Big Stone

Formed February 20, 1862 (63^rd county)

Big Stone County (5,618), Ortonville (2,018)

A brown brick Gothic/Romanesque & Classical courthouse, on 2^nd Street between Jackson and Lincoln avenues is for Big Stone County.  Minnesota State Highway 7 is 2^nd Street.  It was built in 1902.  Fremont D. Orff provided the designs.  The facility sits on a hill with veteran memorials on the grounds.  1873 and 1886 courthouses existed prior to the current building all in Ortonville, the only county seat.  Big Stone County was formed on February 20, 1862 from Dakota County as the 63^rd county.  The county was named for Big Stone Lake.  The county seat is named for settler Cornelius Knute Orton. 

Big Stone 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.)  Nine District Court Judges serve Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Pope, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine counties (judicial.) The county is situated in northeast Minnesota.  The county is located in western Minnesota on the border with South Dakota.  The county center is 14 miles North of Ortonville nearer Clinton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Traverse, Stevens, Swift, and Lac qui Parle counties and South Dakota. 

The area of the county is 497.0 square miles.  It is 68 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 83 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 10.4 persons per square mile making it 72 out of 87 in the state.  Big Stone County has 64.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 75 travels north to south in the county from Traverse County to Lac qui Parle County.  The county looks like a chair with its back leg missing.  Ortonville is on the southwest border of the county.  Ortonville is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 39.1% of the county population.