Dakota County, Minnesota

Dakota County, Minnesota

Dakota County, Minnesota, founded in 1849, is located in the southeastern part of the Twin Cities Metro area.

Dakota County is bordered:

• on the north by Ramsey County and Washington County,
• on the west by Scott County and Hennepin County,
• on the south by Rice County and Goodhue County, and
• on the east by Goodhue County and the State of Wisconsin

Dakota County is named after the Dakota Indian tribe which came to the area from northern Minnesota in the 1600s.

Dakota County Courthouses

The original Dakota County Courthouse in Hastings – built in 1871 in Italian Villa style – is an architectural masterpiece listed on the National Register of Historic Places – which should not be missed if you are ever in the area.

The original Dakota County Courthouse is the second oldest surviving courthouse in Minnesota, but is now operated by the city of Hastings.

The current Dakota County Courthouse is located just west of the city of Hastings at 1560 Highway 55, Hastings, MN 55033.

Dakota County Population

Dakota County, Minnesota had a population of 405,088, as of the 2010 Census, an increase of 1.6% over the 2000 Census population of 398,552.

Dakota County has the third highest population of any county in Minnesota.

Dakota County Primary Cities

The city of Hastings, founded in 1857, and named for the first elected governor of Minnesota, Henry Hastings Sibley – is the county seat for Dakota County Minnesota, and had a population of 22,172 as of the 2010 Census.

Larger cities in Dakota County, Minnesota include Apple Valley, Burnsville, Eagan, Farmington, Inver Grove Heights, and Lakeville.

Other notable cities in Dakota County, Minnesota include Lilydale, Mendota Heights, Rosemount, South St. Paul, and West St. Paul.

Henry Hastings Sibley

The city of Hastings, in Dakota County, Minnesota, was named after Henry Hastings Sibley, who was not only:

• the first governor of the State of Minnesota – elected in 1858,
• but also a representative to the United States Congress for the territories of Minnesota and Wisconsin from 1849 to 1853.

Henry Hastings Sibley was born in Detroit Michigan in 1811, to parents of English descent who had migrated from New England.

Henry Sibley’s father was a judge, and Henry studied law while working at his father’s office.

Like many of his day, Henry Sibley worked in the fur trade industry.

In 1839, Henry Sibley purportedly married the granddaughter of a Dakota Indian chief, and the union produced a daughter in 1841.

However, Henry Sibley’s first marriage apparently did not last, and in 1843, Henry Sibley married the daughter of the military commander at Fort Snelling.

During the Civil War, Henry Sibley was appointed as a Colonel in the Minnesota militia, and was ordered to defend the Minnesota River settlements.