Houston County, Minnesota
county in Minnesota, United States
Houston County ( HEW-stən) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. At the 2020 census, the population was 18,843. Its county seat is Caledonia. Houston County is included in the La Crosse–Onalaska Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The area covered by today's Houston County was first organized as St. Croix County, of the Wisconsin Territory, in 1839. On October 27, 1849, part of that county was partitioned off to create Wabashaw County of the Minnesota Territory. On February 23, 1854, the territorial legislature authorized the partitioning of sections of Wabashaw to create Fillmore County and Houston County. An election on April 4, 1854, allowed the county government to be completed. The county was named for Sam Houston, who had been president of the Republic of Texas and a US senator from Texas.
“Houston County, Minnesota” enters the record as county in Minnesota, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Houston, County and Minnesota can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Houston County, Minnesota” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Houston, County and Minnesota provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q486288. VIAF identifies the subject as 145427554. The Library of Congress control number is n81093321. Authority coordinates are 43.670, -91.490. 4 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1839, 1849 and 1854.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Houston County, Minnesota”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Houston County, Minnesota primary sources, Houston County, Minnesota archive and Houston research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Houston County, Minnesota”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Houston County, Minnesota” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.