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
National Register listings: 13
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.