Goodhue County, Minnesota

Goodhue County, Minnesota
Goodhue County Courthouse in Red Wing, Minnesota
Location in the U.S. state of Minnesota
Minnesota's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 5, 1853
Named for	James Madison Goodhue, the first printer-editor in Minnesota
Seat	Red Wing
Largest city	Red Wing
Area
• Total	780 sq mi (2,020 km2)
• Land	757 sq mi (1,961 km2)
• Water	24 sq mi (62 km2), 3.0%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	46,435
• Density	61/sq mi (24/km²)
Congressional district	2nd
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.goodhue.mn.us

Goodhue County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,183. Its county seat is Red Wing. Nearly all of Prairie Island Indian Community is within the county.

Goodhue County comprises the Red Wing, MN Micropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.

The county was formed from territory within Wabasha County on March 5, 1853. County boundaries were defined in 1854 and further refined again in 1855.

Hamline University, Minnesota's first college of higher learning, was originally located in Red Wing, Minnesota. It opened its doors in 1854 but closed during the Civil War due to low enrollment. Hamline University re-opened in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1869.

The county was a leading producer of wheat during the mid-nineteenth century, and for several years the county boasted the highest wheat production in the country, sending wheat through numerous mills in Red Wing and then transporting the grain along the Mississippi River.

The effect of fires at two of Red Wing's mills in the 1880s and developing railroad routes across Minnesota encouraged farmers from neighboring counties to begin sending their wheat to Minneapolis mills, reducing the county's importance in the wheat trade around the start of the 20th century.

The first municipal swimming pool in the state was built in the county.