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County · code 27033

Cottonwood CountyMinnesota

Cottonwood County is a county in Minnesota with its seat in Windom. The county was created in 1857 and is named after the Cottonwood River.

  • Founded1857
  • County seatWindom
  • Named forCottonwood River, Minnesota
  • Land area640 sq mi + 8.6 sq mi water
  • Population11,517 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped10,740 checked 14 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Cottonwood County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

JacksonRedwoodBrownWatonwan Windom Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Cottonwood on the map of Minnesota

Minnesota has 87 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Aitkin CountyAnoka CountyBecker CountyBeltrami CountyBenton CountyBig Stone CountyBlue Earth CountyBrown CountyCarlton CountyCarver CountyCass CountyChippewa CountyChisago CountyClay CountyClearwater CountyCook CountyCrow Wing CountyDakota CountyDodge CountyDouglas CountyFaribault CountyFillmore CountyFreeborn CountyGoodhue CountyGrant CountyHennepin CountyHouston CountyHubbard CountyIsanti CountyItasca CountyJackson CountyKanabec CountyKandiyohi CountyKittson CountyKoochiching CountyLac qui Parle CountyLake CountyLake of the Woods CountyLe Sueur CountyLincoln CountyLyon CountyMcLeod CountyMahnomen CountyMarshall CountyMartin CountyMeeker CountyMille Lacs CountyMorrison CountyMower CountyMurray CountyNicollet CountyNobles CountyNorman CountyOlmsted CountyOtter Tail CountyPennington CountyPine CountyPipestone CountyPolk CountyPope CountyRamsey CountyRed Lake CountyRedwood CountyRenville CountyRice CountyRock CountyRoseau CountySt. Louis CountyScott CountySherburne CountySibley CountyStearns CountySteele CountyStevens CountySwift CountyTodd CountyTraverse CountyWabasha CountyWadena CountyWaseca CountyWashington CountyWatonwan CountyWilkin CountyWinona CountyWright CountyYellow Medicine CountyCottonwood County Cottonwood
Counties of Minnesota · Cottonwood highlighted

History

Formed in 1857 from Brown County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Cottonwood County was created from Brown County on May 23, 1857. It went through several periods of attachment to other counties for judicial purposes: Brown (1863), Redwood (1868), and Watonwan (1871), before being fully organized in 1873. Murray County was detached from Cottonwood and fully organized in 1879.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

  1. 1857
    Cottonwood County created Cottonwood created from Brown.
    from Brown
    · Minn. Terr. Laws 1857, ext. sess., ch. 14, sec. 7/pp. 66-69
  2. 1863
    Changed Cottonwood and Murray attached to Brown "for judicial purposes."
    MurrayBrown
    · Minn. Laws 1863, spec., ch. 18, sec. 1/p. 202
  3. 1864
    Lost territory Cottonwood lost to Brown.
    to Brown
    · Minn. Laws 1864, spec., ch. 70, secs. 1-2, 5/pp. 337-339
  4. 1868
    Changed Cottonwood detached from Brown, attached to Redwood "for judicial purposes."
    BrownRedwood
    · Minn. Laws 1868, gen., ch. 105, secs. 2-3/pp. 148-149
  5. 1870
    Changed Cottonwood organized for county government. · Minn. Laws 1870, gen., ch. 89, sec. 1/p. 161; Minn. Laws 1873, gen., ch. 94, sec. 1/pp. 213-214
Show all 10 changes (5 more)
  1. 1857
    Cottonwood County created Cottonwood created from Brown.
    from Brown
    · Minn. Terr. Laws 1857, ext. sess., ch. 14, sec. 7/pp. 66-69
  2. 1863
    Changed Cottonwood and Murray attached to Brown "for judicial purposes."
    MurrayBrown
    · Minn. Laws 1863, spec., ch. 18, sec. 1/p. 202
  3. 1864
    Lost territory Cottonwood lost to Brown.
    to Brown
    · Minn. Laws 1864, spec., ch. 70, secs. 1-2, 5/pp. 337-339
  4. 1868
    Changed Cottonwood detached from Brown, attached to Redwood "for judicial purposes."
    BrownRedwood
    · Minn. Laws 1868, gen., ch. 105, secs. 2-3/pp. 148-149
  5. 1870
    Changed Cottonwood organized for county government. · Minn. Laws 1870, gen., ch. 89, sec. 1/p. 161; Minn. Laws 1873, gen., ch. 94, sec. 1/pp. 213-214
  6. 1871
    Changed Cottonwood authorized to gain the two adjacent southwestern townships of Brown, dependent upon local referendum that failed (no change).
    Brown
    · HRS Minn., Redwood, 12; Minn. Laws 1871, spec., ch. 95, secs. 1-3/pp. 311-312; Minn. Stat. 1873, ch. 2, title 1, sec. 9/pp. 92-93
  7. 1871
    Changed Cottonwood detached from Redwood, attached to Watonwan "for judicial purposes."
    RedwoodWatonwan
    · Minn. Laws 1871, gen., ch. 80, secs. 1, 4/pp. 143-144
  8. 1873
    Changed Cottonwood fully organized, detached from Watonwan; Murray and Pipestone detached from Watonwan, attached to Cottonwood "for judicial purposes."
    WatonwanMurrayPipestone
    · Minn. Laws 1873, gen., ch. 85, secs. 1, 5/pp. 203-204
  9. 1876
    Changed Pipestone detached from Cottonwood, attached to Rock "for judicial and recording purposes."
    PipestoneRock
    · Minn. Laws 1876, gen., ch. 83, sec. 1/p. 94
  10. 1879
    Changed Murray fully organized, detached from Cottonwood.
    Murray
    · Minn. Laws 1879, gen., ch. 57, sec. 1/pp. 60-61

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Cottonwood

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Cottonwood by the Census

Population
11,517 2020 Census count
Housing units
5,152 2020 Census count
Land area
640 square miles
Water area
8.6 square miles
People per sq mi
18 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Permits

Zoning and code

County government

See your own lot on these maps

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Questions

Common questions about Cottonwood County

When was Cottonwood County founded?
Cottonwood County was founded in 1857, formed from Brown County, and named after Cottonwood River, Minnesota.
What is the county seat of Cottonwood County?
The county seat of Cottonwood County is Windom.
Is there an online parcel map for Cottonwood County?
Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 10,740 parcels, rated fallback here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Cottonwood County's boundary or name changed?
Cottonwood County was created in 1857 from Brown County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 8 later changes, chiefly involving Brown County, Murray County and Pipestone County.
Who issues building permits in Cottonwood County?
The county's page on building permits: Building Permit. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Cottonwood County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door