Cottonwood County, Minnesota: History
The county was created on May 23, 1857, named for the river in Germantown Township ("cottonwood" is the English meaning of the Dakota Sioux word "Waraju"). Minnesota Governor Horace Austin appointed three county commissioners when the county was established. They met at a home about six miles northwest of Windom on the Des Moines River at Big Bend. During this meeting, they designated the commissioners' districts and changed various county officers. The county organization was completed on July 29, 1870. The first general election was held in the county that November. The first deed of record was filed on January 10, 1870. The first land assessments were made in 1871, and the first taxes were paid in 1872.
Until May 1965, when county option was eliminated, Cottonwood was a dry county; no beverages with over 3.2% alcohol could be sold.
The Cottonwood County Courthouse (1904), an example of Neoclassical architecture, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Mountain Park, southeast of Mountain Lake, has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1973. A 1976 archeological dig unearthed evidence of a Meskwaki habitation there circa 500 B.C., the oldest human habitation to be discovered in Minnesota.
The Jeffers Petroglyphs, near Jeffers, contain pre-European Native American rock carvings. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places.