Waseca County, Minnesota

Founding: 1857
Parent county: Steele
Namesake: A Dakota word meaning "rich soil"
Seat: Wilton (1857–1870); Waseca (1870–)
Land area: 423 square miles
Population (2020): 18,968
Population (historic): 2,601 (1860); 12,385 (1880); 14,760 (1900); 14,412 (1930)
Periods of population growth: pre-1860–1900; 1910–1940; 1950–1980; 1990s

Subdivisions: Four cities; 12 townships
Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 2,085 (26.2%)
Pre-1940 housing survival rate: 60.8%

Pre-1860 housing survival rate (1940): 2.5%

Farm housing in disrepair (1950): 3.9%

Nonfarm housing in disrepair (1950): 3.5%

Average farmhouse value (1930): $2,078
Average outbuilding value (1930): $2,425

Average farmhouse size (1940): 6.9 rooms

Number of farms (1920): 1,609
Average farm size (1920): 120.1 acres
Sources of settlement: Germany, Wisconsin, Sweden, New York, and Ireland
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Waseca

 
Namesake: Waseca County
Founding: 1867 (platting); 1867 (post office); 1881 (incorporation)
Population (2020): 9,229
Population (historic): 551 (1870); 2,482 (1890); 3,054 (1910); 3,815 (1930)
Periods of population growth: pre-1870–1900; 1910s; 1930–2010

Pre-1940 residences (estimated): 800 (21%)
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Outstanding Buildings

1. George Drever Farm (c. 1875). 39751 70th Road. Iosco. Italianate.
2. Vista Lutheran Church (1908). 15035 275th Road. Otisco. Gothic Revival.
3. Seth Phelps House (1869). 360th Road, east of US Highway 14. St. Mary. Italianate. Razed.

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