Cobb River (Minnesota)
river in the United States of America
The Cobb River (also known as the Big Cobb River) and its tributary the Little Cobb River are small rivers in southern Minnesota in the United States. The Cobb River is a 78.6-mile-long (126.5 km) tributary of the Le Sueur River. Via the Le Sueur, Blue Earth and Minnesota rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River.
Course
The Cobb River rises at the outlet of Freeborn Lake in northwestern Freeborn County and flows generally northwestwardly through northeastern Faribault, southwestern Waseca, and southwestern Blue Earth counties. It flows into the Le Sueur River from the south, about 6 miles (10 km) south of Mankato.
In Blue Earth County it collects the Little Cobb River, which rises in southwestern Waseca County. The Little Cobb flows generally westward 36.9 miles (59.4 km) to its confluence with the Big Cobb River.
The Ziegler's Ford Bridge, built in 1904 over the Cobb River, is an example of the pin-connected Pratt through truss bridges once common in Minnesota, and one of the few built by a company based outside of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. It was removed in 1995.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Cobb River (Minnesota)” is river in the United States of America. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Cobb, River and Minnesota, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “river in the United States of America” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5138775. Authority coordinates are 44.078, -94.001. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1904 and 1995.
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
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- Expand the search: follow Cobb River (Minnesota) primary sources, Cobb River (Minnesota) archive and Cobb 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
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cobb River (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.