| Scott County, Minnesota | ||
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Location in the state of Minnesota |
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Minnesota's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 5, 1853 [1] | |
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| Named for | General Winfield Scott | |
| Seat | Shakopee | |
| Largest city | Shakopee | |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
368.56 sq mi (955 km²) 356.68 sq mi (924 km²) 11.88 sq mi (31 km²), 3.22% |
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| Population - (2010) - Density |
129,928 251/sq mi (97/km²) |
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| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 | |
| Website | www.co.scott.mn.us | |
Scott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was organized in 1853 and named in honor of General Winfield Scott. As of 2010, the population was 129,928.[2] Its county seat is Shakopee[3]. The Shakopee-Mdewakanton Indian Reservation is located entirely within the county and within the cities of Prior Lake and Shakopee.
Scott County is a member of the Metropolitan Council, and shares many of the council's concerns about responsible growth management, advocating for progressive development concepts such as clustering, open-space design, and the preservation of open space and rural/agricultural land.
Scott County is a mixed rural/suburban county in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. The county consists of the cities of Belle Plaine, Jordan, Elko New Market, New Prague, Prior Lake, Savage and Shakopee and Belle Plaine, Blakeley, Cedar Lake, Credit River, Helena, Jackson, Louisville, New Market, St. Lawrence, Sand Creek, and Spring Lake townships. Scott County was one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Minnesota, having increased 55% since 1990. However according to US Census data released in 2011, Scott County saw the steepest drop in median income of all the populous counties in Minnesota.[4] Scott County is 365 square miles (950 km2) and is bounded on the west and north by the Minnesota River. The Minnesota River had supported the county's fur trading, lumbering, and farming industries in the 19th century. Today Scott County enjoys a growing mix of commercial, industrial, and housing development, but is still primarily rural. Scott County is the home to several historical, scenic, and entertainment destinations including Canterbury Park, The Landing, Elko Speedway, Mystic Lake Casino, the Renaissance Festival, and Valleyfair Amusement Park.
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Scott County was first inhabited by two bands of the Santee Sioux (Dakota) Indians, the Mdewakanton and Wahpeton. They lived a semi-nomadic life that followed a seasonal cycle. They gathered food, hunted, fished, and planted corn. In the summer the Dakota villages were occupied but in the winter the groups separated for hunting. They had many permanent villages along the Minnesota River. They had many trails leading to these settlements and to the Red River Valley in the North, and the Prairie du Chien to the Southeast. These trails were later used by the fur traders and settlers, and were known as the "ox cart trails." The area of Scott County, as well as much of southern Minnesota, was opened for settlement by two treaties signed at Mendota and Traverse des Sioux, in 1851 and 1853. These treaties removed the Dakota Indians to reservations in upper Minnesota.
Scott County was established and organized by an Act passed in the legislature on March 5, 1853. The 369 square miles (960 km2) county was named after General Winfield Scott. Settlers started entering the area in the mid-1850s. The Minnesota River and the ox cart trails were the primary transportation routes. The first settlers were Yankees, followed by groups of Germans, Irish, Czechs, and Scandinavians. They each brought their own traditions and religions. Most of these settlers became farmers. Fur trading, lumbering, and farming were Minnesota's major industries all throughout the 19th century. With the fast-growing farms, sprang up towns. Shakopee, the County Seat, began in 1851 as a trading post by the Dakota Village of Chief Shakopee (or Shakpay). Other towns were established alongside transportation routes. When the railroads came to Minnesota they became the primary mode of transportation and eventually highways were developed along the ox cart trails between the communities.
Due to urban sprawl and suburbanization this rural county is changing dramatically. Cities are continually growing, causing an increase in population from 57,846 in 1990 to 89,498 today, making Scott County Minnesota's fastest growing county.
| Year | Democrat | Republican |
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| 2008 | 43.51% 29,208 | 54.70% 36,724 |
| 2004 | 39.51% 23,958 | 59.46% 36,055 |
| 2000 | 39.97% 17,503 | 54.70% 23,954 |
According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 368.56 square miles (954.6 km2), of which 356.68 square miles (923.8 km2) (or 96.78%) is land and 11.88 square miles (30.8 km2) (or 3.22%) is water.[5] The Minnesota River is the county's boundary in both the north and the west. The broad river valley juts through glacial sediment into some of the oldest rock known. Now mostly farmland, it was an oak savanna and a mixture of grass and clusters of trees that grew parallel to the river valley. The savanna bordered the "Big Woods", a hard wood forest that covered most of Minnesota before it was logged in the mid-19th century.
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1860 | 4,595 |
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| 1870 | 11,042 | 140.3% | |
| 1880 | 13,516 | 22.4% | |
| 1890 | 13,831 | 2.3% | |
| 1900 | 15,147 | 9.5% | |
| 1910 | 14,888 | −1.7% | |
| 1920 | 14,245 | −4.3% | |
| 1930 | 14,116 | −0.9% | |
| 1940 | 15,585 | 10.4% | |
| 1950 | 16,486 | 5.8% | |
| 1960 | 21,909 | 32.9% | |
| 1970 | 32,423 | 48.0% | |
| 1980 | 43,784 | 35.0% | |
| 1990 | 57,846 | 32.1% | |
| 2000 | 89,498 | 54.7% | |
| 2010 | 129,928 | 45.2% | |
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Minnesota Counties: 1900-1900 |
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As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 89,498 people, 30,692 households, and 23,970 families residing in the county. The population density was 251 people per square mile (97/km²). There were 31,609 housing units at an average density of 89 per square mile (34/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 93.65% White, 0.92% Black or African American, 0.77% Native American, 2.17% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.24% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 2.66% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 39.6% were of German, 12.6% Norwegian, 8.3% Irish and 5.1% Swedish ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 30,692 households out of which 45.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.90% were married couples living together, 7.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.90% were non-families. 16.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.25.
In the county the population was spread out with 31.20% under the age of 18, 6.70% from 18 to 24, 37.30% from 25 to 44, 18.60% from 45 to 64, and 6.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 101.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.00 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $66,612, and the median income for a family was $72,212 (these figures had risen to $80,968 and $90,489 respectively as of a 2007 estimate[7]). Males had a median income of $46,593 versus $32,482 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,418. About 2.00% of families and 3.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.40% of those under age 18 and 7.50% of those age 65 or over. However in 2011, Scott County saw the steepest drop in median income of all the populous counties in Minnesota and household wealth fell by 10 percent. [4]
| Cities | Townships | Unincorporated | |
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† Part of New Prague extends into Le Sueur County.
| Carver County | Hennepin County | |||
| Sibley County | Dakota County | |||
| Scott County, Minnesota | ||||
| Le Sueur County | Rice County |
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