Rock County, Minnesota
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 20 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1975. Most listings are in or near Luverne, Jasper, Beaver Creek.
Summary generated automatically from the source data on this page.
Newspapers
Library of CongressNewspaper directory data for Minnesota is not yet loaded on this site. Browse Rock titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP19 of 20 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
20 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Blue Mounds State Park WPA/Rustic Style Historic Resources | Luverne | 1989 |
| Bridge No. 1482 | Luverne | 1992 |
| Bridge No. L-2162 | Jasper | 1989 |
| Bridge No. L-2315 | Luverne | 1989 |
| Bridge No. L-2316 | Luverne | 1989 |
| Bridge No. L-4646 | Beaver Creek | 1989 |
| First National Bank of Beaver Creek | Beaver Creek | 1980 |
| Gerber, J. W., House | Luverne | 1980 |
| Hinkly, R. B., House | Luverne | 1975 |
| Holy Trinity Church-Episcopal | Luverne | 1980 |
| Jasper Stone Company and Quarry | Jasper | 1978 |
| Kenneth School | Kenneth | 1980 |
| Kniss, Pierce J., House | Luverne | 1980 |
| Luverne Carnegie Library | Luverne | 1980 |
| Manfred, Frederick and Maryanna, House | Luverne | 2022 |
| Maplewood Chapel | Luverne | 1980 |
| Nuffer, Jacob, Farmstead | Hills | 1980 |
| Omaha Depot | Luverne | 1980 |
| Palace Theater | Luverne | 1980 |
| Rock County Courthouse and Jail | Luverne | 1977 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBRock was formed in 1857 (1857-05-23) from Brown.
PIPESTONE (now ROCK) created by Minnesota Territory from BROWN; included territory in present Minnesota and South Dakota.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusRock County population from 1860 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1860 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 3,669 | 9,668 | 10,965 | 10,933 | 11,278 | 11,864 | 10,703 | 9,721 | 9,704 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
National Park Service sites nearby
NPSPark units within about 40 km of the county centroid (from NPS Public POIs; no API key).
| Site | Type | Dist. |
|---|---|---|
| pipe | Park unit | 38.5 km |
Source: NPS National Datasets / Public POIs. The NPS Developer API requires a free key and was not used.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS20 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 20 of 20 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Ashwood Cemetery |
| Beaver Valley Cemetery |
| Bethlehem Cemetery |
| Blue Mound Cemetery |
| Dutch Reform Church Cemetery |
| Eastside Cemetery |
| Ebenezer Cemetery |
| Flowerfield Cemetery |
| Kenneth Cemetery |
| Maplewood Cemetery |
| Nerison Cemetery |
| Norwegian Cemetery |
| Palisades Cemetery |
| Pleasant View Cemetery |
| Restlawn Memorial Gardens |
| Rose Dell Cemetery |
| Saint Catherine Cemetery |
| Springwater Cemetery |
| Trinity Cemetery |
| West Palisades Cemetery |
Source: USGS Geographic Names Information System (public domain). Cemeteries from the 2021 NationalFile archive; historical places from GNIS HistoricalFeatures topical extract.
Historical markers
HMdb linkMarker text and photos from the Historical Marker Database (HMdb) are not embedded here. HMdb allows non-commercial reuse with attribution, but commercial/compensated use needs written permission; this is a commercial site, so we only link out.
Search HMdb for Rock County, Minnesota
Terms: hmdb.org/copyright.asp. Linking is encouraged by HMdb.