Rice

Formed March 5, 1853 (15^th county)

Rice County (67,098), Faribault (24,454)

The stone and masonry Modern facility, was built in 1932, is on a hill at 4^th Street, 3^rd Avenue, 3^rd Street, and 2^nd Avenue.  Minnesota State Highway 60 is 4^th Street.  Nairne W. Fisher is the building designer.  The structure was renovated in 2006.  An Administration Building was added in 1997.  There was a classier 1874 version of the courthouse in Faribault, the only county seat.  The county was established on March 5, 1853 from parts of Dakota and Wabasha counties as the 15^th county.  The county is named for Senator Henry Mower Rice.  The county seat is named for settler Alexander Faribault.  He is the son of the namesake of Faribault County.  Rice County was the birthplace of 1 Minnesota Governor, Albert H. Quie. 

Rice 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.)  Twenty-seven District Court Judges serve Rice, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmsted, Steele, Wabasha, Waseca, and Winona counties (judicial.) The county is in southern Minnesota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is north of the county.  The county center is 5.5 miles North of Faribault.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Dakota, Goodhue, Dodge, Steele, Waseca, Le Sueur, and Scott counties. 

The area of the county is 497.6 square miles.  It is 67 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 14 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 134.8 persons per square mile making it 12 out of 87 in the state.  Rice County has 77.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 35 passes north to south through the county from Scott County to Steele County.  The county is shaped like the State of Utah.  Faribault is located in the southern third of the county.  Faribault is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 36.5% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced FAER-I-BALT.  This county is in the Faribault-Northfield Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Northfield