Benton County, Minnesota: History
Established in 1849 and organized in 1850, the county is one of the oldest in Minnesota. It was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a United States Senator from Missouri. Its county seat for many years was Sauk Rapids, at the confluence of the Sauk and Mississippi Rivers. The county seat moved to Watab in 1856 and returned to Sauk Rapids in 1859. Sauk Rapids became the terminus of a railroad line in 1874, but was destroyed by a tornado in 1886. In 1897 the county seat moved to Foley, where it remains. As St. Cloud expanded into a metropolitan area, the southern part of Benton County became a suburb.