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County · code 27165

Watonwan CountyMinnesota

Watonwan County is a county in Minnesota with its seat in St. James, formed in 1860.

  • Founded1860
  • County seatSt. James
  • Named forWatonwan River, Minnesota
  • Land area435 sq mi + 4.8 sq mi water
  • Population11,253 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped8,201 checked 15 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Watonwan County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

BrownCottonwood St. James Census outline · seat marked

Where it is

Watonwan 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 CountyCottonwood 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 CountyWilkin CountyWinona CountyWright CountyYellow Medicine CountyWatonwan County Watonwan
Counties of Minnesota · Watonwan highlighted

History

Formed in 1860 from Brown County

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

Watonwan County was created from Brown County on November 2, 1860, but was not fully organized at that time. The county was named after the Watonwan River. Watonwan was fully organized on June 15, 1871, after being detached from Blue Earth County.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

  1. 1860
    Watonwan County created Watonwan created from Brown; Watonwan not fully organized, attached to Brown "for judicial purposes."
    from Brown
    · Minn. Laws 1859-1860, spec., ch. 13, secs. 1, 3/pp. 37-38
  2. 1861
    Changed Watonwan organized for county government. · Andreas, 229; Knudson, 2-3
  3. 1866
    Changed Watonwan detached from Brown, attached to Blue Earth "for judicial purposes."
    BrownBlue Earth
    · Minn. Gen. Stat. 1866, ch. 64, title 4, sec. 33/p. 419
  4. 1867
    Changed Watonwan fully organized, detached from Blue Earth.
    Blue Earth
    · Minn. Laws 1867, gen., ch. 111, secs. 1-2/p. 155
  5. 1868
    Changed Watonwan reattached to Blue Earth "for judicial purposes."
    Blue Earth
    · Minn. Laws 1868, gen., ch. 99, sec. 1/pp. 142-143
  6. 1871
    Changed Watonwan fully organized, detached from Blue Earth; Cottonwood, Murray, and Pipestone detached from Redwood, attached to Watonwan "for judicial purposes."
    Blue EarthCottonwoodMurrayPipestoneRedwood
    · Minn. Laws 1871, gen., ch. 80, secs. 1, 4/pp. 143-144
  7. 1873
    Changed Cottonwood fully organized, detached from Watonwan; Murray and Pipestone detached from Watonwan, attached to Cottonwood "for judicial purposes."
    CottonwoodMurrayPipestone
    · Minn. Laws 1873, gen., ch. 85, secs. 1, 5/pp. 203-204

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Watonwan

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

Watonwan by the Census

Population
11,253 2020 Census count
Housing units
4,874 2020 Census count
Land area
435 square miles
Water area
4.8 square miles
People per sq mi
26 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

Watonwan County's official site

We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Watonwan County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Watonwan County

When was Watonwan County founded?
Watonwan County was founded in 1860, formed from Brown County, and named after Watonwan River, Minnesota.
What is the county seat of Watonwan County?
The county seat of Watonwan County is St. James.
Is there an online parcel map for Watonwan County?
Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 8,201 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Watonwan County's boundary or name changed?
Watonwan County was created in 1860 from Brown County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 6 later changes, chiefly involving Blue Earth County, Cottonwood County and Murray County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Watonwan 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