}

{| class="wikitable"

|+U.S Congress (2018-2020)

! colspan="2" |Position

!Name

!Affiliation

!District

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|House of Representatives

|Michelle Fischbach

|Republican

|7th

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Amy Klobuchar

|Democrat

|N/A

|-

| style="background-color:" |

|Senate

|Tina Smith

|Democrat

|N/A

|}

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln County, Minnesota

References

  • Lincoln County government's official website