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Minnesota County
Fillmore County, Minnesota
Lanesboro - Minnesota's art town in the bluffs and the Root River Trail - from Lanesboro's cultural scene (the small bluff-country town of Lanesboro has built one of Minnesota's most vibrant arts communities - the Commonweal Theatre Company's professional productions, the Root River State Trail's 42-mile paved cycling route through the limestone bluff valleys, and the concentration of bed-and-breakfasts and galleries in a beautifully preserved Victorian town make Lanesboro Minnesota's most celebrated small-town arts destination) to Fillmore County's significant Amish community (one of the largest Old Order Amish settlements in Minnesota, whose farms and buggies define the rural character of the southeast Minnesota bluff country).
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What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Services: The county’s All-Hazard Mitigation Plan, most recently approved by FEMA on January 25, 2018, provides a 5-year planning framework; the Sheriff’s Office also provides contracted law enforcement for Spring Valley, Wykoff, Ostrander, Harmony, Canton, and Mabel.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: Minnesota Highway 16 and Fillmore County Highway 5 serve Preston, the county seat, in the Driftless Area of southeastern Minnesota
Transit: Fillmore County Airport (FKA), owned by the county, opened its 3,200-foot turf runway in 1970; its arrivals/departures building, opened 1981, is dedicated to Bernard Pietenpol, the pioneering homebuilt-aircraft designer from nearby Cherry Grove.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Fillmore County Zoning – 909 Houston St NW, Preston, MN 55965, (507) 765-2622 | Fax: (507) 765-4476
Services: Permits and payment can be faxed or mailed/dropped off to the county office.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Fillmore County Veterans Services – Preston, MN 55965
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Preston Public Library (SELCO) – 101 St. Paul Street NW, Preston, MN 55965, (507) 765-4511
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Fillmore County, part of Minnesota’s scenic “Driftless Area” and “Bluff Country” region, is genuinely home to Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, one of the most distinctive natural attractions in the Upper Midwest. Discovered in 1937, Mystery Cave is genuinely Minnesota’s longest known cave, with more than 13 miles of mapped underground passages winding through two rock layers, featuring stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, fossils, and clear underground pools, all held at a constant 48°F year-round. The park also preserves Historic Forestville, a genuinely restored 19th-century village operated as a living-history site by the Minnesota Historical Society, where the Forestville Townsite and Meighen Store are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Above ground, the park’s karst topography of sinkholes and limestone bluffs supports three blue-ribbon trout streams, giving Preston its local nickname, “Minnesota’s Trout Capitol.” The county is also the birthplace of Bernard Pietenpol, whose homebuilt “Air Camper” aircraft design, developed near Cherry Grove starting in the 1920s, became one of the most influential and widely replicated amateur aircraft designs in American aviation history
Notes: Fillmore County’s Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park is genuinely home to Minnesota’s longest cave system, alongside a beautifully preserved 19th-century living-history village.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Fillmore County GIS – accessible via co.fillmore.mn.us
Parcel Search: Fillmore County Assessor – Preston, MN 55965
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Paws and Claws Humane Society – 3224 19th St NW, Rochester, MN 55901
Services: Genuinely serves Fillmore County alongside ten other southeastern Minnesota counties; does not euthanize except on veterinary advice in cases of critical injury or severe behavioral danger.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: Minnesota Pollution Control Agency – pca.state.mn.us
Notes: Contact your specific municipality directly for current refuse collection and recycling program details.
NOTES
Fillmore County is genuinely home to Minnesota’s longest cave system at Forestville/Mystery Cave State Park, alongside a beautifully preserved 19th-century living-history village. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Fillmore County
Fillmore County is Minnesota’s bluff country arts and Amish heartland – Lanesboro’s Commonweal Theatre and Root River Trail make it Minnesota’s most celebrated small arts town, and the Old Order Amish farms whose buggies travel the county’s gravel roads preserve a way of life that contrasts beautifully with the Victorian theater scene.
Preston (the county seat, population ~1,300) and Lanesboro (population ~750) serve Fillmore County’s agricultural, Amish, and tourism communities in the southeast Minnesota bluffs.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Fillmore County Assessor at 101 Fillmore Street, Suite 2010, Preston, MN 55965, phone 507-765-4501. MN homestead exclusion reduces taxable market value.
Courts & Legal
Fillmore County District Court at 101 Fillmore Street, Preston, MN 55965, phone 507-765-4591, handles probate.
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Fillmore County District Court (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Fillmore County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Fillmore County District Court 101 Fillmore Street East, Preston, MN 55965 (507) 765-6021 Fillmore County is in southeastern Minnesota, seated in Preston.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Minnesota follows the Uniform Probate Code, which keeps most estates on a streamlined informal track. Minnesota’s small-estate shortcuts are unusual among states in that they can include real property, not just personal property.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-1201) – for personal property only. The entire probate estate – including the contents of any safe deposit box, less liens and encumbrances – must be under $75,000. Joint tenancy property and assets that pass by beneficiary designation (life insurance, transfer-on-death accounts) don’t count toward the threshold. A 30-day waiting period applies after death, and no court filing is required – the affidavit is presented directly to the institution holding the property.
Summary Assignment – can include real property, and is court-based. Covers estates up to $75,000, including real property. A certified copy of the court’s Decree of Distribution is filed in the county real estate records to transfer title.
Summary Administration (Minn. Stat. § 524.3-1203) – the higher-threshold real-property option, covering estates up to $150,000, exclusive of the exempt homestead. The homestead itself is excluded from the value calculation entirely for both Summary Assignment and Summary Administration – Minnesota’s homestead exemption protects the family home from most creditor claims and it descends to the surviving spouse free of most claims against the estate. If closing and distribution follow the terms of a will, a formal probate hearing for the will is still required before a summary decree can issue.
STEP 2: FORMAL/INFORMAL PROBATE (for estates above the thresholds)
File with the District Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled; informal probate is available for most estates, with the personal representative appointed by the Registrar and minimal ongoing court interaction.
The personal representative publishes a creditor notice and directly notifies known creditors, opening a 4-month creditor claim period.
Once the creditor period closes and debts are paid, assets can typically be distributed and the estate closed without returning to court, unless there’s a dispute or a beneficiary requests a formal accounting.
Formal probate – requiring a hearing before a judge – is used in more complicated situations, such as will contests or disputes over the personal representative.
THE 3-YEAR DEADLINE – MORE RESTRICTIVE THAN MOST STATES Informal probate is no longer available after 3 years from the date of death, though formal probate may still be possible in limited circumstances.
What it costs
Small estate procedures can move relatively quickly once the 30-day wait passes. Standard informal probate is largely governed by the 4-month creditor period, so most straightforward estates take at least that long to close.
Minnesota has its own state estate tax, but the exemption threshold is relatively high – $3 million – so most Minnesota families aren’t affected. Rates on the amount above the exemption range from 13% to 16%, applied on a graduated scale; the exemption is not portable between spouses. Minnesota has no state inheritance tax.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
201 Fillmore St., Preston, MN 55965
(507) 765-2311
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
101 Fillmore St., Preston, MN 55965
(507) 765-3356
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
MN DHS — Southeast Region
(507) 765-2175
Gundersen Harmony (Mayo affiliate)
gundersenhealth.org (Harmony — quality community clinic)
Mayo Clinic Health System — Spring Valley
mayoclinichealthsystem.org (Spring Valley — quality community clinic)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Fillmore County Public Health – Preston, MN 55965
Services: Offers WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) nutrition program services.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Preston
Population: 21,000
Area: 861 sq mi
Established: 1853
Tier: 3
Public Records
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