Olmsted

Formed February 20, 1855 (26^th county)

Olmsted County (162,849), Rochester (121,388)

The Modern red brick and masonry courthouse was built in 1993.  It is located at 4^th Street and 3^rd Avenue Southeast.  United States Highway 63 travels two blocks to the west.  Korsunsky, Krane & Erickson are the building designers.  There were 1883 and 1958 courthouses earlier.  The county was founded on February 20, 1855 from parts of Fillmore, Wabasha, and Rice counties as the 26^th county.  Rochester has always been the county seat.  The county is named for Saint Paul Mayor David Olmsted.  The county seat is named for Rochester, New York. 

Olmsted County government consists of a sheriff, an administrator, an attorney, a treasurer, an auditor, an assessor and a clerk (executive).  It has 7 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-seven District Court Judges serve Olmsted, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Rice, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona counties (judicial.) The county is in southeast Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is northwest of the county.  The county center is 5.7 miles Southeast of Rochester.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Wabasha, Winona, Fillmore, Mower, Dodge, and Goodhue counties. 

The area of the county is 653.0 square miles.  It is 46 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 7 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 249.4 persons per square mile making it 8 out of 87 in the state.  Olmsted County has 86.6% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 90 passes east to southwest in the county from Winona County to Mower County.  United States Highway 14 goes east to west from Winona County to Dodge County.  United States Highway 52 goes northwest to southeast from Goodhue County to Fillmore County.  United States Highway 63 travels north to south from Wabasha County to Mower County.  The county looks like an overstuffed chair.  Rochester is located in the western third of the county.  Rochester is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 74.5% of the county population.  The county is pronounced OLM-STED.  This county is in the Rochester Metropolitan Statistical Area.