Scott
County was formed in 1853 from Dakota County and is one of
the 7 counties that make up the Twin Cities Metro Area. It
contains within its borders the cities of: Belle Plaine, New
Market, Savage, Elko, New Prague, Shakopee, Jordan, and Prior
Lake. It also contains within its borders the minor civil
divisions (MCDs) of: Belle Plaine, Jackson, Sand Creek, Blakely,
Louisville, Savage, Cedar Lake, New Market, Shakopee, Credit
River, Prior Lake, Spring Lake, Helena, and Saint Lawrence.
Established on March 5, 1853, this county was named in honor
of Gen. Winfield Scott, who was commander-in-chief of the
U.S. Army from 1841 to 1861. He was born near Petersburg,
Va. on June 13, 1786, and died at West Point, N.Y. on May
29, 1866. He entered the army as a captain in 1808; served
with distinction in the War of 1812 and was made a brigadier
general and brevet major general in 1814. Gen. Scott was chief
commander in the Mexican War in 1847; and was an unsuccessful
Whig candidate for president in 1852. General Scott visited
Fort St. Anthony in the spring of 1824 for inspection of its
construction, then completed, and on his recommendation its
name was changed to Fort Snelling by a general order of the
war department on January 7, 1825.
Today, Scott County is an area of 375 square miles located
in the southwest corner of the Twin Cities. The Minnesota
River forms the northern border of the county, while the broad
river valley cuts through glacial sediment into some of the
oldest exposed rock beds in the state. Shakopee, which is
the county seat began in 1851 as a trading post nearby to
the Dakota village of Chief Shakopee. Townsites were established
along transportation routes provided by the Minnesota River
and the numerous oxcart trails that crisscrossed the region.
Today, urban sprawl and suburbanization are threatening this
primarily rural county. The county currently has a population
of approximately 81,990 and is expected to increase to approximately
109,000 persons by the year 2010 (according to Metropolitan
Council estimates).
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