Wright

Formed February 20, 1855 (32^nd county)

Wright County (141,336), Buffalo (16,175), Saint Michael (18,229)

The concrete and stone Modern facility was constructed in 1959 at 2^nd Street and Central Avenue.  Central Avenue is Minnesota State Highway 25 in the town.  The courthouse was enlarged in 1971, 1974, and 1980 and remodeled in 1990.  Patch and Erickson are the building designers.  A Justice Center is under construction in 2019.  A classic facility built in 1878 preceded the current one.  The county was formed on February 20, 1855 from parts of Cass and Sibley counties as the 32^nd county.  Monticello was the first county seat until 1867 when Buffalo became the seat.  The county is named for New York Governor Silas Wright.  The county is named for the local lake. 

Wright 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.)  Forty-three District Court Judges serve Wright, Anoka, Chisago, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Sherburne, and Washington counties (judicial.) Wright County is in central Minnesota directly northwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota.  The Mississippi River forms its northeast border.  The county center is 3 miles Northwest of Buffalo.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Sherburne, Hennepin, Carver, McLeod, Meeker, and Stearns counties. 

The area of the county is 660.8 square miles.  It is 45 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 10 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 213.9 persons per square mile making it 10 out of 87 in the state.  Wright County has 76.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 94 crosses northwest to southeast in the county from Stearns County to Hennepin County.  United States Highway 12 goes east to west from Hennepin County to Meeker County.  United States Highway 52 is joined with Interstate Highway 94 from Stearns to Hennepin counties.  The county looks like a watering can.  Buffalo is in the eastern half of the county.  Saint Michael is in the east.  Buffalo is the county seat and Saint Michael is the largest city.  Buffalo is 10.2% of the county population while Saint Michael is 13.2% of the county population.  This county is in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul-Bloomington Metropolitan Statistical Area.