Stevens County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,671. Its county seat is Morris.
History
The county was created by act of the Minnesota legislature on February 20, 1862. It was not organized at that time, and no county seat was named. The county was named for Isaac Stevens, who had led a railroad survey party across Minnesota in 1853 and was influential in bringing national attention to the Minnesota Territory. The territorial legislature had intended to thus honor Stevens in 1855 when another county was being created, but a clerical error caused that county to be named Stearns. The error was corrected by the 1862 act; by that time Stevens was a brigadier general for the Union Army in the American Civil War. Stevens was killed later that year. The county government was organized in 1872. Morris, which had been platted in 1869, was named the county seat.
The University of Minnesota Morris is in Morris. It was developed in the early 20th century from the Morris Industrial School for Indians, which opened in 1887 and was originally operated by the Roman Catholic Sisters of Mercy under contract to the federal government.
In 1975, a moderate earthquake occurred in the county.
Geography
The Pomme de Terre River flows south through central Stevens County, on its way to discharge into the Minnesota River. The county's terrain consists of rolling hills, with the area mostly devoted to agriculture. The terrain generally slopes to the south, although the northeast and southwest portions rise from the central part of the county. The county's highest point is on the eastern portion of the northern border, at ASL. The county has an area of , of which is land and (2.0%) is water.
Major highways
- 20px U.S. Highway 59
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 9
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 28
- 20px Minnesota State Highway 329
Adjacent counties
- Grant County - north
- Douglas County - northeast
- Pope County - east
- Swift County - south
- Big Stone County - southwest
- Traverse County - northwest
Protected areas
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)
|11,128
|10,343
|9,627
|8,931
|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,093
|98.29%
|97.26%
|95.76%
|91.83%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |83.68%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|51
|56
|92
|75
|style='background: #ffffe6; |84
|0.45%
|0.53%
|0.92%
|0.77%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.87%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|14
|50
|67
|81
|style='background: #ffffe6; |110
|0.12%
|0.47%
|0.67%
|0.83%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.14%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|59
|116
|86
|146
|style='background: #ffffe6; |68
|0.52%
|1.09%
|0.86%
|1.50%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.70%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|x
|x
|1
|1
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|x
|x
|0.01%
|0.01%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.01%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|21
|13
|4
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |40
|0.19%
|0.12%
|0.04%
|0.03%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.41%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|x
|x
|86
|152
|style='background: #ffffe6; |289
|x
|x
|0.86%
|1.56%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.99%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|49
|56
|90
|337
|style='background: #ffffe6; |986
|0.43%
|0.53%
|0.90%
|3.46%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |10.20%
|-
|Total
|11,322
|10,634
|10,053
|9,726
|style='background: #ffffe6; |9,671
|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 9,671. The median age was 34.7 years. 23.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 100.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 98.8 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the county was 85.3% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 1.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 6.2% from some other race, and 5.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 10.2% of the population.
There were 3,697 households in the county, of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 52.3% were married-couple households, 19.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 22.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.2% 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 and Chairperson
|Bob Kopitzke
|District 1
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Jeanne Ennen
|District 2
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Ron Staples
|District 3
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Donnie Wohlers
|District 4
|-
|
|Commissioner
|Patricia Lesmeister-Nelson
|District 5
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+State Legislature (2018-2020)
! colspan="2" |Position
!Name
!Affiliation
!District
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|Senate
|Torrey Westrom
|Republican
|District 12
|-
| style="background-color:" |
|House of Representatives
|Jeff Backer
|Republican
|District 12A
|}
{| 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 Stevens County, Minnesota
References
External links
- Stevens County government’s website
- Stevens County Historical Society & Museum