Brown County, Minnesota  Brown County is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 25,893. Its county seat is New Ulm. The county was formed in 1855 and organized in 1856. Brown County comprises the New Ulm, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area and is included in the Mankato-New Ulm-North Mankato, MN Combined Statistical Area. Brown County was founded in 1855. It was named for Joseph Renshaw Brown, a member of the Governor's Council of Minnesota in 1855. The Minnesota River flows east-southeast along the county's northern border. The Cottonwood River flows east-northeast through the county's central and upper area, discharging into the Minnesota at the northern border. The Little Cottonwood River flows east through the lower portion of the county, on its way to discharge into the Minnesota in neighboring Blue Earth County. The terrain consists of rolling hills, mostly devoted to agriculture, and generally slopes to the east, tending to drop into the river valleys. Its highest point is at its southwestern corner, at 1,263' (385m) ASL. The county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.2%) is water. Most of the county is an area of rich farm land; most of its wetlands were drained for use in agriculture, leaving a number of lakes. The county has at least 32 lakes, some of which are deemed to be "protected waters" of the State of Minnesota; these are designated with "(p)" below. The lakes occupy "hollows in the driftsheet"; many have neither an inflow nor an outflow. Lakes in the county include:  In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of New Ulm have ranged from a low of in January to a high of in July, although a record low of was recorded in January 1984 and a record high of was recorded in July 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from in January to in June. As of the 2000 United States Census, there were 26,911 people, 10,598 households, and 7,164 families in the county. The population density was 44.0/sqmi (17.0/km²). There were 11,163 housing units at an average density of 18.3/sqmi (7.05/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 97.82% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.91% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. 2.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 67.1% were of German and 9.6% Norwegian ancestry.