Yellow Medicine

Formed March 6, 1871 (74^th county)

Yellow Medicine County (9,533), Granite Falls (2,734)

A yellow brick Romanesque Revival courthouse, built in 1889, was replaced in 2016 by a new Justice Center.  It incorporates two of the earlier courthouses recently added wings.  It is located at the intersection of 9^th Avenue and Granite Street.  United States Highway 212 passes five blocks to the south of the site.  Wold Architects and Engineers designed building.  An outstanding veterans’ memorials garden is in front of the Justice Center.  The county was founded on March 6, 1871 from Redwood County as the 74^th county with Granite Falls as the only county seat.  The county is named for the river.  The county seat is named for local rock deposits and the local river falls. 

Yellow Medicine 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.)  Nine District Court Judges serve Yellow Medicine, Big Stone, Chippewa, Grant, Kandiyohi, Lac qui Parle, Meeker, Pope, Renville, Stevens, Swift, Traverse, and Wilkin counties (judicial.)  The county is in the southwest part of the state on the border with South Dakota.  Minneapolis, Minnesota is east and Sioux Falls, South Dakota is southwest of the county.  The county center is 19.5 miles South-Southwest of Granite Falls nearer Clarkfield.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Lac qui Parle, Chippewa, Renville, Redwood, Lyon, and Lincoln counties and South Dakota. 

The area of the county is 758.0 square miles.  It is 32 out of 87 in the state.  It ranks 71 out of 87 in population in the state.  It has a density of 12.6 persons per square mile making it 68 out of 87 in the state.  Yellow Medicine County has 57.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 59 crosses north to south in the county from Lac qui Parle County to Lyon County.  United States Highway 75 travels north to south from Lac qui Parle County to Lincoln County.  United States Highway 212 goes east to west from Chippewa County and reenters into Chippewa County.  The county looks like a water faucet.  Granite Falls is located on the eastern border of the county and extends into Chippewa County.  Granite Falls is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 28.7% of the county population.