History
A view of the forested St. Croix River valley, looking south towards Afton
Washington County was one of the nine original counties created when the Minnesota Territory was organized in 1849. The county was officially established October 27, 1849, named after George Washington.
Early development in the area was on the St. Croix River, which now forms the boundary with Wisconsin on the county’s eastern side. The river not only provided a means of transportation to move people upstream, but also move logs downstream. The area was heavily forested and the early economy was dependent on the logging and lumber industries.
Geography
Soils of Wm OBrien State Park
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 423 square miles (1,100 km2), of which 384 square miles (990 km2) is land and 38 square miles (98 km2) (9.1%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Minnesota by land area and fifth-smallest by total area.
Demographics
There were 71,462 households out of which 41.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.80% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.50% were non-families. 18.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the county, the population was spread out with 29.40% under the age of 18, 6.80% from 18 to 24, 32.90% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 7.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $66,305, and the median income for a family was $74,576 (these figures had risen to $78,067 and $90,867 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $49,815 versus $33,804 for females. The per capita income for the county was $28,148. About 2.00% of families and 2.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.50% of those under age 18 and 4.10% of those age 65 or over.
Politics and government
Presidential elections results
Like all counties in Minnesota, Washington is governed by an elected and nonpartisan board of commissioners. Each commissioner represents a district of approximately equal population.
Washington County is divided among three congressional districts. Northern Washington County is represented by Minnesota’s 6th congressional district, central Washington County by Minnesota’s 4th congressional district, and southern Washington County by Minnesota’s 2nd congressional district.
Cities In Washington County
Afton
Bayport
Birchwood Village
Cottage Grove
Dellwood
Forest Lake
Grant
Hastings (partly in Dakota County)
Hugo
Lake Elmo
Lake St. Croix Beach
Lakeland Shores
Lakeland
Landfall
Mahtomedi
Marine on St. Croix
Newport
Oak Park Heights
Oakdale
Pine Springs
Scandia
St. Marys Point
St. Paul Park
Stillwater (county seat)
Willernie
White Bear Lake (partly in Ramsey County)
Woodbury
Townships
Baytown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia