Renville

Formed February 20, 1855 (27^th county)

Renville County (14,730), Olivia (2,353)

The classic red brick and stone French Second Empire facility, built in 1902, is on a square Depue Avenue, 5^th Street, Lincoln Avenue, and 6^th Street.  United States Highway 212 is Lincoln Avenue.  Fremont D. Orff provided the designs.  The courthouse was restored in 1933.  The structure features a dome and columns.  Veterans memorials are on the grounds.  A County Administration building was added in 1992.  The county was created on February 20, 1855 from parts of Nicollet and Sibley counties and Pierce County (which no longer exists) as the 27^th county.  Beaver Falls was the first county seat until 1895 when Olivia assumed the role.  Renville County is named for trader Joseph Renville.  The county seat is named a railroad station agent. 

Renville County government consists of a sheriff and 5 Commissioners.  Nine District Court Judges serve Renville, Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Pope, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, Wilkin, and Yellow Medicine counties.  The county is in the southwest part of Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is to the northeast from the county.  The Minnesota River forms its southwest border.  The county center is 8.5 miles South of Olivia.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Kandiyohi, Meeker, McLeod, Sibley, Nicollet, Brown, Redwood, Yellow Medicine, and Chippewa counties. 

The area of the county is 982.9 square miles.  It is 22 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 57 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 15.0 persons per square mile making it 64 out of 87 in the state.  Renville County has 64.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 71 crosses the county north to south from Kandiyohi County to Redwood County.  United States Highway 212 goes east to west from McLeod County to Chippewa County.  The county looks like a knife blade.  Olivia is in the northern quarter of the county.  Olivia is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 16.0% of the county population.  The county is pronounced REN-VIL.  The county seat is pronounced OE-LIV-EE-A.