# Sibley County, Minnesota

Sibley County is a county in the South Central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,836. Its county seat is Gaylord.

## History

The county was created on March 5, 1853. It was named for Henry Hastings Sibley.
The county seat was first established at Henderson. A courthouse was built there and placed into service in 1879. It was used in that capacity until 1915, when the county seat was moved to Gaylord (after Gaylord residents presented a petition to county supervisors). Now the Henderson Community Building, the original courthouse presently houses Henderson City offices.

## Geography

The Minnesota River flows northeastward along Sibley County's eastern border. It is fed by the Rush River, whose three branches drain the lower part of the county before merging and then meeting the Minnesota below Henderson. Bevens Creek drains the upper part of the county, flowing northeastward into Carver County. The county terrain consists of rolling hills etched with drainages and dotted with lakes and ponds, with the area devoted to agriculture. The terrain slopes to the east and north, with its highest point near its northwest corner at 1,083 ft (330 m) ASL. The county has an area of 601 square miles (1,560 km$^2$), of which 589 square miles (1,530 km$^2$) is land and 12 square miles (31 km$^2$) (2.0%) is water. Most of the Rush River's watershed is in Sibley County.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 169
* Minnesota State Highway 5
* Minnesota State Highway 15
* Minnesota State Highway 19
* Minnesota State Highway 22
* Minnesota State Highway 25
* Minnesota State Highway 93

### Adjacent counties

* McLeod County - north
* Carver County - northeast
* Scott County - east
* Le Sueur County - southeast
* Nicollet County - south
* Renville County - west

### Lakes

* Altnow Lake: in Dryden Township
* Beatty Lake: in Dryden Township
* Clear Lake: northern half is in Severance Township; southern half is in Nicollet County
* Curran Lake: in Green Isle Township
* Erin Lake
* Hahn Lake: in New Auburn Township
* High Island Lake: in New Auburn Township
* Indian Lake: in Transit Township
* Kerry Lake: in Faxon Township
* Kirby Lake
* Mud Lake: in Dryden Township
* Mud Lake: there is another Mud Lake in New Auburn Township northwest of Hahn Lake
* Mud Lake: there is a third Mud Lake in New Auburn Township southeast of Hahn Lake
* Mud Lake: there is a fourth Mud Lake in Severance Township
* Mud Lakes: three lakes in Washington Lake Township
* Round Grove Lake
* Sand Lake: western two thirds is in Cornish Township; the eastern third is in Alfsborg Township
* Schauer Lake: in Green Isle Township
* Schilling Lake: in New Auburn Township
* Severance Lake: in Green Isle Township
* Silver Lake: in Jessenland Township
* Swan Lake: in Severance Township
* Titlow Lake: in Dryden Township: the North Branch Rush River starts at this lake.
* Ward Lake (part)
* Washington Lake: in Washington Lake Township

### Protected areas

* Altnow Marsh State Wildlife Management Area
* Indian Lake State Wildlife Management Area
* Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge (part)
* Revanche Wildlife Management Area
* Rush River County Park

## Demographics
### 2020 Census

Sibley County Racial Composition :
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
| White (NH) | 12,942 | 87.23% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 81 | 0.6% |
| Native American (NH) | 30 | 0.2% |
| Asian (NH) | 72 | 0.5% |
| Pacific Islander (NH) | 10 | 0.07% |
| Other/Mixed (NH) | 386 | 2.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,315 | 8.9% |

### 2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 15,356 people, 5,772 households, and 4,086 families in the county. The population density was 26.1 per square mile (10.1/km$^2$). There were 6,024 housing units at an average density of 10.2 per square mile (3.9/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 95.57% White, 0.12% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 3.09% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. 5.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 65.7% were of German and 6.3% Norwegian ancestry.
There were 5,772 households, of which 33.6% had children under 18 living with them, 61.1% were married couples living together, 5.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.2% were non-families. 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.14.
The county population was 27.7% under 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.4% 65 or older. The median age was 37. For every 100 females there were 102.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 99.9 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $41,458, and the median income for a family was $48,923. Males had a median income of $31,002 versus $22,527 for females. The per capita income was $18,004. About 5.1% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.8% of those under 18 and 7.8% of those 65 or over.

