Le Sueur County (pop. 27,703), east of Sibley County, is the only county in the U.S. where the county and the county seat (Le Center) both begin with “Le.”

Le Sueur County Courthouse (1896)

The county was named for Pierre-Charles Le Sueur (1657-1704), the first European to explore the Minnesota River Valley.

The river is the county’s western border.

Le Center (pop. 2,499) was placed in the center of the county to be the county seat; over the years, its name changed from Lesueur Center to Le Sueur Center to Center to (in 1931) Le Center.

The county also has a town called Le Sueur (pop. 4,058). The Green Giant Company (known for its frozen peas) was founded in LeSueur in 1903 as the Minnesota Valley Canning Company; it was later acquired by General Mills.

LeSueur is in the Valley of the Jolly Green Giant.

The town of Kasota (pop. 675) is known for the Kasota limestone produced in the area. Kasota limestone was used for the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.

In Washington, D.C.

Le Sueur County has small towns named for Heidelberg (Germany), Kilkenny (Ireland), and Cleveland (Ohio).

The Heidelberg on the River Neckar.

The county has about 100 lakes, including Sakatah Lake on the Cannon River, a tributary of the Mississippi.

Sakatah Lake State Park (1967)

NEXT: RICE COUNTY