McLeod

Formed March 1, 1856 (37^th county)

McLeod County (36,759), Glencoe (5,737), Hutchinson (14,601)

A modern 1958 addition augmented the 1909 tan brick Beaux Arts building.  The courthouse is on 11^th Street between Ives and Hennepin avenues.  Minnesota State Highway 22 is Hennepin Avenue.  Bisbee and Bardwell are the building architects.  The building features columns.  The courthouse was enlarged multiple times the last in 2018.  There was an 1876 courthouse in Glencoe, the only county seat.  McLeod County was founded on March 1, 1856 from parts of Carver and Sibley counties as the 37^th county.  The county is named for fur trader Martin McLeod.  The county seat is named for Glencoe, Scotland. 

McLeod 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.)  Thirty-nine District Court Judges serve McLeod, Carver, Dakota, Goodhue, Le Sueur, Scott, and Sibley counties (judicial.)  The county is south central Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is east of the county.  The county center is 10.2 miles Northwest of Glencoe nearer Hutchinson.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wright, Carver, Sibley, Renville, and Meeker counties. 

The area of the county is 491.9 square miles.  It is 69 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 29 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 74.7 persons per square mile making it 20 out of 87 in the state.  McLeod County has 73.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 212 travels east to west in the county from Carver County to Renville County.  The county looks like the number 7 standing on its head.  Glencoe is in the southeast quarter of the county.  Hutchinson is in the northwest part of the county.  Glencoe is the county seat and Hutchinson is the largest city.  Glencoe is 15.6% of the county population while Hutchinson is 39.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced MAC-CLOUD.  This county is in the Hutchinson Micropolitan Statistical Area.