Brown

Formed February 20, 1855 (20^th county)

Brown County (25,914), New Ulm (14,125)

The dark red brick and stone German Renaissance Revival facility was built in 1891.  It sits on State, Center, Washington, and 1^st streets.  Minnesota State Highway 15 is one block to the northeast of the location.  Carl Struck and Henry Hanchen are the architects.  The building was enlarged in 1919 and 1930, renovated in 1965, and enlarged again in 1994.  Lady Justice is displayed on the front of the courthouse.  Veteran and Native American memorials are on the grounds.  Courthouses have been dated 1865, 1873, and the current 1891 structure all in New Ulm, the only county seat.  Brown County was created on February 20, 1855 from Blue Earth County as the 20^th county.  The county is named for pioneer Joseph Renshaw Brown.  The county seat is named for Ulm, Germany. 

Brown 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 Brown, Blue Earth, Cottonwood, Faribault, Jackson, Lincoln, Lyon, Martin, Murray, Nicollet, Nobles, Pipestone, Redwood, Rock, and Watonwan counties (judicial.) The county is situated in northeast Minnesota.  Brown County is located in southern Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is northeast of the county.  The Minnesota River is its northern border.  The county center is 13.8 miles Southwest of New Ulm nearer Sleepy Eye.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Nicollet, Blue Earth, Watonwan, Cottonwood, Redwood, and Renville counties. 

The area of the county is 610.9 square miles.  It is 51 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 40 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 42.4 persons per square mile making it 32 out of 87 in the state.  Brown County has 79.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 14 goes east to west in the county from Nicollet County to Redwood County.  The county looks like the number 7 lying on its back.  New Ulm is on the northeast border of the county.  New Ulm is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 54.5% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced NEU ULM.  This county is in the New Ulm Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Comfrey