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Todd County - How the county got started.
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History of Todd County
Note: When comparing several articles about Todd County, some of the words and dates were different. The following is a composite of information from various sources.
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Before the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the area of Todd County belonged to Spain and France. When Minnesota became a territory, the area of Todd county became a part of the Territorial County of Wahnahta.
When Todd County was established by the Minnesota Territorial Legislature, on February 20, 1856, it extended east to the Mississippi River including the fort that was known as Fort Gaines. The name was later changed to Fort Ripley. At that time Fort Gaines (now Fort Ripley) was in Todd County. Captain John Baines Smith Todd, a first cousin of Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of Abraham Lincoln, was the Commamder.
Todd County was named in his honor.
During this time, the area became a battleground for the Chippewa and Sioux Indians. In 1848 the government decided to create a buffer zone to keep them apart by bringing in the Winnebagos from southeastern Minnesota.
Todd County was officially organized on January 1, 1867. For a number of years, the county was divided into three areas: Hartford, Long Prairie and West Union. Eventually the three were divided to form the present 28 townships.
The first churches in Todd County were a Catholic and an Episcopal church at the Winnebago Agency in Long Prairie. The first church building was the Swedish Svealand Lutheran Church in Kandota in 1868. By 1940 there were one or more churches in every township with the exception of three.
At one time Todd County had ten flour mills, two woolen mills and one or more grain elevators at every railroad station.
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Todd County covers an area of approximately 940 square miles in the center of Minnesota. It encompasses 28 townships; the cities or communities of Hewitt, Bertha, Eagle Bend, Clarissa, Browerville, Round Prairie, Little Sauk, West Union, Burtrum and the county seat, Long Prairie. Two of its cities straddle county lines: Staples, part of which is in Wadena County; and Osakis, part of which is in Douglas County.
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This page last updated on 2/11/2003.
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