Watonwan County, Minnesota
Historic newspapers, landmarks, and county history layers for genealogists and local historians.
At a glance
SummaryThe National Register of Historic Places includes 6 listed properties in the county, first listed in 1984. Most listings are in or near St. James, Madelia, LaSalle.
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 Watonwan titles at the Library of Congress.
National Register of Historic Places
NPS NRHP4 of 6 listings mapped; some locations are restricted by NPS to protect sensitive sites.
6 listed properties
| Property | City | Listed |
|---|---|---|
| Flanders' Block | Madelia | 1984 |
| Grand Opera House | St. James | 2009 |
| Nelson and Albin Cooperative Mercantile Association Store | LaSalle | 1987 |
| Voss, Alfred R., Farmstead | St. James | 1988 |
| Watonwan County Courthouse | St. James | 1987 |
| West Bridge | Madelia | 2013 |
Source: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Property links open NRHP nomination files at the National Archives.
County formation
Newberry AHCBWatonwan was formed in 1860 (1860-11-02) from Brown.
WATONWAN created from BROWN.
Source: Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
Population by decade
CensusWatonwan County population from 1870 to 2020 (Census historical series).
| 1870 | 1880 | 1900 | 1920 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,426 | 5,104 | 11,496 | 12,457 | 13,902 | 13,881 | 14,460 | 12,361 | 11,876 | 11,253 |
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau historical county population (Forstall 1790–1990) and public-domain / CC0 county population series through 2020.
Cemeteries & historical places
USGS GNIS26 cemeteries and 0 historical populated places (ghost towns / former settlements) recorded in USGS GNIS for this county.
Cemeteries — 26 of 26 listed
| Name |
|---|
| Antrim Cemetery |
| Antrim-Saint John Cemetery |
| Bethlehem Cemetery |
| Butterfield Cemetery |
| Calvary Cemetery |
| East Sveadahl Cemetery |
| First Mennonite Cemetery |
| Haseman Post Cemetery |
| Kansas Lake Cemetery |
| La Salle Lutheran Cemetery |
| Long Lake Lutheran Church Cemetery |
| Madelia Cemetery |
| Mennonite Cemetery |
| Mount Hope Cemetery |
| Old Catholic Church Cemetery (historical) |
| Old Faith Lutheran Cemetery |
| Ridge Lawn Cemetery |
| Riverside Cemetery |
| Rosendale Cemetery |
| Saint Johns Cemetery |
| Saint Paul Cemetery |
| Sell-Lamb Cemetery |
| Trinity Cemetery |
| West Sveadahl Cemetery |
| Zion Cemetery |
| Zion Lutheran 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 Watonwan County, Minnesota
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