Swift County, Minnesota: History
The Native Americans in the area before American settlement were the Dakota.
The Indians had grievances against the United States government, including delays in sending annuities that caused near starvation several times. In August 1862, the Dakota War broke out in Minnesota. The warfare reached the settlements just getting started in what was to become northeastern Swift County. By late September 1862, the war was almost over but the settlers hesitated to venture back to the area until 1865, when all danger was apparently over due to the forcible removal of all Native Americans. Scandinavians and Germans were in decided majority among the early settlers. Norwegian settlers were the first in 1866 at Camp Lake and Swenoda.
In 1869, the St. Paul & Pacific Railroad reached Willmar, and the next year it arrived in Benson. The railroad company determined the number of future trading centers (Kerkhoven, DeGraff, Benson, Randall) in the county by locating sites at intervals of approximately 8 miles (13 km).
Swift County was established on February 18, 1870 from Chippewa County and named for Henry Adoniram Swift, the third governor of Minnesota (1863–64) with Benson as the county seat.
The Swift County Courthouse was built in 1897 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Railroad tracks run through Benson's downtown business district with parks on each side.
Historic buildings in Swift County include:
Gethsemane Episcopal Church in Appleton built in 1879 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.