Pipestone County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,424. Its county seat is Pipestone.
History
The county was formed on May 23, 1857, by act of the territorial legislature, but was not organized at that time. The area was first designated Rock County while the name Pipestone County was attached to neighboring Rock County. An act of the Minnesota state legislature on February 20, 1862, swapped the designations, attaching the present names to the present counties, due to the pipestone quarry in this county.
Pipestone County organization was effected by a state act on January 27, 1879, with Pipestone City (which had been platted in 1876) as the county seat (the name of the county seat was later shortened to Pipestone). The pipestones are from deposits of red pipestone Native Americans used to make pipes.
Pipestone National Monument is in the county, just north of the town of Pipestone.
Geography
Pipestone County lies on Minnesota's border with South Dakota. The Rock River rises in the county and flows southward into Rock County, being augmented by the East Branch of the Rock River near the southern border. The terrain consists of low rolling hills, carved by drainages. The area is devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the west and south, with its highest point on the upper part of its eastern border, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water. thumb|right|Soils of Pipestone County The highest point in the eastern part of the county may be as stated but the highest summit is 1995 ft at 44.1927°, -96.2033°
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 75
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 23
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 30
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 269
Adjacent counties
- Lincoln County - north
- Lyon County - northeast
- Murray County - east
- Rock County - south
- Minnehaha County, South Dakota - southwest
- Moody County, South Dakota - west
- Brookings County, South Dakota - northwest
Protected areas
Source:
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census:
!Pop 1990
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020
!% 1980
!% 1990
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|11,529
|10,221
|9,538
|8,880
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,057
|98.62%
|97.43%
|96.39%
|92.54%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |85.49%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|5
|6
|17
|52
|style='background: #ffffe6; |107
|0.04%
|0.06%
|0.17%
|0.54%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.14%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|80
|153
|138
|96
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100
|0.68%
|1.46%
|1.39%
|1.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.06%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|23
|68
|45
|69
|style='background: #ffffe6; |66
|0.20%
|0.65%
|0.45%
|0.72%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.70%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|1
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|x
|x
|0.01%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|16
|1
|5
|5
|style='background: #ffffe6; |19
|0.14%
|0.01%
|0.05%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.20%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|82
|139
|style='background: #ffffe6; |271
|x
|x
|0.83%
|1.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.88%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|37
|42
|69
|355
|style='background: #ffffe6; |804
|0.32%
|0.40%
|0.70%
|3.70%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.53%
|-
|Total
|11,690
|10,491
|9,895
|9,596
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,424
|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 9,424. The median age was 41.8 years. 24.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.7 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.9 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 86.6% White, 1.1% Black or African American, 1.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 5.7% from some other race, and 4.6% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.5% of the population.
There were 3,948 households in the county, of which 28.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 50.4% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.9% 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
!Next Election
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Luke Johnson
|District 1
|2024
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Doug Nagel
|District 2
|2026
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Dallas Roskamp
|District 3
|2024
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Dan Wildermuth
|District 4
|2026
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Chris Hollinsworth
|District 5
|2024
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+State Legislature (2018-2020)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Bill Weber
|Republican
|District 22
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Joe Schomacker
|Republican
|District 22A
|}
{| 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 Pipestone County, Minnesota
References
External links
- Pipestone County government’s website