Pipestone

Formed May 23, 1857 (51^st county)

Pipestone County (9,416), Pipestone (4,209)

The Beaux Arts classic 1902 stone courthouse is at the intersection of Hiawatha Avenue and 4^th Street.  The building designer was George Pass.  The building was enlarged in 1975.  United States Highway 75 passes seven blocks to the east of the site.  The courthouse features a domed tower and Lady Justice.  Veteran memorials and a military tank are on the grounds.  The county was formed on May 23, 1857 from Brown County as the 51^st county with Pipestone as the only county seat.  The county and county seat are named for a local quarry of pipestone rocks. 

Pipestone County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer, an auditor, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Nineteen District Court Judges serve Pipestone, Blue Earth, Brown, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Redwood, Rock, and Watonwan counties (judicial.) The county is in the southwest part of the state on the border with South Dakota.  Sioux Falls, South Dakota is southwest of the county.  The county center is 3.4 miles East-Northeast of Pipestone.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lincoln, Lyon, Murray, and Rock counties and South Dakota. 

The area of the county is 465.9 square miles.  It is 71 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 72 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 20.2 persons per square mile making it 54 out of 87 in the state.  Pipestone County has 71.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 75 crosses the county from north to south from Lincoln County to Rock County.  The county is a rectangle.  The City of Pipestone is south and west of center in the county.  Pipestone is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 44.7% of the county population.