McLeod County, Minnesota: History
For thousands of years the area was inhabited by indigenous peoples. At the time of European contact, it was the territory of the Dakota Sioux. The county was created by the Minnesota Territorial legislature on March 1, 1856. It was named for Martin McLeod, a Canadian-born adventurer who became a fur trader and later was elected a territorial representative (1849–1856) in Minnesota. As a young man, he was part of James Dickson's 1836 expedition to the Red River of the North, a journey recounted in his Diary of Martin McLeod, a manuscript held by the Minnesota Historical Society.
"In 1859 the three Czech families already living in McLeod County were joined by those of Josef Vosmek, Josef Zicha, Antonin Nunvar, and Jan Vanous, all acquaintances from Caledonia, where they had resided for several years after their arrival from Bohemia. Other settlers followed, taking homesteads close by in the present township of Rich Valley".
The county seat was sited at Glencoe as part of the original act; it had been founded (June 11, 1855) by Martin McLeod, who was a member of the townsite company when the county was founded.
The county was the site of several events during the Dakota War of 1862, including the siege of Hutchinson and the killing of the White family near Brownton. It was also the first place to use the Geier Hitch, a kind of animal husbandry that some characterize as animal abuse.