Steele County, Minnesota

This article is based on the corresponding article in another wiki. For Familypedia purposes, it requires significantly more historical detail on phases of this location's development. The ideal article for a place will give the reader a feel for what it was like to live at that location at the time their relatives were alive there. Also desirable are links to organizations that may be repositories of genealogical information..
Please help to improve this page yourself if you can.

Steele County, Minnesota
Location in the state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	February 20, 1855 [1]
Named for	Franklin Steele, a prominent pioneer of Minneapolis.
Seat	Owatonna
Largest city	Owatonna
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	432.16 sq mi (1,119 km²) 429.55 sq mi (1,113 km²) 2.62 sq mi (7 km²), 0.61%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	36,576 78/sq mi (30/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.steele.mn.us

Steele County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was named for Franklin Steele, a prominent early resident of the state. As of 2010, the population was 36,576. Its county seat is Owatonna.

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 432.16 square miles (1,119.3 km²), of which 429.55 square miles (1,112.5 km²) (or 99.40%) is land and 2.62 square miles (6.8 km²) (or 0.61%) is water. The Straight River flows northwardly through the county, and the Le Sueur River flows through its southwestern corner. The Middle Fork of the Zumbro River has its headwaters in the northeastern part of the county.

Lakes

• Beaver Lake: in Berlin Township
• Fosilen Lake: in Berlin Township
• Lake Kohlmeier: in Owatonna, Owatonna Township
• Lonergan Lake: in Berlin Township
• Oak Glen Lake: in Blooming Prairie Township
• Rice Lake: mostly in Havana Township, but the far eastern edge extends into Dodge County
• Rickert Lake: in Blooming Prairie Township
• Swan Lake: in Deerfield Township

Major highways

• Interstate 35
• U.S. Highway 14
• U.S. Highway 218
• Minnesota State Highway 30

Adjacent counties

• Rice County (north)
• Dodge County (east)
• Mower County (southeast)
• Freeborn County (south)
• Waseca County (west)

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1860	2,863		—
1870	8,271		188.9%
1880	12,400		49.9%
1890	13,232		6.7%
1900	16,524		24.9%
1910	16,146		−2.3%
1920	18,061		11.9%
1930	18,475		2.3%
1940	19,749		6.9%
1950	21,155		7.1%
1960	25,029		18.3%
1970	26,931		7.6%
1980	30,328		12.6%
1990	30,729		1.3%
2000	33,680		9.6%
2010	36,575		8.6%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,680 people, 12,846 households, and 9,082 families residing in the county. The population density was 78 people per square mile (30/km²). There were 13,306 housing units at an average density of 31 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.19% White, 1.07% Black or African American, 0.10% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.65% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. 3.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 38.6% were of German, 18.5% Norwegian, 5.2% Czech and 5.1% Irish ancestry according to Census 2000.

Age pyramid of county residents based on 2000 U.S. census data.

There were 12,846 households out of which 35.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the county the population was spread out with 27.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 21.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $46,106, and the median income for a family was $53,981. Males had a median income of $36,366 versus $25,054 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,328. About 4.20% of families and 6.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.10% of those under age 18 and 7.10% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Steele County Courthouse in Owatonna, Minnesota.

Cities	Townships
Blooming Prairie † Ellendale Medford Owatonna	Aurora Township Berlin Township Blooming Prairie Township Clinton Falls Township Deerfield Township Havana Township Lemond Township	Medford Township Meriden Township Merton Township Owatonna Township Somerset Township Summit Township

† A small part of Bloomong Prairie extends into Dodge County.

See also

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

External links

• Steele County government’s website