Stearns County, Minnesota
| Stearns County, Minnesota | |
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Stearns County Courthouse
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 Location in the U.S. state of Minnesota |
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 Minnesota's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | February 20, 1855 |
| Named for | Charles Thomas Stearns |
| Seat | St. Cloud |
| Largest city | St. Cloud |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,390 sq mi (3,600 km2) |
| • Land | 1,343 sq mi (3,478 km2) |
| • Water | 47 sq mi (122 km2), 3.4% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 154,708 |
| • Density | 112/sq mi (43/km²) |
| Congressional districts | 6th, 7th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
Stearns County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 census, the population was 150,642. Its county seat is Saint Cloud. The county was founded in 1855. It was originally named after Isaac Ingalls Stevens, later changed to the name Stearns, after Charles Thomas Stearns.
Stearns County is part of the St. Cloud, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN-WI Combined Statistical Area.
The area that is currently Stearns County was formerly occupied by numerous indigenous tribes, such as the Sioux (Dakota), Chippewa (Ojibwe) and Winnebago (Ho-chunk). The first large immigration was of German Catholics in the 1850s. Early arrivals also came from eastern states. Originally, the county was supposed to be named Stevens County after Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens who conducted an area expedition in 1853. However, due to a clerical error, the county was named Stearns after Charles Thomas Stearns who was a member of the Territorial Council. (Later, the area two counties west was named Stevens County, to compensate for this clerical error.)
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,390 square miles (3,600 km2), of which 1,343 square miles (3,480 km2) is land and 47 square miles (120 km2) (3.4%) is water.
The East border of Stearns County is the Mississippi River. The land consists of rolling hills, scenic lakes, prairies, savannas and woodlands of a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees. Stearns is one of 17 Minnesota savanna region counties with more savanna soils than either prairie or forest soils. Example of native vegetation: There are 166 lakes in the county of Stearns.
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