## Communities
### Cities

* Arlington
* Gaylord (county seat)
* Gibbon
* Green Isle
* Henderson
* Le Sueur (mostly in Le Sueur County)
* New Auburn
* Winthrop

### Unincorporated communities

* Assumption (partial)
* New Rome
* Rush River

### Townships

* Alfsborg Township
* Arlington Township
* Bismarck Township
* Cornish Township
* Dryden Township
* Faxon Township
* Grafton Township
* Green Isle Township
* Henderson Township
* Jessenland Township
* Kelso Township
* Moltke Township
* New Auburn Township
* Severance Township
* Sibley Township
* Transit Township
* Washington Lake Township

## Politics

Historically, during the Third Party System, Sibley was a strongly Democratic county due to its German and Irish Catholic populace's opposition to the Republican Party's pietism. It voted Democratic in every presidential election until William Jennings Bryan’s populist-backed Free Silver campaign drove its voters to William McKinley. Except when voting for Robert La Follette in 1924 and Franklin D. Roosevelt during his two 1930s landslides, Sibley County has been firmly Republican since 1896. It was one of only four Minnesota counties to vote for Barry Goldwater over incumbent Democratic President Lyndon Johnson in 1964, and in no presidential election since 1936, the Democratic nominee won a majority. In 1992, Sibley was Ross Perot’s strongest county in Minnesota, losing by only 14 votes to Bill Clinton, whose pluralities in this and the 1996 election are the only Democratic victories in Sibley County since 1940.
United States presidential election results for Sibley County, Minnesota :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 6,014 | 70.45% | 2,351 | 27.54% | 172 | 2.01% |
| 2020 | 5,864 | 69.38% | 2,417 | 28.60% | 171 | 2.02% |
| 2016 | 5,193 | 66.80% | 1,954 | 25.14% | 627 | 8.07% |
| 2012 | 4,693 | 60.05% | 2,916 | 37.31% | 206 | 2.64% |
| 2008 | 4,492 | 58.12% | 2,998 | 38.79% | 239 | 3.09% |
| 2004 | 4,669 | 58.74% | 3,109 | 39.11% | 171 | 2.15% |
| 2000 | 4,087 | 55.72% | 2,687 | 36.63% | 561 | 7.65% |
| 1996 | 2,590 | 38.96% | 2,769 | 41.66% | 1,288 | 19.38% |
| 1992 | 2,315 | 32.22% | 2,421 | 33.70% | 2,449 | 34.08% |
| 1988 | 3,655 | 52.67% | 3,154 | 45.45% | 130 | 1.87% |
| 1984 | 4,638 | 62.10% | 2,761 | 36.97% | 69 | 0.92% |
| 1980 | 4,460 | 58.36% | 2,521 | 32.99% | 661 | 8.65% |
| 1976 | 3,871 | 49.25% | 3,752 | 47.74% | 237 | 3.02% |
| 1972 | 4,543 | 64.17% | 2,433 | 34.36% | 104 | 1.47% |
| 1968 | 4,250 | 59.41% | 2,540 | 35.50% | 364 | 5.09% |
| 1964 | 3,854 | 51.83% | 3,577 | 48.10% | 5 | 0.07% |
| 1960 | 4,987 | 66.12% | 2,541 | 33.69% | 14 | 0.19% |
| 1956 | 4,737 | 69.23% | 2,099 | 30.68% | 6 | 0.09% |
| 1952 | 5,323 | 73.79% | 1,871 | 25.94% | 20 | 0.28% |
| 1948 | 3,260 | 52.95% | 2,818 | 45.77% | 79 | 1.28% |
| 1944 | 4,311 | 71.56% | 1,683 | 27.94% | 30 | 0.50% |
| 1940 | 5,564 | 73.32% | 1,986 | 26.17% | 39 | 0.51% |
| 1936 | 2,184 | 32.43% | 4,140 | 61.47% | 411 | 6.10% |
| 1932 | 1,398 | 22.42% | 4,756 | 76.27% | 82 | 1.31% |
| 1928 | 3,301 | 55.94% | 2,553 | 43.26% | 47 | 0.80% |
| 1924 | 1,749 | 34.57% | 341 | 6.74% | 2,970 | 58.70% |
| 1920 | 4,198 | 85.94% | 502 | 10.28% | 185 | 3.79% |
| 1916 | 1,737 | 62.37% | 973 | 34.94% | 75 | 2.69% |
| 1912 | 383 | 15.14% | 890 | 35.19% | 1,256 | 49.66% |
| 1908 | 1,623 | 57.92% | 1,110 | 39.61% | 69 | 2.46% |
| 1904 | 1,628 | 69.22% | 662 | 28.15% | 62 | 2.64% |
| 1900 | 1,736 | 56.24% | 1,272 | 41.21% | 79 | 2.56% |
| 1896 | 1,826 | 57.97% | 1,251 | 39.71% | 73 | 2.32% |
| 1892 | 950 | 37.79% | 1,191 | 47.37% | 373 | 14.84% |